Walt Disney: ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ Sales Disappoint
A highly competitive film season is weighing on the returns of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger said at an analyst conference Wednesday.
Speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Iger said the second installment in the Narnia series is not doing as well as the first, nor as well as Disney officials had hoped.
Iger pointed out that the movie business is a crowded field, and the marketplace can’t always accommodate all the releases that a studio puts out.
“I think there are too many movies being released in the marketplace,” Iger said, later adding, “It’s a very delicate, very fragile marketplace.”
Prince Caspian was released May 16 and has made an estimated $146 million in worldwide receipts thus far. But the movie’s production costs are estimated at $200 million. In order to turn a profit in theaters alone, Prince Caspian would have to make roughly $500 million worldwide when marketing costs are included. The film is expected to have a home video life, however. Read the rest of this entry
‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ Set For Box Office Crown
Two weeks after “Iron Man” opened to $99 million at the North American box office, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” will likely earn almost as much this weekend.
Industry observers expect the fantasy sequel will gross $85 million or more during the three-day period beginning Friday. Its 2005 predecessor, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” opened to $65.6 million, and finished with $292 million.
The Disney release has been scoring high in prerelease surveys for must-see sentiment among all demographics and has drawn solid early reviews from critics.
The second book in a 1950s children’s literature series written by the theologically rooted C.S. Lewis, the sequel features a more adult central character via the title role, played by Ben Barnes (”Stardust“). Both films were directed by Andrew Adamson.
Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said:
“This is the quintessential general-audience film — moms and dads, families, date-pic couples, teens by themselves — this plays to everybody”.
Walden Media, a family-friendly production company owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, is a co-financer and equity partner on the film, which totes production costs of nearly $200 million.
After two weekends at No. 1, “Iron Man” will pass the $200 million mark. As of Wednesday, the Paramount and Marvel superhero saga had earned $188 million.
But the Warner Bros. dud “Speed Racer” will likely crash again, a week after the costly adventure opened at No. 3 with just $18.6 million.
‘Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ to premiere at O2 arena
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will debut at a record-breaking premiere in London, the BBC reports.
The film will get its first showing at the O2 arena in front of an audience of 10,000.
A giant cinema screen will be installed at the venue, making the Disney film’s premiere the “biggest single screen, shared audience experience ever”.
Based on the book by C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian is the second entry in Disney’s Narnia franchise following 2005’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Liam Neeson and Tilda Swinton reprise their roles from the first film while newcomer Ben Barnes plays the titular Prince.
Tickets for the premiere go on sale from tomorrow (May 9) with a portion of the money raised being donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
