"Thomas and the Magic Railroad" had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2000. It received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics upon release, mainly from the UK, with criticism of the acting, plot, special effects, and lack of fidelity to its source material. The film was a box office bomb, grossing $19.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $19 million; Allcroft resigned from her company in September 2000 due to the film's poor performance. HiT Entertainment acquired the company two years later, including the television rights to "Thomas". As of October 2020, a second live-action/animated "Thomas & Friends" film is in development at Mattel, with Marc Forster serving as director.