Disney is closing down Blue Sky Studios, the production company behind the 'Ice Age' franchise among other animated features.
Blue Sky Studios was founded in February 1987. It released its first animated feature, the original 'Ice Age', in 2002 to great success.
The House of Mouse acquired the $5.9 billion global-grossing firm in March 2019 as a subsidiary of 20th Century Animation, following the Disney-Fox merger.
The company will close its doors in April, impacting 450 employees.
Disney also own anime company Studio Ghibli, and maintaining multiple animation studios meant something had to give, especially with the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A studio spokesperson told Deadline, "Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios."
The outlet reports that there are no plans for Blue Sky's employees and operations to be absorbed by another company.
Moreover, production has ceased on their latest feature, titled 'Nimona'.
The last film released by Blue Sky Studios was 'Spies in Disguise'. It was its lowest grossing feature, making $171 million at the box office against a $100 budget.
The company's five 'Ice Age' movies grossed $3.2 billion globally.
Other features released by the studio included 'Robots', 'Rio', 'Ferdinand', 'Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!' and 'The Peanuts Movie'.
