It was a decision that was filled with risks, and Disney are admitting that The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian may have been released at a time that was too competitive. Released May 16, 2008, two weeks after Iron Man and a week before Memorial Day and the subsequent release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the sequel to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was always going to face a tough road.
According to THR, Disney CEO Robert Iger, speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York last Wednesday, said that Prince Caspian is a better movie than the first installment, but as a result of its release date, audiences are overlooking it.
Disney made the choice to delay the film until May due to the release of Sony Pictures The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep during the Christmas holidays, their original aim for Prince Caspian. The sequel to a movie that featured a cameo from Father Christmas, Prince Caspian seemed a perfect choice for a Christmas holiday opening. Competing with The Water Horse probably would have seen it come out on top, especially considering the fan base Narnia has behind it.
It gets worse for Disney, when you compare the amount that The Water Horse made ($102.6 million), to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe‘s $744.8 million during its run. Sadly, due to its untimely release — which not only saw it go up against Iron Man and Indy 4 and now Sex and the City, Prince Caspian has only managed to take in an estimated $115.6 million.
Hopefully Disney will learn from their mistakes for future releases, in particular the May 7, 2010 release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. With any luck, that movie will move to a December 2009 release date!
I was surprised they released it in May. Winter time seems like a better release date for these films.
Comment by Jerry — June 2, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
“According to THR, Disney CEO Robert Iger, speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York last Wednesday, said that Prince Caspian is a better movie than the first installment, but as a result of its release date, audiences are overlooking it.”
I don’t know if this was actually his opinion or marketing-speak, but the second installment was awful. Not only did it basically have no plot (I haven’t read the book to compare), but it was obnoxiously jesus-oriented. I could detect the somewhat religious symbolism in the first, but at least it was universal. This one was not even close to what the first was.
Comment by Hunter — June 4, 2008 @ 5:01 pm
The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian was released at a good time in my opinion. Prince Caspian was way better than the first movie, like lightyears better. The book was a peice of crap, but the Disney version of the story is fantastic. The actor that plays Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is really hot, and the character is great. The movie was released at a good time, no matter what the Walt Disney company said, or what the Walden Media people said, or what the Chronicles of Narnia fans said. Prince Caspin is one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen followed by Spiderman 3, The lion king 2, and Harry Potter 4. A summer blockbuster is exactly what this film needed to be, and it was.
Comment by Amber Watson — January 1, 2009 @ 12:38 am