No More Narnia for Disney

The LA Times reports that Disney has pulled out of its partnership with Walden Media on financing the third film of the franchise because of "budgetary considerations and other logistics," a Disney spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
The two companies co-financed The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, which went on to gross $745 million worldwide, making for a very lucrative start to a franchise. However, it's sequel Prince Caspian didn't fair as well, making $420 million worldwide. That might seem like a lot of money, but keep in mind that these movies cost in the $180 to $200 million range, and that Disney keeps %50 of the profits. So I'm guessing there wasn't really much to profit in the later case. The third film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, scheduled for 2010, is said to cost less than Prince Caspian. However, Disney doesn't want to take that chance, especially since they are expecting it to go over budget when shooting begins. We'll see if Walden Media gets another company on board to keep their hopes for a continuing franchise still alive.