Warner Bros. Delays ‘Cat in the Hat’ Theatrical Release Again as Competition Looms

Warner Bros.  has delayed its upcoming animated film The Cat in the Hat by another nine months, moving it from February 2026 to November 6, 2026.

The new movie is based on Dr. Seuss’ 1957 children’s book and features Bill Hader as the voice of the title character. It will be the second attempt to put the Cat on the big screen after the 2003 live-action version starring Mike Myers was widely panned by critics and audiences.

This is the second release date shift for the animated film. It was first set for March 6, 2026, but then moved up to late February to avoid direct competition with Pixar’s Hoppers, which opens the following week. The studio has now abandoned the February date as well. That weekend would have also put the Cat up against Scream 7. The move to early November leaves it as the only major release scheduled for that weekend, though other studios are expected to fill the slot later.

Warner Bros. has not given an official reason for the decision, but timing likely played a role. Opening so close to Disney Pixar’s Hoppers could have risked splitting family audiences. Pixar remains a strong box office brand despite some recent disappointments. Studio executives may also be concerned about the baggage left from the 2003 version, which is still remembered as a misfire.

Reactions to the new trailer have been mixed. Some online comments criticized the jokes, the design, and the choice to stray from the classic Dr. Seuss art style. One viewer wrote, “Hate the jokes in this and the animation style is weird. Like dude gave you the blueprint just follow it.” Another asked, “Why do the character designs not look like Dr. Seuss’s art style? Isn’t that, like, the whole point of doing animated versions of Seuss books?”

But there’s still the competition factor. The Zootopia sequel and Wicked Part Two are also playing in November, just a bit later in the month. Warner Bros. must see early November as a quieter release window, at least for now. The strategy mirrors what Universal’s Illumination did with The Grinch in 2018. That animated Dr. Seuss adaptation opened in early November and had a strong run through the holidays, earning $67 million in its opening weekend. The Grinch benefited from a Christmas theme, something The Cat in the Hat lacks, but Warner Bros. may hope for a similar long-lasting audience.

The release date also echoes the timing of the 2003 Cat in the Hat, which opened in November of that year. While it started strong with $38 million, it quickly collapsed with a 70 percent drop in its third weekend and fell out of the top ten within a month. The backlash effectively ended Hollywood’s attempts at live-action Seuss adaptations.

Warner Bros. is counting on a different outcome this time. The Cat in the Hat is meant to launch a new animated Seuss franchise that will continue with Jon M. Chu’s Oh, The Places You’ll Go, already in development. Whether this strategy pays off will depend on how audiences react when the film finally makes it to theaters next fall.

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