DreamWorks' Forgotten Island Drops Nearly 580 Theaters Ahead of PVOD Debut

Set to debut on the PVOD market this coming week, alongside the psychological thriller Verity and the sci-fi flop The Dog Stars, a new DreamWorks animated film is facing a further reduction in its theater count. The movie has performed disappointingly in its theatrical run and has been unable to recoup its reported $80 million budget. Under the traditional 50-50 revenue split between theaters and studios, the film needed to gross more than $160 million worldwide to break even. But that is virtually impossible at this stage. In recent years, the animation industry has cut spending by a significant percentage, with more cuts expected as artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace. This has produced a feast-or-famine landscape for what was previously a dependable market for animated movies.

Earlier this year, Minions & Monsters finished with just over $500 million worldwide against a reported budget of $80 million. While that is a solid result, it is a fraction of what the five previous installments of the Despicable Me franchise grossed. Two of those movies topped the $1 billion mark worldwide, while three others grossed more than $900 million globally. Minions & Monsters was the franchise's lowest-grossing entry since the first Despicable Me movie, released more than 15 years ago. Two other animated hits this year — The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Toy Story 5 — each managed to gross more than $1 billion worldwide. By contrast, Pixar's Hoppers grossed under $400 million worldwide, while Sony's Goat ended its run with less than $200 million worldwide.

Here's How Much the DreamWorks Movie Has Grossed So Far

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This week sees the release of Laika's stop-motion fantasy film Wildwood, which is projected to deliver a soft opening. To make way for it, Universal is pulling Forgotten Island from nearly 580 theaters. The movie, which pays tribute to Filipino culture, opened in more than 3,500 theaters but will enter its fifth week of release in around 1,500 theaters. Forgotten Island has grossed roughly $65 million so far at the worldwide box office, against a reported budget of $80 million. Despite its disappointing box-office performance, the movie received excellent reviews. It now sits at a "Certified Fresh" 95% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "A candy-colored ode to friendship and Filipino folklore, Forgotten Island bursts at the seams with imagination while never losing sight of the compelling relationship at its core."