Aug 9, 2024

Warner Bros. to Close Genndy Tartakovsky's "Fixed"

Warner Bros. is canceling the release of Genndy Tartakovsky's hand-drawn 2D film "The Fix," according to a report in the newsletter Puck. The adult comedy follows the wild last days of a dog before he is neutered.

According to Puck's Matthew Belloni:

The project, a co-production between Warners' New Line and Sony Pictures, was completed last year and featured a voice cast that included Adam Devine and Kathryn Hahn. Warners, however, decided against releasing the film. Instead, it returned the film to Sony, which is trying to sell it to a streaming distributor or another distributor. Without a buyer, "The Fix" will probably suffer the same fate as "Batgirl" and "Coyote vs. Acme."

As Belloni noted, the film was completed last year, with October 2023 being the date we have heard. Although produced by Sony Pictures Animation, it was made in partnership with and financed by Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema, which New Line Cinema has been a part of WBD CEO David Zaslav's dubious (and possibly illegal) money-saving scheme. As part of the deal, they appear to have backed out of the deal.

Distribution rights have since reverted to Sony Pictures Animation, but the company appears to have no interest in releasing the film itself and is currently exploring other distribution options.

The demise of The Fix at Warner Bros. marks the third fully completed animated film the studio has chosen not to release, following Scub! Holiday Haunt and Warner Animation Group's hybrid Coyote vs. Acme," and the third completely unfinished animated film following "Holiday Haunt" and Warner Animation Group's hybrid "Coyote vs. The failure of a Hollywood studio to consistently produce and release an animated feature film is completely unprecedented in history.

But the reality is that if WBD can't make money on "The Fix," it is unlikely to make money on any other animated film. Tartakovsky's latest project had many factors working in its favor, including the fact that it was a cost-saving, low-risk production. I am told that the budget was around $30 million, which is a pittance by U.S. feature animation standards and much easier to recoup than a big-budget film. Second, it is the work of a highly regarded bankable director whose three films in the "Hotel Transylvania" series have grossed over $1.36 billion at the box office. Tartakovsky has been working on some of WB's most original contemporary dramas for decades, including "Dexter's Laboratory," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," and "Samurai Jack," not to mention "Primal," which is currently in production.

Warner Bros. currently has one other animated feature film scheduled for release this year: the Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim, due out December 13 from New Line Cinema. No one knows if it will be released.