Netflix Picks Up 'The Little Prince' From Paramount

The animated feature, which had been scheduled for a March 18 theatrical release, will now go to the streaming service instead.

Netflix has picked up Paramount Pictures’ domestic rights to The Little Prince, the new animated film based on the 1943 book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

The studio had originally slated the movie to open in U.S. theaters on March 18, but then quietly pulled it off that date. It is now expected to premiere stateside on the streaming service later this year.

The film, directed by Mark Osborne, an Oscar nominee for Kung Fu Panda, premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival last May and has grossed $100 million intrnationally (excluding the U.K., Australia, Scandinavia and Spain), where it was handled by various distributors. Last month, it was awarded France’s Cesar Award for best animated film.

Little Prince combines 3D computer animation and stop-motion, and has a voice cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard, James Franco and Benicio del Toro.

Paramount’s international arm handled the release of the film in France last summer.