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'Chicken Little' reviews spark few B.O. concerns

Posted on: Saturday, 5 November 2005, 04:37 CST

By Gina Keating and Doris Frankel

LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO (Reuters) - The debut on Friday of "Chicken Little," the first fully computer-animated movie by the Walt Disney Co., was greeted on Friday with mixed reviews that industry experts said would not affect the younger audiences the film is aimed at.

Stock options trading, however, was active for Pixar Animation Studios Inc. showing a range of speculation about how the performance of "Chicken Little" would affect ongoing Disney/Pixar talks over a new film distribution pact.

Disney's partnership with Pixar, in which it has shared box office grosses of $3.2 billion since 1995 from movies like "Finding Nemo," expires next year. Pixar wants to pay its new distributor a flat fee instead of sharing profits.

Industry watchers believe it is crucial for Disney to show that it can compete in computer animation on its own without relying on Pixar's blockbusters to shore up the Disney brand name in the film animation arena it once dominated.

"Chicken Little" reviews ranged from "a consistently amusing, often inspired family romp" in The Hollywood Reporter to "a terrible movie" in The New York Times.

Still, industry analysts expect the movie to take in $30 million to $35 million in ticket sales during its first weekend, and one said the film must reach $200 million at North American box offices to be considered a hit for Disney.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co Inc, said the lukewarm response was unlikely to have any effect on the film's first weekend.

"The target audience doesn't read reviews and, moreover, they don't care," he said. "If a child is aware of this movie opening and a parent reads a poor review and the kid still wants to go, they are going to see the movie."

FUTURE PERFORMANCE

Brandon Gray, president and publisher of online box office tracking service Box Office Mojo, said the second weekend was more likely to show the film's true potential.

"There are plenty of animated features in the past that have done well that have been critically reviled."

One of those films was DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "Shark Tale," which was released in October 2004 and was met by reviews that slammed it. The New York Post critic described it as "about as appealing as a two-week-old helping of sushi."

But the film went on to gross $367 million worldwide, and to become this year's second-best selling DVD.

Wall Street also seems unsure of how to gauge the effect of "Chicken Little."

Disney shares closed down only 0.36 percent at $24.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Pixar's options, which gauge future sentiment, saw a three-fold increase in volume but no clear direction on the stock price, said Stacey Briere, chief options analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group.

Jon Najarian, co-founder of financial-information Web site insideoptions.com, said the critical reception of "Chicken Little" appeared to have spurred "strong buying" in calls that give the right to buy Pixar at $60 per share by January.

"Today's launch of 'Chicken Little' looks like a stinker, but time will tell," he said.

Pixar's shares rose 3 percent to $54.11 on the Nasdaq.

Reuters/VNU

Source: REUTERS

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