Narnia Fans » Walt Disney Pictures

Producer Mark Johnson Talks Narnia

Mike — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:43:16 +0000

Mark Johnson, producer on “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” “Prince Caspian,” and “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is featured in a brief entertainment news piece in the Calgary Sun.

Regarding the first two Narnia films, Johnson said, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe worked phenomenally well and Prince Caspian worked very well. It’s funny it’s seen in a different light (but it still made) just under half a billion dollars.”

Johnson also comments that he looks forward to working on “Dawn Treader,” due in theaters in December 2010. The full article is available at the Calgary Sun’s website. Scroll down to the heading that reads “Third Time Lucky?”

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Official Narnia Website Vanishes

Paul Martin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:43:26 +0000

It looks like Disney has taken down the official Narnia website, formerly available at Narnia.com. Perhaps they’re getting ready to transfer the domain to 20th Century Fox. Get ready, then, for an all-new Narnia.com, sometime this year.

I’ve always thought that it should be in the hands of Walden Media for this very reason. Walden Media holds the license on the series. However, Disney’s hosting capacity was probably much larger, being as big a company as they are.

John Burkitt points out who the owner of the Narnia.com domain is. It’s as I figured, the Lewis Estate owns it.

The domain belongs to:

C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd
1st Floor, Unit 4, Old Generator House
Bourne Valley Road
Poole, Dorset BH12 1DZ
GB

Prince Caspian DVD Sales Update

Mike — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:44:24 +0000

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” while not appearing in the top 30 weekly DVD sales since January, is nearing 5 million units sold.

According to The Numbers, PC has sold 4,798,916 copies through April 12, 2009. This figure does not include Blu-ray disc sales, and Amazon.com’s Blu-ray bundle (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian) is probably not included, either. While specific data is hard to come by, it is reasonable to assume PC has moved a total of five million discs between the two formats in the United States alone. International sales would move that figure even higher.

For those keeping tally, PC has generated over half a billion dollars in revenue from ticket sales ($419.6 million), DVD sales ($76.2 million in the United States), and television broadcasting rights (reportedly $15 million). Adding in revenue from iTunes downloads, international DVD sales, soundtrack sales, and other merchandise would move that figure higher also.

Is Disney back on Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Paul Martin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:43:18 +0000

Someone has posted on Wikipedia about a potential deal between Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures. It’s an uncited addition to the page, and my research into whomever it is that posted the data has turned up with nothing to verify the source.

On January 14, Disney renegotiated with Walden Media to produce the movie after coming to an agreement on the budget of the film.

I haven’t read that anywhere else, and when there’s no citation of the source, that’s where wikipedia falls short.

Take this news with a grain of salt until it is verified by a Press Release from either Disney or Walden Media. We’ll try to do some investigations of our own to see what we can dig up, in the meantime. It could be that this is a hoax.

UPDATE: A registered editor of Wikipedia has removed the statement. No citation came about, and the person that posted it was probably confusing this with Watchmen, where 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers came to terms regarding the release of Watchmen.

Why Fox Should Pick Up Narnia 3

brett — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:38:48 +0000

Walden Media is one of the few film companies out there today which consistently puts out quality family films (”Narnia,” City of Ember, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web), but unfortunately, few of their films have made enough money to warrant being called true successes. The first (and perhaps second) “Narnia” movie was box office gold, but Terabithia, Charlotte’s Web, and a few others make only moderate amounts of money and some Walden films are downright flops (City of Ember, The Seeker). Now, Disney in effect wants to cancel “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

The reason Walden Media refuses to let go of the Narnia franchise (the reason they are still looking to make The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) is because the Narnia movies are the only Walden films that have made blockbuster money. Only one non-Narnian Walden movie has grossed more than $100 million domestically and no non-Narnian Walden movies have made more than $225 million worldwide. Walden is afraid that, if they let go of Narnia, they will go under. This is very likely. They need Narnia because not only does it keep them afloat, but also because the Narnia series has massive potential to rake in the big bucks.

And 20th Century Fox may very well be willing to pick up the series. Fox’s number one movie this past year (Horton Hears a Who) made less than $300 million worldwide. Their number one for the previous year (The Simpsons Movie) made $527 million worldwide. Their number one for 2006 (X-Men: The Last Stand, which cost around $200 million between production and marketing) made $460 million worldwide. And all of these films were marketed appropriately and released on a date conducive for that sort of film making money. Prince Caspian, which we all will certainly agree was marketed poorly and given a bad release date, made very nearly what X3 did worldwide (and X3 was considered a huge success). The Voyage of the Dawn Treader will almost certainly make more than $460 million if it’s released in December 2010. The fact that the gross will probably be higher coupled with the fact that the production budget will be reduced to $140 million (which is less than X3’s production cost) leads me to believe that Fox might be interested.

