--- title: Universal Fixes 'Cats' Special Effects: Report description: Universal Pictures has notified movie theaters that it's going to send around an updated version of the movie with altered special effects. canonical: https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-12-22T18:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:57:56.562Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: In 'Unheard of' Move, Universal Fixes 'Cats' Special Effects: Report og:description: The movie has been described as "disastrous" by critics og:url: https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc01514fac4217a3a/698a07f322fb85194ae2a5ca/cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: In 'Unheard of' Move, Universal Fixes 'Cats' Special Effects: Report twitter:description: The movie has been described as "disastrous" by critics twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc01514fac4217a3a/698a07f322fb85194ae2a5ca/cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # In 'Unheard of' Move, Universal Pictures to Reportedly Update _Cats_ With Enhanced Special Effects > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Dec 22, 2019 6:00 PM UTC  A still from Universal Picture's 2019 film 'Cats.' A still from Universal Picture's 2019 film 'Cats.'Universal Pictures  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Dec 22, 2019 6:00 PM UTC _Cats_ may be one of the [longest-running musicals](https://time.com/5628824/cats-movie-musical-explained/) of all time, but the [2019 movie](https://time.com/5752569/cats-movie-review/) adaptation has been described as “[disastrous](https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/cats-movie-review-taylor-swift-927486/)” by critics. Now, in what the [Hollywood _Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-notifies-theaters-cats-is-being-updated-improved-visual-effects-1264689) says is an “unheard of” move, Universal Pictures has notified movie theaters that it’s going to send around an updated version of the movie with altered special effects. The Hollywood _Reporter_ said it learned of the changes in an internal Universal memo that it obtained. The _Reporter_ also cited sources that said director Tom Hooper requested the update in order to fix some of the CGI-heavy film’s visual effects. Variety had previously [reported](https://variety.com/2019/scene/news/cats-movie-taylor-swift-idris-elba-james-corden-tom-hooper-1203444727/) that Hooper had rushed to complete the movie, finishing it just hours before it was released. Since the film was released on Dec. 20, viewers have pointed out many glaring [and unsettling](https://io9.gizmodo.com/cats-review-i-have-seen-sights-no-human-should-see-1840507030?utm%5Fcampaign=socialflow%5Fio9%5Ftwitter&utm%5Fsource=io9%5Ftwitter&utm%5Fmedium=socialflow) visual effects in the movie. In one scene, Judi Dench’s hand was shown, seemingly accidentally, without cat fur — including showing her wedding ring. > [](https://twitter.com/jenelleriley/status/1208659588414758912) The _Reporter_ said that movie theater operators and industry executives say that it is very unusual to alter the effects in a movie that is already in theaters. Others have [pointed out](https://kotaku.com/cats-is-getting-patched-like-a-video-game-1840595607?utm%5Fsource=Kotaku%5FTwitter&utm%5Fmedium=Socialflow&utm%5Fcampaign=Socialflow%5FKotaku%5FTwitter) that the move is similar to a software company deciding to patch a video game after it’s been released, to fix bugs or include new content. However, _Cats_ may need all the help it can get. The movie, which reportedly cost about $100 million to make, is projected to earn just $8.5 million for its opening, although it was projected to earn $15 million to $17 million. Universal said that the new version will be available by satellite download on Sunday or by hard drive on Tuesday, and asked theaters to update the movie as soon as possible, according to the _Reporter._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/"},"headline":"In 'Unheard of' Move, Universal Pictures to Reportedly Update Cats With Enhanced Special Effects","datePublished":"2019-12-22T18:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:57:56.562Z","description":"The movie has been described as \"disastrous\" by critics","url":"https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/","keywords":["movies","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc01514fac4217a3a/698a07f322fb85194ae2a5ca/cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara Law","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-law/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc01514fac4217a3a/698a07f322fb85194ae2a5ca/cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"cats-gallery-3-1900x1000-5d30e64e389fc-1","caption":"A still from Universal Picture's 2019 film 'Cats.'","creditText":"Universal Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5754403/cats-special-effects-movie-update/","name":"In 'Unheard of' Move, Universal Pictures to Reportedly Update Cats With Enhanced Special Effects"}}]}] ```