Live-action adaptations of fairy tales are a constant cash cow for Hollywood. The stories aren’t under copyright, but you still get a marketable brand! Disney is executing this double-time by adapting its own adaptations, but Sony is hopping in the game as well with a live-action version of Cinderella starring singer Camila Cabello. The movie, which has been sitting on the shelf for a while, is finally getting released but will skip theaters as Sony has struck a deal with Amazon to release it on its streaming platform. A precise date has not been set.
Cinderella, as its leading lady may hint at, is a musical adaptation. It doesn’t seem to be adapting the story to any new setting, but we haven’t seen much of the film visually so it isn’t clear how “original” it will be. Cinderella is essentially Camila Cabello’s first acting role, but the movie also features established actors Billy Porter as Cinderella’s fairy godparent and Idina Menzel as her wicked stepmother.
Cabello and Menzel additionally performed original music for the film. Obviously, Disney’s classic animated film was a musical as well. But while the movie featured some classic songs, it’s definitely light on music compared to some modern animations, so this could offer up something new.
Cinderella was set to release this July, but Sony isn’t seeing strong enough returns at theaters for films that don’t include superheroes, fast cars, or monsters and is selling off its 2021 slate because of it. While Paramount is doubling down with theatrical-only releases like A Quiet Place Part II, the studio has sold off Vivo and Fatherhood to streamers and may be looking to move even more if it doesn’t think releases later in the year will warrant a release. If it ends up selling off Hotel Transylvania: Transformania to somewhere, it may not have a release slated until Venom: Let There Be Carnage in September.