Fox, unlike Disney, seems to be pleased with moderate successes and Narnia has the potential to be far more than moderately successful. If Fox picks up the option, it might just be a perfect fit, financially speaking. After all, the”X-Men” franchise can only go so much farther and “Star Wars” seems to be all over (at the cinema anyway). Fox, like Walden, needs (something like) Narnia. Even still, the distributor that potentially picks up the franchise has to be careful with Narnia, as it has to be made and marketed just right (not just for established Narnia fans, but for the general movie going public). But, given the right circumstances (which can mostly be controlled by the distributor), Fox and Narnia could work well for one another.

KingOfLostFaces.com

Disney jumps ship on next Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Paul Martin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:40:55 +0000

Wow, when I woke up today, on Christmas Eve, I did not expect to read this headline all over my inbox. I did notice an awful lot of stories with Narnia in the title, and as I started to look at them, the first one I noticed was this headline: Disney jumps ship on next “Narnia.” My heart sank. Disney has been so good to us, here at NarniaFans.com, that I was looking forward to working with them again on the next Narnia.

Here’s hoping that another studio takes the opportunity to pick up where Disney left off. Come on, Fox! Get on board, and do this series to the end! We’re rooting for you!

From Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter:

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” will have to sail without Disney.

The studio said Tuesday that for budgetary and logistical reasons it will not exercise its option to co-produce and co-finance the next “Narnia” movie with producer Walden Media.

The third entry in the series, based on the classic books by C.S. Lewis, was in preproduction and set for a spring shoot for a planned May 2010 release. The development puts the participation of the talent attached in doubt. Michael Apted was on board to direct a script by Steven Knight. The key players of the second installment, “Prince Caspian” — Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, William Moseley and Anna Popplewell — were to return for the third film.

It is rare for a studio to pull out of a planned trilogy in midstream, but the number-crunching showed a franchise on a downward trend. “Lion” roared to $745 million worldwide. This year, “Prince Caspian” grossed just $419 million.

Walden has a strong relationship with the Lewis estate and will shop “Treader” in hopes of finding a new partner. The most likely candidate at this stage is Fox, which markets and distributes Walden fare under the Fox Walden banner.

Any partnership on a “Narnia” movie will require a substantial investment. “Caspian,” which filmed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and New Zealand, cost $200 million. The first film, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” was shot mostly in New Zealand for $180 million.

Further challenging “Treader” may be a waning of the pricey children’s fantasy genre. When the “Harry Potter” series topped the book charts and then filled movie theaters, studios began snapping up fantasy manuscripts as quickly as they could. When “The Lord of the Rings” showed it was possible for adults to enjoy the fare as well — and produced the box-office results to prove it — Hollywood’s fascination with the genre intensified.

But no other fantasy adventure films have shown that kind of box office punch. Earlier this year, Warners and New Line hoped they were launching a franchise with “The Golden Compass,” but the adaptation of the Philip Pullman trilogy tanked domestically. The film grossed just $70 million domestically and the co-production partners declined to go forward with a second installment despite the fact the film did take in more than $300 million overseas.

Granted, Pullman’s series isn’t a household name, at least in the states… nor should it be. It’s no Lord of the Rings caliber writing, nor even Harry Potter. It’s certainly not Narnia. Studios have been trying to emulate Lord of the Rings, and for the most part, failing to do so. Why? Because The Lord of the Rings spent SEVEN YEARS in production before the first film was released. Five years of pre-production means the creative team is still as behind the film as the day they started, a year and a half of filming on all three parts of the movie, and a storyline that was compelling, leading to an ending as wonderful as the film that preceeded it.

With Narnia: there is a gold-mine as well… it’s a series where every book is different from the last, making for a series where people tend to find their favorite one. According to our latest poll, Dawn Treader is actually the second most popular book, followed by my favorite, The Last Battle. Exactly as I thought it would line up.

I feel that Dawn Treader can and will do better than Caspian. Especially under the trained eye of Michael Apted.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian on DVD and Blu-ray: Dec. 2

Paul Martin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:26:00 +0000

Return to the magical world of Narnia in the second installment of C.S. Lewis’ timeless epic, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, coming to market on December 2, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Packed with exclusive featurettes, interviews and deleted scenes, the entertainment title of the year is available on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def, as well as a special two-disc Collectors Edition perfect for holiday giving. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian packaging also includes a special DisneyFile, a digital copy of the movie that can be viewed on a variety of portable devices for the whole family to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

From the creators of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian features even more groundbreaking special effects and breathtaking action than its predecessor. William Moseley, Georgie Henley, Anna Popplewell and Skandar Keynes return as Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, the Pevensie siblings, along with Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (1993 nominee for Best Actor, Schindler’s List) as Aslan the Lion and Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton (2008 winner for Best Supporting Actress, Michael Clayton) as the White Witch. They are joined by Ben Barnes (Stardust) as Caspian, heir to the Narnian throne, with Sergio Castellitto (Arthur and the Invisibles), Eddie Izzard (FX: The Riches), Warwick Davis (the Harry Potter films) and Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) appearing as new residents of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is fantasy adventure that will delight the entire family.

