ABC Family Scores Alice Rights

BURBANK: ABC Family has clinched the rights to Walt Disney Pictures’ new blockbuster Alice in Wonderland for a 2012 U.S. network television premiere.

The Tim Burton fantasy epic, acquired from Disney-ABC Domestic Distribution, opened with a $210.3 million worldwide box-office weekend, thanks in large part to higher ticket prices for 3-D screens. The blockbuster eclipsed James Cameron’s opening weekend for Avatar. It stars Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Cheshire Cat and more and she battles to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror. The cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Crispin Glover.

Tom Zappala, executive VP of program acquisitions and scheduling at ABC Cable Networks Group, stated: "This Disney film has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year, and with its captivating sense of fun and imaginative spirit, it is a perfect fit our Millennial viewers."