Trivia / Ron's Gone Wrong

• Channel Hop: For Locksmith Animation. Disney inherited Ron's Gone Wrong with its purchase of Twentieth Century Fox, but a year after said purchase, Locksmith struck a deal with Warner Bros. to distribute future films (Fox had originally signed the deal before the Disney acquisition with the intention of it replacing their contract with DreamWorks Animation following their acquisition by NBCUniversal). For the film itself, Disney’s ownership of the film actually prevented a channel hop, as they were legally obligated to release it in theaters rather than shift it to a streaming network due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, making it a rarity for an animated film at the time. Also subverted with the streaming release; it would serve as the first film in a slightly altered final-year deal with HBO and Disney wherein 20th Century Studios' 2022 output would be shared by Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max to transition the studio's streaming rights from a previous deal Fox signed with HBO pre-merger to Disney's services following the transition year.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: Prior to the film's release, there was a full cast list that was revealed on IMDB that included entertainment personalities and Toronto voice actors (including Andrew Jackson, Molly Lewis, and Meesha Contreras) in unidentified and minor voice roles, but it was debunked and removed from the site. Oddly, info on the English cast in Dutch websites still has the debunked voice credits.
• Release Date Change: Suffered from this twice. The film was originally set to hit theaters on February 26th, 2021, but it was delayed until two months later to April 23rd due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then it was moved again to its final release date of October 22nd.
• Screwed by the Network: From the moment the Disney-Fox merger was announced, just a month after the film (along with a distribution deal with their producer Locksmith Animation) was announced, the film was practically doomed. Several potential release dates, regardless of COVID, were scheduled against rival films it simply had no shot of competing against, showcasing that Disney clearly saw this film more than any other from Fox, as a Contractual Obligation Project:
  • The original date of November 6th, 2020 would've seen film go up against Eternals, the first new-character film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Avengers: Endgame;
  • The next date, February 26th, 2021, would've seen the film go up against Old, which would've been a likely success even on that date, and would've been overwhelmed by the runs of Disney's own Raya and the Last Dragon (which it ironically still would've faced had it kept the November date, as it was originally scheduled within 3 weeks of it) a possibly even Godzilla vs. Kong;
  • While the next date, April 23rd, would've seen the film go up against The Protege, had it stuck it could've ended up an unintentional Harsher in Hindsight date, coming at the time Disney ended up shutting down Blue Sky Studios, which likely would've led to backlash from animation fans as a result;
  • And finally, the film saw its' final October 22 date to see the film get crushed by Dune (2021), and it quickly whimpered away from theaters within 45 days. To be fair, however, it proved a success in digital release (notably because it was the debut feature that saw Disney+ and HBO Max share the 2021-22 20th Century output); still, Locksmith saw the writing on the wall and would move their distribution to Warner Bros. Animation before the film was even released, then ultimately to Netflix after their merger with Discovery Inc.
  • As a further sign of Disney's indifference, even their Happy Meal toys would be screwed over, coming out over two months before its actual release and near-immediately rushed out in favor of the next promotion...a Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration.

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