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'Chicken Little' flies high at box office

Posted on: Sunday, 6 November 2005, 12:47 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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