Disney is shutting down Blue Sky Studios, a studio it had acquired after buying 20th Century Studios in 2019.
The studio is best known for producing a string of animated feature films, including the highly popular "Ice Age" franchise.
Disney said that the studio will officially be shut down in April. The company said that about 450 employees working at the studio will be impacted. Disney said that it will work to find open positions for the affected employees at its other internal studios.
"Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios," a Disney official said in an interview.
The past year has been especially difficult for Disney. The global pandemic had negatively affected the company on many fronts. Disney incurred billions of dollars in losses due to the forced closures of its theme parks, docking of its cruise lines, and the decreased demand for its movies.
Disney said that it will retain all the rights of Blue Sky Studio's IPs. The company reportedly has no plans of having another studio purchase or absorb Blue Sky's properties.
Sources with knowledge in the matter said that Disney is currently working on a new series based on Blue Sky's "Ice Age" franchise for its Disney+ streaming service. "Ice Age" continues to be one of the company's most profitable franchises - grossing more than $3.2 billion at the global box office through its five full feature animated movie releases.
Disney took over Blue Sky's operations after it acquired 20th Century Studios and its assets in March 2019. After the company acquired Fox in August 2019, Disney named Walt Disney Animation Studios president Andrew Millstein as the co-president of Blue Sky. Millstein served with Rob Baird as co-presidents of the studio ever since. Both executives are expected to exit the company after the studio is closed.
The studio's last release was an animated movie called "Spies in Disguise," which hit theaters in December 2019. The movie starred A-list celebrities such as Will Smith and Tom Holland. Unfortunately, the movie did not do so well and only grossed $66 million at the domestic office and $171 million worldwide.
