'Cars' and 'Chicken Little' change release dates

[NemoRocks78]

According to Box Office Mojo, Disney/Pixar's 'Cars,' originally scheduled to be released on November 4th, 2005, will now be released on June 9th, 2006.

Chicken Little, originally scheduled for a July 1st, 2005 release, will now debut in theaters on November 4th, 2005 (the original release date for Cars).

 

[Legacy]

That seems kinda odd. I doubt Pixar would really need to push a movie back for developemental reasons. (Has that happened before?) And if Disney is pushing back Chicken Little, this thing is going to be the most hyped animated film of all time.

 

[NemoRocks78]

I think the Chicken Little move was good -- War of the Worlds was opening two days before and Fantastic Four was opening on the same day. This way it will have an entire weekend to itself.

Not sure why Cars was pushed back, though.....I'm curious to as of why myself.

 

[Testtrack321]

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttt??????????????????

Wow, never expected this.

 

[wdwmaniac]

It seems werid- now Disney has no Big "tent" pole for the Summer? I mean Hitchhiker, but Star Wars III comes out two weeks later. Chicken Little could be a good move (more hype), but Harry Potter 4 Will be coming out a Week later and it could steal away alot of it's steam. The only reason to move cars back I could think of is Mr. Eisner is gone in the summer of 2006, meaning Disney and Pixar talks period could be lengthed by this for them to talk over the months between this summer when a successor is picked and until mr. E leaves. So maybe the cars move is a stall?

 

[speck76]

UPDATE 1-Pixar, Disney delay release of "Cars"
Tue Dec 7, 2004 06:38 PM ET
By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pixar Animation Studios Inc (PIXR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday said they would postpone the theatrical release of their animated feature "Cars" to June 2006 from November 2005.

Officials from both companies said the move was aimed at profiting from potentially stronger movie attendance by kids on summer break, but analysts said it may help buy Pixar more time to find a new distributor for its films.

"Cars," an animated road movie helmed by "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life" director John Lasseter, is the seventh and final film produced by the successful Disney-Pixar partnership.

Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday the schedule shift would also apply to films released after "Cars," meaning they will be released in theaters over the summer and on home video at the holidays.

Last month, Jobs said the company hoped to replicate its success with "Finding Nemo," a summer release that became the 12th highest grossing U.S. movie of all time.

Jobs' announcement in November that Pixar was considering the schedule change prompted Wall Street speculation that the company would postpone making a distribution deal planned for mid-2005.

Emeryville, California-based Pixar's distribution and production agreement with Disney is set to expire in 2005 with the delivery of "Cars."

Pixar now pays Disney 10 percent to 15 percent of revenues from the films, plus a 50-percent cut of profits. Jobs and outgoing Disney CEO Michael Eisner have publicly clashed over terms for a new deal.

Jobs admitted then that he wanted to see how the "musical chairs" affecting the heads of several major studios would turn out before committing to a new partner.

Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said on Tuesday that the two studios were not in talks over a new distribution pact.

"This is about moving a summer movie to summer," she said.

Analyst David Miller of Sanders Morris Harris said the shift shows Pixar needs more time to find a new partner.

"They're going to sugar-coat it and say, 'Well, this is going to play better in the summer,' but that's only a quarter of the story," Miller said.

The schedule shift also will mean that Pixar will have only the DVD release of "The Incredibles" on which to peg its financial performance in 2005.

Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Richard Greenfield called the move "not terribly surprising" but predicted it would pressure Pixar's stock price.

"We are surprised that Disney was interested in pushing out a very important part of its fiscal '06 earnings," Greenfield said.

Pixar shares were down 4 percent to $87.60 in after-hours trade on Inet from a $91.06 close on Nasdaq. Disney shares were down 4 percent to $26 on Inet from a $27.10 close on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

[Testtrack321]

It seems werid- now Disney has no Big "tent" pole for the Summer? I mean Hitchhiker, but Star Wars III comes out two weeks later. Chicken Little could be a good move (more hype), but Harry Potter 4 Will be coming out a Week later and it could steal away alot of it's steam. The only reason to move cars back I could think of is Mr. Eisner is gone in the summer of 2006, meaning Disney and Pixar talks period could be lengthed by this for them to talk over the months between this summer when a successor is picked and until mr. E leaves. So maybe the cars move is a stall?

