The lion, the witch and the wardrobe crew has just been dumped by Disney. The Magic Kingdom has decided not to co-produce and distribute the third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia,The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. As a result, Walden Media, the production company that gave the C.S. Lewis adaptations life, needs to find a new partner for the big-screen franchise to continue.
Apparently, Disney dumped the film due to “budgetary and logistical reasons,” though reps for both declined to comment beyond that. Since the estimated budget for the third installment was a whopping $200 million, though it wasn’t certain if it would hit it big at the box office, Disney went the safe route.
While the first film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, grossed $292 million domestically and an additional $453 million overseas, the second part Prince Caspian only came to $141 million and $278 million, respectively. And from the ticket sales of kid-friendly films recently, just like The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Golden Compass, Disney made a good call.
Besides, you can’t compare the following of Harry Potter with any other kid-geared films. Do you think the third installment will be a box-office ala Harry Potter or Twilight?
