Disney is shuttering Blue Sky Studios, the $5.9 billion global-grossing former 20th Century Fox animation division that during its run churned out 13 feature films.
The last day for Blue Sky will be in April. The number of Blue Sky employees being impacted numbers 450. Disney will be working with the employees at the Greenwich.
A studio spokesperson said “Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios.”
The Blue Sky’s library and IP will remain part of Disney, and I hear there are no plans for another major studio to absorb Blue Sky’s employees and operations. A series based on Blue Sky’s Ice Age characters is already in the works for Disney+. Through five movies, the Ice Age series grossed $3.2 billion at the global box office.