“Migration” was written by Mike White, of “The White Lotus” fame, and centers on the Mallard family. The birds are in a rut as Mack, their dad, is happy to keep his family safe in their New England pond, while their mom Pam wants to shake things up and see the world. After a migrating duck family arrives on their pond with tales of elsewhere, Pam convinces Mack to embark on a family trip to Jamaica. However, as the Mallards make their way south for the winter, their plans quickly go awry.
The movie has an A CinemaScore working in its favor, suggesting good word of mouth in the coming weeks. Beyond that, it has almost nothing by way of direct competition. There are no other big animated movies in theaters right now, save for “The Boy and the Heron,” but that’s not truly competing for the same audience. Yes, “Wonka” is a big hit and is certainly family-friendly, but for audiences that aren’t interested in a live-action musical, this is the best remaining choice and will be for some time.
Looking ahead, we don’t have another new, studio-produced animated movie hitting theaters until “Kung Fu Panda 4” arrives in March. The only other competition in that space will be Disney’s re-releases of Pixar’s “Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red.” That could give the film a clear runway to sort of win out by default, especially since the early part of the 2024 release calendar is pretty barren thanks to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that dragged on for months. So these mallards are not dead in the water just yet — not by a long shot.