The answer to all those questions you posed is 42.

 

[wdwmaniac]

42?

 

[Testtrack321]

42?

Look it up

 

[Indy95]

Oh come on! It's the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything!! Have you even read Hitchhiker's? Jeez!

Incidentally, it was also a bonus question to a math test I had last year, so that was ONE bonus point I actually earned!

And I don't think that ANYONE has to worry about that Fantastic Four movie. From what I've seen, it's going to be this year's "Daredevil."

 

[Legacy]

And I don't think that ANYONE has to worry about that Fantastic Four movie. From what I've seen, it's going to be this year's "Daredevil."

Hey, I liked Daredevil. Granted, the casting decisions could have been better, but the overall delivery was quite good.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

Hey, I liked Daredevil. Granted, the casting decisions could have been better, but the overall delivery was quite good.

I agree.


This decision seems weird and I'm disappointed I'll have to wait much more until Cars.

 

[disneymoc]

This decision seems weird and I'm disappointed I'll have to wait much more until Cars.

No dissapointment here. I am not looking forward to seeing Cars at all. After seeing the trailer before The Incredibles, it doesn't interest me in the least. And I loved the other Pixar films.

 

[speck76]

No dissapointment here. I am not looking forward to seeing Cars at all. After seeing the trailer before The Incredibles, it doesn't interest me in the least. And I loved the other Pixar films.

yeah....I was not very impressed.

 

[MouseRight]

From Motley Fool:

Lemon Laws
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)
December 8, 2004

If you were hoping for new model Cars to hit the showroom next fall, don't wait for a test drive. Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Pixar (Nasdaq: PIXR) announced that they would be delaying Pixar's next full-length animated feature by eight months to cash in on the potent summer crowd come 2006.

Cars is the last original flick due to Disney in a deal that finds the companies splitting the production costs as well as the profits. The move adds cruel buckets of sand to the hourglass that marks Pixar's eventual emancipation from a contract that it has long outgrown.

However, it shouldn't have come as a complete surprise. After trouncing its third-quarter profit targets last month, Pixar let a trial balloon fly during its conference call when it revealed that it was leaning toward a summer release schedule instead of its historical holiday season debuts. It pointed to the success of its lone summertime rollout -- Finding Nemo -- and hinted that its first post-Disney film was likely to be held back until the summer of 2007 over the more logical summer of 2006 release.

It has to be frustrating. With DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) having no problem loading up the multiplex with two computer-rendered films every year why should Pixar have a dry 2005?

Sure, a summer debut makes sense. It's a timely automotive release as families prepare to load into their own cars for road trip vacations. More importantly, it feeds the lucrative home video launch into the active holiday shopping season.

Yet with Pixar now having spaced its last few releases 18 months apart, will shareholders be annoyed that the throughput is happening three times faster at rival DreamWorks? Pixar has been a winning Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter recommendation, but how forgiving will investors be when Pixar eventually coughs up a dud and that hourglass trickles a year and a half of desert sand before the next bit of celluloid comes around?

You can't rush quality, and Pixar's track record -- an enviable six for six on the animated feature front -- vindicates the company's slow hand. But let's cut through the sugarcoated drivel. Five of those hits, including the current smash hit The Incredibles have had no problem with November introductions.

Pixar claims that it has not had any production delays, so why extend the breakup process? What does the extra time buy, beyond the possibility of upsetting Pixar's profit models in the near-term? It would be naive to expect that delaying the eventual separation may be the seed to an eventual reconciliation. Yet any budding conspiracy theorist would be nuts not to note that the extra time may allow Pixar to lend a hand to the controversial Toy Story 3 project or see if an agreeable face ultimately replaces CEO Michael Eisner at the helm in 2006.

What do you think Pixar should do? Why is the next film being delayed? If DreamWorks is putting out two new features a year, why can't Pixar? All this and more -- in the Pixar discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns all of the Pixar releases on DVD. Yes, he owns shares of Pixar too -- and Disney. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

 

[MouseRight]

This is pure speculation on my part. Although Pixar makes a good financial case for delaying Cars and thus setting the stage for future summer releases, I am betting that the lukewarm reception to the "Cars" trailer is the real reason this is happening. Sometime soon, when the dust setles, we will hear that the film is being reworked.

