Disney has announced that the studio will not co-finance the third installment of Walden Media’s “Chronicles of Narnia” franchise, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

It is widely believed by Hollywood insiders that Disney dropped the project because of the lower than expected box-office take for the second “Narnia” flick, “Prince Caspian.”

The first “Narnia” piled up $745 million internationally while “Caspian” only raked in $419 million.

Although the economic downturn is making Disney execs a tad more timid, they’re partly responsible for the skimpier “Caspian” numbers.

Unlike the first “Narnia,” rather than a Thanksgiving or Christmas release the sequel came out in the spring, and it was up against superhero summer fare like “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones.” Disney tried to market it as an action flick with limited success.

Thankfully, Walden remains committed to C.S. Lewis’ remaining books.

And if Fox is as clever as its name it’ll jump into Disney’s old spot, snag a profit and hoist entertainment content higher at the same time.

James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in Media Psychology, is a media analyst, teacher of mass media and entertainment law at Biola University and professor at Trinity Law School.

Bohnet is getting money from places other than the U.S. and Europe.

“To go to America and say, ‘I want money’ doesn’t work anymore,” Bohnet said. “America hasn’t woken up to the fact that it is no longer the bully anymore and that other places are becoming its equal.”

UAE money continues to pour into cinema:

An adaptation of the best-seller “Girls of Riyadh” and a biopic of cult 1960s author Khalil Gibran (”The Prophet”) are among projects German film-fund veteran Susanne Bohnet is developing as part of her new United Arab Emirates- and U.S.-based company, Serafina Releasing.

Bohnet is in Dubai this week finalizing $100 million of financing from a mix of local companies and private individuals for Serafina, which will finance, produce and distribute feature films in partnership with a network of top-tier distribution companies in Europe and the Middle East.

The company’s mandate includes the production of films to serve the Middle East marketplace that continues to expand with new theaters and a projected increase in demand for filmed entertainment.

“There will be 600 million people under the age of 25 in the Gulf region by 2010, and there is a lack of content for them,” said Bohnet, who previously worked in Los Angeles for the German funds Equity Pictures and CineMedia. Her credits include the Pierce Brosnan starrer “Matador” and “The Hostage.” click here for more

With some in Hollywood continuing to fund “torture porn” movies. The venerable BBC decided to get into the act.

A BBC backed film, featuring the stories of serial killers Fred and Rose West, who had tortured at least 12 girls to death, has left people fuming following reports of its screening on television and in theatres over Christmas.

The low-budget-horror film has been partially funded by 10,000 pounds of licence-payers dough and depicts Wests murder rampage, reports the Daily Express.

BBC has incurred the wrath of the victims relatives, MPs, and TV watchdogs, who condemned the timing of the films release and dubbed the channel as a disgrace while accusing it of misspending licence fee money. click for more

Twilight brought in $70 million in box-office receipts in its debut weekend. The film’s performance put independent Summit Entertainment into the world of franchise tent pole offerings.

Summit was re-launched in April 2007 by Friedman, the former vice chairman of Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group, along with Wachsberger, adding a major development, acquisitions and marketing branch with $1.0 billion in financing through a deal with Merrill Lynch and other investors. This was pretty common during the late days of the last economic boom; private equity was funding Hollywood in a big way.

excerpted from Forbes

A joint venture with China could yield five movies for a $250 million dollar total.

Xinhua Media Entertainment, a Sino-U.S. co-production shingle set up in Los Angeles and Beijing, Lee on Tuesday announced a slate of five films to be made for $25 million-$50 million each.

Fredy Bush, CEO of XME parent Xinhua Finance Media — a Beijing-based, Nasdaq-listed company with interests in broadcast, print and advertising — said the slate “differentiates us from our competitors as each film has the high potential to become a global blockbuster.”

excerpt, for more: click