Remember, remember the 5th of November... or whatever the first weekend of November might be, anyway. Studios certainly remember it these days, as seven years ago Disney started a tradition that, for better or worse, has become a release schedule staple.
Movie studios are always on the lookout for the perfect movie formula and the perfect time of year to release them. The first weekend in November has become one of those formulaic events that executives have come to rely on. For the last seven years it's been a key date for sneaking in one last non-holiday related animated movie. Maybe they figure everyone needs some comic relief from all those Halloween horror flicks.
Whatever the reasons, Disney started the tradition back in 2001 with its distribution of Monsters, Inc.. Every first weekend in November since then, except one, has featured an animated movie. Up through 2005 Disney was the one capitalizing on the weekend and it seemed to work pretty well for them. Monsters, Inc. (2001), Chicken Little (2004) and The Incredibles(2005) all opened in the number one spot and Brother Bear (2003) opened at a very close second.
Then in 2006 the torch was taken up by Dreamworks with slightly less impressive results. Last November Flushed Away came in third place behind Borat and The Santa Clause 3. This year Dreamwork's Bee Movie bumbled into second place behind American Gangster. Neither CG movie made as much money on its first weekend as any of the November CG movies distributed by Disney.
While it might appear that November is loosing its luster for animated movies, the down turn is more likely due to Dreamworks' movies not being as attractive as the ones Pixar and Disney churn out. Most studios know better than to put anything up against a Pixar movie - it's usually box office suicide. DreamWorks however, has only had that kind of success with Shrek.
Next year DreamWorks is going to have its third go at the first November weekend. Their sequel Madagascar: The Crate Escape is due out November, 2008. Unfortunately the next James Bond movie is also due out that weekend, meaning there's a good chance DreamWorks will miss out on the number one spot yet again.
