Canceling production on a stop-motion animated feature directed by Henry Selick will cost the Walt Disney Co. a $50 million write down on its quarterly report. According to the Los Angeles Times, the studio announced the write down to investors Thursday at a conference in Beverly Hills.
Selick is best known for directing the stop-motion features Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Coraline, made by Laika and released in 2009, was a critical and commercial hit. However, Selick left Laika — which went on to make the recent ParaNorman — and returned to Disney to work on as-yet untitled project.
The Times says Selick’s movie had been in production for about a year when studio chairman Alan Horn canceled it in August.
Brighter spots for Disney included the success of its Cars Land attractions at the California Adventure park, the global expansion of Disney Channel and expected strong consumer products sales based on the success of the Pixar animated movie Brave and Marvel’s Avengers, the Times reports.