Anybody wanna take that bet?

 

[CTXRover]

I think there is more to this story then Steve Jobs wants us to know. Its almost as if he set it up perfectly a few weeks ago when he said he would rather Pixar's films be released in the summer. Then all of the sudden both Disney and Pixar announce that they have moved it with no problem, and Disney had no qualms about moving around the both Chicken Little and Cars after trailers with The Incredibles had announced that they would be released in the June and November, respectively?

[EDIT: The Chicken Little Trailer only said 2005 and no month so moving it was no big deal, but the Cars trailer did say specifically November 2005]

Movies often change release dates. Usually because a film is having trouble getting itself together. This rearranging gives Cars a lot more time, but also gives Disney 4 more months to work out any kinks left in Chicken Little (this baby HAS to perform well to save some face at Disney animation). However, I don't believe Disney made this decision without some pressure from Pixar's part.

There is a number of things that might be going on here. However, the truth of the matter is Pixar faces a huge hole in their planned schedule of releasing one film every year and their stockholders won't be leaping for joy that they will go 18 months with no new releases once again.

 

[CTXRover]

I personally wasn't amazed by the Cars teaser trailer. Its unfair to judge a film from a teaser trailer, but the animation I thought paled in comparison to Pixar's other works and I would have to say Chicken Little's trailer had a lot more buzz from the audience I was with then Cars' got. Perhaps there is trouble in paradise and the film needs more time. Mr. jobs denies that, so we'll throw that possibility out the window.

Another possibility is raised about problems finding a new suitor to distribute Pixar films or rather, I desire to stay with Disney. Here is an interesting quote from an Entertainment News article:

"At face value, what Pixar is trying to do is shift the schedule to accommodate the summer window rather than the fall," said David Miller, analyst at Sanders Morris Harris. "But that is only 10% of the story. Pixar needs more time to negotiate its new output deal post-'Cars' release."

Miller agreed that a summer release, accompanied by a holiday DVD release, provides the most profitable release pattern for a Pixar film.

But Pixar also has said that it wants a new agreement in place with a studio 18 months ahead of its first release after "Cars." Because Pixar had pencilled in its first film after "Cars" for a November 2006 bow, it would have needed a new deal set up by May. Now, with "Cars" set for summer 2006, Pixar's first post-"Cars" movie will probably not roll out before summer 2007, leaving Jobs plenty of time to strike a new deal.

According to Disney sources, the relationship between the two companies will not end until the release of "Cars," even if Pixar delivers the film to Disney next year, as originally planned.

So essentially, this buys Pixar and Jobs enough time to see WHO becomes the next CEO at Disney (expected to be announced around June 2005) and enough time to strike a new deal Disney. This is the scenario I'm assuming is more behind Pixar's real desire to move the Cars' release date.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

Well, I have my doubts about this summer release. Although it means more income, Pixar will also face MUCH more competition. I just don't know if they can handle it yet. Heck, Disney has 70+ years of experience and it still has summer flops.

And just a thought to any Pixar shareholders reading this; Is releasing 2 movies a year really more profitable? Sure, at first everything you'll throw at the public will become a hit but after a few years, it will become ordinary. These movies will be "just another flick". There will be hardly any time to make these perfect. I mean, yes they'll be good but why settle for good when they can be great?

I think putting out a new movie every 1-1.5 years is probably the best solution in the LONG run. Just my opinion...

 

[MouseRight]

I think putting out a new movie every 1-1.5 years is probably the best solution in the LONG run. Just my opinion...

From a creative standpoint, I agree. However, Pixar will not survive finanically and in Wall Street's eyes. I assume that the master plan for Pixar, has them expanding into other markets just like Walt did in the 50's and 60's(Broadcast TV Series, Cable Series, Special TV Events, etc). There has to be a smoothing out of revenues and profits for it to survive and by not competing in these other markets they are wasting opportunities both creatively and financially. Pixar (Jobs and other shareholders) will be exposed to a cataclysmic event if one of their yearly, or every 18 month, film release fails (they can't maintain a 1000 batting average over time).

I am betting that this 18 month strategy is only part of the overall strategy to build Pixar's business in other directions by freeing up cretaive talent and other resources.