Well, this is an odd case- Paramount Pictures has opted out of distributing the animated film The Little Prince. Even stranger still, the film was expected to open theatrically in the United States on March 18th, only one week from now. Paramount offered no official reason on why they are dropping the title.

The film is an animated adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s beloved 1943 book, which was made utilizing a combination of 3D computer animation and stop motion. Directed by two-time Oscar nominated filmmaker Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda), The Little Prince premiered to warm reviews at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (it played out-of-competition), has since become a box office hit internationally (minting nearly $80 million) and recently won the César Award for Best Animated Feature (the French equivalent of the Oscars). The film also boasts a starry (and quite international) voice cast that includes Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night), Benicio Del Toro (Sicario), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), James Franco (127 Hours) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man).

It may take some time for the dust to settle here and remains to be seen as to why Paramount dropped the title so close to its expected theatrical release. Director Osborne took to Twitter to officially post the news and proclaimed The Little Prince will be released theatrically sometime later this year from another distributor. We will stay tuned to future developments.

1/3 Many thanks to everyone for the outpouring of love and support in these strange times.

— Mark Osborne (@happyproduct) March 12, 2016

2/3 – 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. — Mark Osborne (@happyproduct) March 12, 2016

3/3 – All I can say is #thelittleprince will in fact be released by another distributor later this year.

— Mark Osborne (@happyproduct) March 12, 2016

4/4 – Until then, head to Canada! The film opens there in wide release this weekend! — Mark Osborne (@happyproduct) March 12, 2016