Lewis’ seven-book Chronicles of Narnia series is regarded as one of literature’s most enduring classics, selling over 100,000,000 copies in more than 35 languages, making it the second biggest book series the world over.

In The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children face a perilous mission and a greater test of their faith and courage. They find a world in which 1,300 years have passed. The White Witch is gone, the realm is ruled by a cruel tyrant and Aslan has been missing for over a thousand years.

The four children embark on a remarkable journey to restore magic and glory to the land. Accompanied by Trumpkin, a valiant dwarf, Reepicheep the talking mouse and a suspicious Black Dwarf named Nikabrik, they raise an army of Narnians to rise up against the evil king Miraz.

BONUS FEATURES:

DVD

• Special audio commentary by director and actors

Collector’s Edition DVD

All of the above, plus:

• Special audio commentary by director and actors, a behind-the-scenes interview with the cast and crew, a tour of the film’s locations and sets, inside view of the technology and production behind the movie, bloopers, deleted scenes and much, much more!

Blu-ray Hi-Def Exclusives

All of the above, plus:

• Enhanced Disney’s BD-Live Network exclusives, interactive Narnia game, downloadable features and much, much more!

• Circle-Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid – Walt Disney’s famous Imagineers introduced the world to Circle-Vision in the 50’s and 60’s, which immersed Disneyland visitors in 360-degree film tours of America, and later, China and Canada. Now, through HDRI camera technology and the rapidly-evolving interactive capabilities of Blu-ray, the Disney team has taken the first step towards advancing this unique and memorable experience. Only on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN on Blu-ray Disc can fans take a 360-degree look behind the scenes of the castle raid sequence and get unique access to the secrets of how this latest adventure to Narnia was pulled off. It’s all a part of CIRCLE-VISION INTERACTIVE: CREATING THE CASTLE RAID. First, start off in the CIRCLE-VISION preview lobby, and choose to get a private tour of the castle raid from Director Andrew Adamson, Producer Mark Johnson, or a number of other key filmmakers and artists who brought the latest adventure to NARNIA to life. Then, select one of the exclusive CIRCLE-VISION experiences to be virtually transported to the set in the Czech Republic. The moment you enter these panoramic worlds, you will be able to turn in any direction, and fully-explore how this compelling sequence was painstakingly created. Discover a myriad of progression reels, developmental animatics, 13 audio commentaries, pop-up facts, slide shows, and a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes footage with cast and crew that is revealing, interesting, compelling, funny and exclusively accessed through this new-reimagining of a classic idea. It’s all a part of CIRCLE-VISION INTERACTIVE: CREATING THE CASTLE RAID, only on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN on Blu-ray Disc.

The DVD of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian has a suggested retail price of $29.99 (U.S.) and $35.99 (Canada). The Two Disc Collector’s Edition is $39.99 (U.S.) and $46.99 (Canada). The Blu-ray disc is priced at $35.99 (U.S.) and $45.99 (Canada).

Disney Launches New Narnia-related Educational Tools

Paul Martin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:33:00 +0000

A new series of accredited educational programming is now available on DVD from Disney Educational Productions, a division of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

The series, “The Science of Disney Imagineering,” has four titles to help students learn about Trajectory, Gravity, Levers and Pulleys. The lessons demonstrate how these scientific principles apply to thrill rides, roller coasters and other amusement park attractions.

Additional educational products include two new literacy programs based on the C.S. Lewis books The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

All titles are $49.95 and are available at disneyeducation.com as well as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.

Prince Caspian on DVD and Blu-ray Disc this December?

Paul Martin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:59:00 +0000

According to Ultimate Disney, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is expected to come to Disney DVD and Disney Blu-ray Disc this December. No official word has been released yet, but it is very early information.

There’s no word, either, on any potential features for the disc. We do know that there are some deleted scenes that didn’t make the final cut. One in particular that the writers were happy was cut out of the final version of the film.

Disney’s Iger: ‘Narnia’ falls victim to crowded field

Paul Martin — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:39:00 +0000

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.

Iger says this latest installment is a better film than the first in the series, “The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which debuted during the 2006 Christmas season. That film went on to make $744.8 million worldwide on a production budget of $180 million.

But the first “Narnia” film benefited from more favorable scheduling. “Prince Caspian” was sandwiched between two high-profile releases from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures unit — “Iron Man,” with $487.8 million in worldwide returns since its May 2 debut, and eagerly awaited “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The latter film was released Thursday and has made roughly $300 million worldwide thus far.

Read the rest at Marketwatch

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Narnia Fans » Walt Disney Pictures

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