Netflix has come to the rescue of the abandoned animated feature “The Little Prince.”
Based on the famous French children's book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the film was set to be released by Paramount in the US on March 18, but in a shocking move, the studio pulled it a week before its opening.
The streaming giant has now bought the domestic rights to the movie and will release it later this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“The Little Prince” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May and has earned close to $80 million internationally, via Paramount's international distribution arm. The studio has not explained publicly why it decided not to release the film domestically.
The decision was a bit puzzling, given the previous animated movie Paramount released was Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa," which has only taken in $2.6 million in box office. Given how "The Little Prince" did overseas, and its critical reception at Cannes, it would have likely made considerably more than "Anomalisa" here in the States.
"The Little Prince" combines 3D animation and stop-motion and has an all-star cast lending their voices, including Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, and Benicio del Toro.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.
