THR is reporting that Netflix picked up the U.S. right to “The Little Prince“. Paramount was previously set to release the movie in the U.S. today, but dropped it last week. No release date has been announced yet but the movie is expected to get released this year.

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.

This is very unexpected and disappointing news: IGN is reporting that Paramount will no longer release “The Little Prince” in the United States, which was expected to get released next Friday, March 18.

Paramount Pictures has confirmed to IGN that they will no longer release The Little Prince, which was set to open in theaters next Friday, March 18. The studio didn’t provide a reason for why they opted to drop the film so close to opening day.

Mark Osborne directed the movie, which is based on the classic tale published in 1943. The Little Prince’s voice cast includes Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard and Benicio Del Toro.

Director Mark Osborne released the following statement (via his official twitter account):

“Many thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love and support in these strange times. As it turns out, the much anticipated U.S. release of this special and unique film will have to be anticipated just a little bit more. All I can say is ‘The Little Prince’ will in fact be released by another distributor later this year. Until then, head to Canada! The film opens there in wide release this weekend!”

The movie won the César Award (French equivalent of the Academy Awards) for Best Animated Film last month and already hit the $100 million mark in the international box office.