Mar 13, 2017

The Weinstein Company announced the release of Leap!'

The Weinstein Company has released a full English-language trailer for Leap!, due April 21 in U.S. theaters.

The original title of this France/Canada co-production, directed by Eric Summer and Eric Warin, is Ballerina, and the film has been distributed under that name in nearly all international territories. The reasons for the U.S. title change are unstated, but the trailer gives a pretty clear indication why: the Weinstein Co. did not want to sell this as entertainment strictly for girls.

Leap! is set up by the Weinstein Co. as the adventure of a girl and boy in fin de siècle Paris. Compare that to the original French teaser, which clearly set up the girl who aspires to become a ballerina as the star of the film.

Budgeted at around US$30 million, French film studio Gaumont co-produced Leap! with Quad Productions and Caramel Film. The film marks the first animated feature for Quad producers Laurent Zeitoun, Yann Zenou, and Nicolas Duval, who were responsible for the 2011 French blockbuster Intouchables, which became France's second-highest grossing homegrown film of all-time.

L'Atelier Animation in Montreal, Canada handled animation production, working from a screenplay by Zeitoun, Carole Noble, and co-director Eric Summer, the latter of whom came up with the concept for the film. (L'Atelier and producers Zeitoun and Zenou are currently working with former Dreawmorks animator Rodolphe Guenoden on their next feature, The Bravest.)

Ballerina has grossed nearly $50 million worldwide, including $13 million in France, where it was released last December. Last month, the film reached no. 1 at Spain's box office and has grossed over $6.6 million to date in that country.

The Weinstein Company had originally scheduled the film's release for March 3 before pushing it back to April. Their last major animation pick-up, the Argentine hit Underdogs by Juan José Campanella, had a repeatedly-delayed theatrical release, before it was distributed straight to DVD and on-demand.