'Smurfs 3' Will Be Animated, Not Live-Action

After the second film in the "Smurfs" franchise took in quite a bit less than its predecessor, execs at studio Sony are shaking up the series for the third installment, and making "The Smurfs 3" entirely animated.



Variety reports that while the first "Smurfs" film, released in 2011, made $563.7 million on a budget of about $110 million, "Smurfs 2" took a considerable dip: the 2013 sequel made more than $200 million less, taking in $347.5 million with a budget of $105 million.



While "Smurfs 2" was by no means a flop, those numbers have made Sony nervous, and they're looking to shake things up for the next outing, ditching the live action/animation hybrid format for complete animation. Variety reports that the studio is "fast tracking" "Smurfs 3" in an effort to up its number of tentpole franchises, which right now consists almost exclusively of the "Spider-Man" films.



"The Smurfs 3" is due out August 14, 2015.



[h/t Coming Soon]





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