10 Movies That Changed Other Movies
3. The Jungle Book (2016) Caused Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle To Be Delayed (And Dumped On Netflix)
Back in 2012, Warner Bros. announced that they were developing a new Jungle Book film adapted from Rudyard Kipling's short story collection All the Mowgli Stories, with Andy Serkis ultimately tapped to direct.
Barely a year later, Disney announced their own Jungle Book film - a remake of the classic 1967 animation, as helmed by Jon Favreau.
And so, there were two competing Jungle Book films in the works, and despite Serkis' movie being announced first, it was Favreau's that started shooting beforehand.
With Favreau's picture in the can before Serkis' had even begun filming, it was also the one that ended up releasing first, landing in April 2016 to rave reviews and a phenomenal box office performance.
A problem presented itself, then: would audiences really shell out again for another Jungle Book movie so soon - especially one that's not at all related to the Favreau film?
As a result, Warner Bros. made the decision to continually delay Serkis' film, Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle, from its original planned October 2016 release date.
Though the studio cited a desire to give the film more time in post-production, it was widely circulated that they wanted to create a considerable amount of distance between their movie and Disney's.
Ultimately Mowgli ended up releasing in November 2018 - over two-and-a-half years after Favreau's film - and appreciating that it wouldn't make much of a dent at the box office, it was sold off to Netflix.