Tom Holland And Will Smith's Spy Movie Could Have Kickstarted A Franchise

In 2021, Blue Sky Studios was shut down by Disney (its new owner). The studio was responsible for multiple hits, most notably the "Ice Age' franchise and two "Rio" movies. But Blue Sky also produced one of the best animated movies that simply couldn't be made in live-action with 2005's "Robots." Quite the legacy, then. Unfortunately, Blue Sky's final project wasn't exactly the triumphant finale the studio arguably deserved — at least, commercially. 2019's "Spies in Disguise" starred Tom Holland and Will Smith in a fun animated spy comedy that could have easily kick-started a franchise. But an anticlimactic box office gross pretty much killed that dream before Disney stepped in to deliver the coup de grâce.

Pairing Smith and Holland was an inspired choice — a Hollywood veteran with an easy charm (this was prior to Smith's more recent debacles) and an up-and-comer with a similarly endearing energy. What's more, "Spies in Disguise" cleverly capitalized on and subverted the pair's inherent mentor-mentee dynamic. Smith played an experienced cocky spy and Holland a diffident young scientist. But when the former is turned into a pigeon, he loses much of his bravado, making for a delightful upending of the pair's relationship.

"Ice Age" quietly started a multi-billion dollar franchise, and there was a definite sense that "Spies in Disguise" could potentially follow suit. Unfortunately, despite the fact the movie received decent reviews, it earned just $171.6 million in theaters on a $100 million budget. That's not an out-and-out disaster, but it was almost certainly disappointing for Blue Sky and 20th Century Fox. Even if the studios had wanted to try once more, though, a Disney buyout made that impossible.

In "Spies in Disguise," Will Smith voices H.T.U.V. (Honor, Trust, Unity, and Valor) agent Lance Sterling, who, on his latest mission to secure a drone from a Japanese arms dealer, finds his suit has been equipped with non-lethal weapons. Sterling returns to H.T.U.V. headquarters to confront the scientist responsible, Walter Beckett (Tom Holland), a socially stunted MIT grad who's the complete opposite of Smith's suave spy. After Sterling is framed for stealing the drone by international terrorist Killian (Ben Mendelsohn), the mismatched pair are forced to work together to track down Killian while being hunted by their former agency.

In a surprise to nobody, Holland and Smith make for a great pairing. Both have excellent comic timing, and they deliver expressive and complimentary performances. Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, who made their joint directorial debut with the feature (though Quane had previously overseen 2011's "The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol"), knew how to get the best out of their stars, too. In fact, Smith and Holland's dynamic wasn't entirely dissimilar to Jon Bernthal and Holland's older brother-younger brother dynamic in the box office goliath that is "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." What's more, the film was buoyed by a great supporting cast that featured Rashida Jones, Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan, Karen Gillan, and Masi Oka. (DJ Khaled was also involved, but don't let that put you off.)

Reviews for "Spies in Disguise" were mostly positive, with critics praising the cast in particular. That was great for Holland, who has long struggled for hits outside of his Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Unfortunately, the box office was less than encouraging, making "Spies in Disguise" another stalled franchise for the British actor.

"Spies in Disguise" earned a very respectable 76% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Soren Andersen of the Seattle Times writing, "Its true charm lies in the interplay between Smith and Holland." Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent concurred: "Holland and Smith make for an appealing duo (one is nervous and eager, the other is confident and cynical)." While several reviewers felt the film cribbed from other more popular animated features, the general consensus was that "Spies in Disguise" was a lot of fun and even had a heartening anti-violence message.

Nevertheless, $171.6 million on a $100 million budget simply wasn't going to cut it. In fact, "Spies in Disguise" remains the lowest-grossing Blue Sky Studios movie. The studio's previous effort, 2017's "Ferdinand," made $296 million on a $111 million budget, and even its barely-remembered 2013 feature "Epic" earned $268 million on a $100 million budget.

But it wasn't just box office earnings that prevented a "Spies in Disguise" sequel. 2019 was the same year the Disney-Fox acquisition was completed. As such, a giant Mickey Mouse-shaped shadow fell over the former Fox-owned studio, which at the time was working on another movie, "Nimona." Alas, two years later Blue Sky was officially shuttered, and "Nimona" was canceled. At the time, Disney also operated Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and it blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for making it difficult to oversee a third animation studio. After a long hard road, however, "Nimona" eventually made it to Netflix in 2023, with Nick Bruno and Troy Quane re-teaming for the animated feature. "Spies in Disguise," meanwhile, is still a one-and-done.