Release: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Genre: Animation/Family/Comedy

Director: Peter Sohn

Writer: Jacob Jones

Based on the children's book

Voice Cast: Julian Hilliard, Mykal-Michelle Harris, JJ Patano, Alexis Hannan, Major Dobson, Leo Abelo Perry, Ryder Allen, Sonja Ball

Budget: $60,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $28,493,915

Foreign Box Office: $7,195,040

Total Profit: -$68,080,437

Reaction: The studio was already expecting low foreign numbers - considering the film hinges on letters in the English language alphabet - but we were hoping that the domestic numbers would be strong enough to cancel that out a bit. Unfortunately, that was clearly not the case here.

"A lovely and visually unique film that teaches the importance of growing up, societal views, and retaining who you are that I'm sure families and children a like will use for repeated viewings." - Jason Helm, New York Observer

"This film - and its source material - skews too young for theater ticket-buying movie-goers, and doesn't hold the same nostalgia as other book series to get parents excited. I found the story overly childish, aiming for an incredibly young audience. I suspect most viewers over the age of five will find themselves tuning out. And good luck if you are a parent, as there is not much here to keep adults entertained and engaged in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." - Charles Yost, Oregonian

"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a wild swing—ambitious, vibrant, and heartfelt—but it's also a bit of an identity crisis in animated form. Based on a book for preschoolers, the film stretches a simple alphabet rhyme into a full-blown coming-of-age drama—with themes like legacy, loss, and peer pressure that younger kids won’t grasp and older ones may roll their eyes at. The voice cast brings charm, and the soundtrack slaps, but the tone swings from playful to unexpectedly heavy, leaving the movie feeling confused about who it’s actually for. In trying to elevate a toddler classic, it forgets to keep it simple." - Clark Davis, JoBlo.com 

Rated G for mild thematic elements