Universal Pictures is playing a little musical chairs with some of its animated movie release dates. Reported by Deadline, Illumination Entertainment's Sing 2 and DreamWorks Animation's The Croods 2 have been pushed back, though no specific reasons were mentioned.
Sing 2 has been delayed several months and will now hit theaters on July 2, 2021, instead of its original holiday release of December 23, 2020. The Croods will actually take its place, releasing December 23 now, a three-month delay from its original September 18, 2020 opening date.
Sing 2 will look to strike a note similar to its predecessor, which grossed $634.1M globally. The sequel takes the show on the road as Buster, Meena, Rosita, Gunter, Johnny, and Ash leave Moon Theater in hopes of becoming superstars in the big city. Sing 2 is written and directed by Garth Jennings with original voiceover stars Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll, and Tori Kelly returning.
Croods was another box office hit for Universal, grossing $587.2M worldwide when it released in 2013. But while the original enjoyed a healthy box office run, the sequel will face some stiff competition in the form of an untitled live-action Disney movie, an untitled Paramount/Skydance feature, and an untitled WB event movie. It's also releasing on the heels of Disney/Fox's Avatar 2, which hits theaters a few days earlier on December 18.