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[FoneBone]

It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the quality of the movie, though.

The press release:

Disney and Pixar Steer Cars to Summer 2006 Release

BURBANK & EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2004--Walt Disney Pictures (NYSEIS) and Pixar Animation Studios (NasdaqIXR) today announced that they are moving the release date of Pixar's upcoming animated feature film, Cars, to June 9, 2006. Release dates for major international territories have also been set for summer 2006 - France on July 12, Germany and Switzerland on July 13, the UK and Spain on July 14, Japan on July 15 and Italy on September 1.


Commenting on the announcement, Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said, "The move from November 2005 to June 2006 makes perfect sense. Cars is the quintessential summer film for audiences of all ages. It has a fantastic story full of action, adventure, comedy, heartfelt emotion with cutting edge animation and incredible voice talent." Cook continued, "In the vein of Finding Nemo, we feel the movie will have legs throughout summer and beyond."

"Cars longs to be a summer movie, said Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. "We plan to finish Cars on its original schedule, and look forward to Cars and our future films benefiting by summer theatrical releases and holiday DVD releases."

Cars, the seventh animated feature film to be created by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, is directed by Pixar's two-time Academy Award(R)-winner John Lasseter, who directed Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Toy Story 2. A high-octane adventure comedy, Cars features the voice talents of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt, and has a wide assortment of cars as characters who get their kicks on Route 66. Cars is produced by Darla K. Anderson (A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc.). Cars will be the final original film produced under Disney and Pixar's highly successful partnership.

http://www.reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=7021882

Pixar, Disney Delay Release of 'Cars'
Tue Dec 7, 2004 06:40 PM ET

By Gina Keating
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co and Pixar Animation Studios Inc 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.

Meanwhile, Chicken Little has apparently been moved into Cars' former slot:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=changes&p=.htm

 

[Dan]

It'll push back some good financial news for Pixar, but really, their deadline for getting a new distribution deal will still be around the end of '06 since marketing and planning for Ratatouille's summer '07 rollout will have to begin.

There are so many other bigger variables in Pixar's hunt for a new deal than when or whether it has immediate positive finances to show around.

EDIT: Just saw that Chicken Little was pushed back. Now that is very interesting considering many people are already worried that it's being overexposed and overhyped. I wonder if Disney will tone down the marketing a bit with the delay or what. Disney's going to have a lot of weight at the end of the year with this and Chronicles of Narnia.

 

[kumanoki]

Cars is still a bad idea.

 

[MASB]

EDIT: Just saw that Chicken Little was pushed back. Now that is very interesting considering many people are already worried that it's being overexposed and overhyped. I wonder if Disney will tone down the marketing a bit with the delay or what. Disney's going to have a lot of weight at the end of the year with this and Chronicles of Narnia.

The movie probably needed the delay. I saw a preview of it in the theater and it looked good, but I think overhyping is a real possibility. Cars defintely needed a delay if the trailer is anything to go by. (though it probably wasn't).

BTW, summer 2006 puts this into the time period when Eisner is supposed to step down. I wonder if this is any indication that Pixar is waiting till he leaves and then signs a new deal with Disney?

 

[Dan]

The movie probably needed the delay. I saw a preview of it in the theater and it looked good, but I think overhyping is a real possibility. Cars defintely needed a delay if the trailer is anything to go by. (though it probably wasn't).

BTW, summer 2006 puts this into the time period when Eisner is supposed to step down. I wonder if this is any indication that Pixar is waiting till he leaves and then signs a new deal with Disney?

1. The release says that Cars will still be finished on schedule, so it's not being worked on more than already planned.

2. Additionally, it seems unclear whether Chicken Little will be receiving any extra time in development. Besides, just under 4 extra months at the tailend of production on a CG animated film doesn't necessarily allow much fiddling. Certainly won't do any harm though.

3. The release date of Cars really doesn't have anything to do with Eisner stepping down though. Since Ratatouille has a firm date for release in summer '07, that's the only date that really matters for when Pixar needs a deal. Cars could come out tomorrow or 18 months from now, it wouldn't change.

4. A new deal with Disney is going to be completely dependent on who is selected as the new CEO, which is a vast mystery for now. Eisner may 'leave' (he plans on to remain very active on the Disney Board...) but he still has a lot of strong followers on the Board, along with Iger who is the sole current Disney employee being considered. Plus, Jobs is going to have to demonstrate a willingness to compromise eventually, and thus far he has refused to do so, at least publicly.

5. Furthermore, the new CEO will be named this June, so the game was going to be put into motion before Cars came out even before this delay. Of course, Eisner doesn't plan to officially leave the position until the end of 2006 too, although he could conceivably leave far earlier.

6. It's hard to say who really initiated this move based on the press release. Steve Jobs speaks positively about it, and for good reason obviously since he previously announced Pixar would move to a summer schedule because it yields more revenue. That said, Disney is in charge of distribution so they've got the final say. Of course, I think everyone would agree that Cars would fit better in the summer season anyway, so no one really loses here. Should be a win-win for both parties, so it doesn't really provide an indication of plans for a better future relationship on either side. It's just the best business sense you can have with the current deal. I suppose though that any friendly business at this point is a positive for their future relationship.

 

[Chipopo]

Disney's Chronicles of Narnia.

Woah. Where can I get information on this? CG?

 

[Dan]

Woah. Where can I get information on this? CG?

Well, there's actually a thread about a set visit on the board's first page right now. As for more info, well, it's live-action with obviously a lot of CGI for the creatures and stuff. It's definitely one of Disney's big planned franchises. If I recall right, they bought a massive ad in the New York Times to announce the deal for the license. But anyway, it's going to be Disney's LOTR or perhaps Harry Potter, or at least that seems to be the general theme. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is out December 9th, 2005. Scripts are being worked on for at least one of the other novels if the first turns out successful.

 

[Chipopo]

Haha, completely missed the thread on the first page. It certainly has a nice ring to it, hope it's worthy.

 

[FoneBone]

If I recall right, they bought a massive ad in the New York Times to announce the deal for the license.

It wasn't just the Times - it was a lot of papers across the major markets. And "coincidentally," this was just before the company's big shareholder meeting when the no-confidence vote against Eisner was held.

 

[Dan]

Right, when I voted no to all but one of the board members

Disney used Narnia and their acquisition of the Muppets to counter a lot of bad news early this spring. They're quite clever.