‘Chicken Little’ flies high at box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Chicken Little,” the first fully
computer-animated movie produced by Walt Disney Co., exceeded
industry expectations by selling $40.1 million in tickets in
North American in its first three days of release, the company
said on Sunday.

Film industry observers had expected the new box office
champion to pass the $30 million mark, despite scathing
reviews.

The film is considered a key test of the ability of Disney,
whose fortunes were built on hand-drawn cartoons such as Bambi
and The Little Mermaid, to succeed in the world of computer
animation without help from the blockbusters made by its
production partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc.

Disney’s partnership with Pixar, in which it has shared box
office grosses of $3.2 billion since 1995 from movies like the
“Toy Story” series and “Finding Nemo,” expires next year.

The two companies are in talks to renew the pact, although
Pixar is pursuing a deal under which it would pay a flat fee
for distribution and keep the profits for itself, in much the
same way as George Lucas contracts with 20th Century Fox to
distribute his “Star Wars” films.

Under former Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner,
relations between Disney and Pixar deteriorated, but new Disney
CEO Robert Iger is working to restore harmony.

The project revolves around the age-old tale of a chicken
that thinks the sky is falling. In Disney’s adaptation, no one
believes the chicken (voiced by “Scrubs” star Zach Braff) when
he warns of a greater peril.

Critics were generally appalled by the movie, though
industry observers say bad reviews generally mean nothing to
parents looking to keep their children quiet for a few hours.