Disney's No Chicken

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How strange does it feel to write about Disney (NYSE: DIS) having an animated hit on its hands this side of the millennium? Usually it's DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) or Disney's partner Pixar (Nasdaq: PIXR) that's harnessing the computer rendering skills to win over theater audiences. But this time, Disney really does have a hit with Chicken Little.

Even after last week's healthy box office debut, I was skeptical. The film had generated $40.1 million in domestic ticket sales, and I figured that would put it on a pace to ultimately wow the multiplex to the tune of $100 million to $120 million.

Why was I aiming so low? A few reasons. The company had received mixed reviews, leading me to believe that there would be a significant drop off at the box office after its big screen debut gave time for unflattering word of mouth to get around. The film also runs a paltry 81 minutes. That means that theaters are able to run it more often, and I assumed that the excess supply would force it into earlier retirement. Another worrisome long shot was the widespread media coverage of the bird flu epidemic. Would a "sky is falling" chicken be considered a sympathetic character with pandemic fears creeping about? Even Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) executives were pondering a sharp drop in sales at KFC if the avian flu story gained traction in our country.

So while $40.1 million the previous weekend didn't floor me, I have to tell you that I was thrown for a loop to see the movie generate $32 million in ticket receipts this past weekend. Movies typically lose far more than 20% of their audiences the second week around. Sure, Warner Bros., a division of TimeWarner (NYSE: TWX), will be raining on Chicken Little's parade come Friday with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. That's fine. You can't stay on top forever. But it's clear now that the company will close out its theatrical run with more than $120 million in ticket sales.

It's great to see Disney saved by the same animation studio that it had been hell-bent on dismantling in recent years, just when it needed it the most.

At the house of Disney, the sky isn't falling. It's just a little yellow at the moment.

Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, and Time Warner are active Stock Advisor recommendations.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz even saw a Chicken Little character walking around, taking pictures, at Walt Disney World last month. He owns shares in Disney and Pixar. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.