Much to the disappointment of Disney and animation fans everywhere, Disney recently announced that the 3D re-release of their classic animated musical, The Little Mermaid, has been cancelled. The movie was scheduled for a September 2013 release to celebrate the Diamond Edition Blu-ray/DVD release in October.
Sadly, the move makes sense, since Disney’s recent 3D re-issues haven’t been faring too well at the box office. Although The Lion King 3D was a big hit, grossing nearly $100 million domestically, others like Beauty and the Beast and most recently, Monsters, Inc 3D. haven’t performed as well. Apparently this also represents people’s changing tastes. The novelty of 3D is wearing off quickly and audiences can’t be forced to part with their money for a movie they’ve seen so many times before- no matter how classic the movie is.
Here’s a look at how Disney’s 3D re-releases have fared (US domestic gross):
- Toy Story/Toy Story 2: $30 million
- The Lion King: $94 million
- Beauty and the Beast: $47 million
- Finding Nemo: $41 million
- Monsters, Inc.: $30 million
While these numbers aren’t that bad, trust Disney to be disappointed with their results. Besides, it clearly wasn’t the best idea to bring Monsters, Inc 3D forward to compete against major releases like The Hobbit and Les Miserables.
What are your thoughts on the cancellation of The Little Mermaid 3D? Will you miss the movie or are you glad that 3D re-releases are being done away with?
[UPDATE 2/6/13, 12:49 pm MST] Our fan, Faisal, informed us that many Disney employees who were working on the 3D Mermaid project are currently still working on the conversion. According to a compilation of Disney employee tweets on the subject, the cancellation of the 3D was blown out of proportion by media outlets and the theatrical release is being pushed back to an undecided date. So never fear, Ariel lovers! You still may see this Disney classic on the big screen yet! While this isn’t an official confirmation, if true, then the Blu-ray will most likely also be released with a 3D disc in October.
