Following the success of the 3-D re-release of The Lion King ($94 million), Disney is continuing to re-release their animated classics in the third dimension, this time with Beauty and the Beast (3D) (January 13). The most acclaimed Disney classic of all time was originally released in theaters 20 years ago, where it made history being the first animated feature to gross more than $100 million at the domestic box office and the only hand-drawn animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. However, and I'm sure Disney is thinking this too, this is going to be a much different challenge than what it was with Lion King. For one, Beauty already has its' DVD and Blu-ray out, whereas the other's re-release was a few weeks before its' Blu-ray release. Some families may want to just re-watch the film at home, but then again, kids who have not been introduced to the film yet (and not owning the DVD) may end up seeing it with their parents. Also, it is the only family choice in January and it launches over the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend, which is a great weekend to launch a movie aimed for kids. It won't do as well as Lion King, but it should be able to at least get respectable numbers.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osU_T8HB-9U
One month later, Disney once again re-teams with Japan's Studio Ghibli to release one of their films to the U.S. This time, book adaption The Secret World of Arrietty (February 17) releases in theaters over the four-day President's Day Weekend as the only traditionally-animated film releasing this year. Studio Ghibli films have been critically adored, including the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away and 2009's Ponyo, though both weren't box office successes stateside. Unless if Disney can give a nice promotional bump and can shine a light on the voice cast (which includes Disney Channel's Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, and Moises Arias alongside Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, and Carol Burnett), but the four-day extended weekend will allow the film to gross more on its' opening than Ponyo did, though replicating Gnomeo and Juliet's grosses are extremely unlikely.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMe7PavaRQ
Perhaps the safest bet for animation this year is the third release from Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Hop), Dr. Suess' The Lorax (March 2). The film is the fourth Dr. Suess film adaption after the live-action How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat and the animated Horton Hears A Who! (whose executive producer produces this film) Lorax may though not be as popular of a book as the other three were, but, the one thing that will guarantee a nice opening is that distributor Universal Pictures is going to be doing the same intense promotional campaign that drove the last two Illumination movies to huge levels. 3-D and IMAX 3-D will also only add to that, but the fact that this is a Dr. Suess material will likely not yield Despicable Me-like numbers, but numbers closer to Horton ($155 million), might be a nice target.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QVCIDVeelA
Also releasing next Spring, Aardman releases their second movie in six months with The Pirates! Band of Misfits (March 30). Being released by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, the film was produced with claymation, which has become almost extinct. But, its' what Aardman is famous for, as Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit were both popular. But last year, Aardman had their first misfire with the expensively-produced Arthur Christmas. Probably a domestic gross in the range between Arthur and Wallace & Gromit looks likely, but Pirates will be the only movie out for families for two months, which will allow it to see good playability through April.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzddJ-yxaqY
One of the two major animated sequels releasing this year, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (June 8) is the second DreamWorks Animation film to get a threequel, following the Shrek movies. The situation for this one is much different than the Shrek threequel. While the Shrek movies kept on building audience, the Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda sequels lost some audience. Escape 2 Africa improved on the weekend gross with $60 million three and a half years ago, but wound up about $15 million behind its' predecessor with $180 million. A lower gross for this one is expected, since DreamWorks has been on a slump over the last two years. But, one things' for sure, it is likely to have a robust gross internationally.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVEinXUrEp0
The biggest wildcard this year for animation is Pixar's first fairy tale, Brave (June 22). The film is based off the book The Bear and the Bow, and is also the first Pixar film to have a female main character. That's a risky move, as fairy tales tend to only appeal to girls, which could really affect its' gross. The film however is highly anticipated with some people, as it looks like a unique cross between 2010's How To Train Your Dragon and Tangled. The latter was able to take in both genders and gross $200 million domestic along with close to $600 million worldwide. Similar numbers would be a safer target for this film, but that would be on the low end for a Pixar film.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEHWDA_6e3M
The years' other major sequel, Ice Age: Continental Drift (July 13), is the fourth installment of the internationally popular Ice Age movies, and arriving three years after Dawn of the Dinosaurs was the franchise's biggest-grossing installment at nearly $200 million domestic and seeing gangbusters overseas at over $870 million worldwide. The film has been gradually promoted throughout this year, as Scrat shorts were shown in front of 20th Century Fox's family films this year. Its' going to have a tough time taking the top spot as it will have to compete against the second weekend of The Amazing Spider-Man, but its' definitely going to see strong overseas numbers, whether it matches its' predecessors' gross or not.
The creators of Coraline once again bring the paranormal to the big screen with ParaNorman. Produced with stop-motion animation by Focus Features, Coraline was a big success with $75 million domestic and $150 million worldwide. And while this movie has already seen early promotion, its' going to be a challenge for it to reach those numbers as the animation looks a little creepy for younger kids. Plus, its' going to have to compete against The Odd Life of Timothy Green for family audiences. Perhaps an October release might've better suited it, but there's more competition there too.
You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NbtltCSpcU
Disney's second 3-D re-release is Pixar's classic, Finding Nemo (3D) (September 14). Releasing nine years after the original, that film was a blockbuster, with over $330 million domestic and $860 million worldwide. In terms of gross, this one has more of a chance to replicate the success of The Lion King's 3-D re-release than Beauty and the Beast does. However, it will have to compete against two other animated films within the following three weeks, so its' chances at reaching $100 million aren't very strong.
The following weekend brings Sony Pictures Animation's Hotel Transylvania (September 21), marking the second-straight year the studio has done two movies in one year. Having a star-studded voice cast including Adam Sandler, Kevin James, and Miley Cyrus, this hopes to be the next Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. But it also has a little Despicable Me like approach with its' fatherhood plotline (according to sources). Meatballs' numbers ($125 million) do look to be a reasonable target for this flick, though that will be far from the next animated blockbuster.
Tim Burton teams with Disney over the Halloween movie season for stop-motion film Frankenweenie (October 5). While Burton films have always been dark, this film seems to be a bit gentler, which could make it a solid choice for family audiences as it is the only choice over that month.
Starting off the holiday movie season, Disney releases its' next animated feature in its' classic canon with Wreck-It-Ralph (November 2). The story of a video game villain trying to become a good guy brings to mind 2010's MegaMind ($148 million), though those numbers may seem a bit too much of a stretch for this, based on the fact that Disney's computer-animated films (with the exception of Tangled) are not as popular as Pixar's or DreamWorks'. However, a good promotional campaign and an intriguing premise could keep it playing through December.
The final major animated release this year is DreamWorks Animation's first release over Thanksgiving week, Rise of the Guardians (November 21). Not to be confused with Warner Bros. 2010 bomb Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hool, the film has a very interesting premise, having all of the childhood fantasy figures (Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and others) go out to save the world. It is also based on a forthcoming book series by William Joyce (Rolie Polie Olie and George Shrinks). Films that include Santa and have a holiday angle tend to play well into the holidays, and a solid five-day opening could get this to break the DreamWorks Animation slump.
Some will succeed, some will fail, we will see as the year progresses....
