'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[Heppenheimer]

When you put all the box office stats in today's dollars, it really paints a very clear picture on Strange World.

Money talks.



I mean, just look at those second weekend numbers for previous Disney films that were "bombs". Strange World got less than $5 Million this second weekend, and that makes turkeys like John Carter and Home On The Range look like Frozen by comparison! Heck, Chicken Little looks like Star Wars or Titanic compared to Strange World.

What on earth convinced Burbank to not market Strange World? To not release the toys and merch they created for Strange World into Target and WalMart toy shelves the weeks before Christmas? To bury any Social Media mentions of Strange World in the weeks leading up to its release in 4,174 theaters?

There's gotta be a really good story there! I'd love to hear the business strategy behind those purposeful decisions to bury Strange World and just torch $150 Million dollars at a time of corporate crisis, wouldn't you?

Maybe they just realized they had a film that wasn't going to do well and didn't want to throw good money after bad. Avoiding the sunk cost fallacy.

 

[TP2000]

Maybe they just realized they had a film that wasn't going to do well and didn't want to throw good money after bad. Avoiding the sunk cost fallacy.

Maybe? I guess?

However it happened, and for whatever reasons they decided to bury it and pretend it wasn't a thing, it's just weird.

And it certainly couldn't be happening at a worse time for the company.

 

[TP2000]

But like the rest of the shop disney merch, it's really strange it wasn't put in stores.

I see what you did there!

 

[lazyboy97o]

It's all so strange. My theory about firing all the good marketers is one thing, but the fact there's no known merch is strange. Lightyear had merch, Encanto had merch, Raya had merch. Why doesn't strange world?

As far as I can tell, these might be the only pieces of strange world merch...ever
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Note the websites. Could not find a Target or Walmart listing...


EDIT: Found some target ones...not sure if they are sold in store, but they do list them.
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Walmart.com also has a couple...but walmart.com in my experiences also sells some "sketchy" stuff. I'd take it with a bit of a grain of salt.

It does prove how generic the name is because no matter the website, the results are mixed in with unrelated books.

A lot of merchandise is made by licensees. If no one buys the rights to make the merchandise then none is made.

 

[TwilightZone]

A lot of merchandise is made by licensees. If no one buys the rights to make the merchandise then none is made.

Ouch. This got me curious so I decided to also look at all the lincensees/manufactuers. This might be the most comprehensive list of what Strange World merch exists and who made it. The largest collection of merch can be found at Amazon, where most of this list came from. The Splat Plush and steel water bottle seem to be shopdisney exclusive. Here's an image album of further merch I found, just as proof they exist.

Books:

• Little Golden Books - book adaptation
• DK Children - Ultimate Sticker Book
• RH/Disney - Junior Novelization, Deluxe Junior Novelization, Graphic Novel, Meet the Clades, So You Want to Be an Explorer!, Adventure Awaits!
• Chronicle Books - The art of Strange World
• Bendon - Imagine Ink Book

Toys:

• Basic Fun (no really, that's their name) - Mini Figure Collector Set, Ethan and Skiff Vehicle
• Unknown - Official Splat Plush

Outfits:

• Disney (according to amazon, anyways) - Splat Wave, Let's Make History, Splat Focus, Hang in There, Destiny Awaits, Clades Family Venture Beyond Poster T-shirt, Venture Beyond Badge T-shirt, Avalonia Venture Beyond, Destiny Awaits Group Shot, Venture Beyond Knit Top, Splat logo pull over hoodie, Clades Family Let's Make History long sleeve shirt, Strange Adventures Girls Short Sleeve Tee, Strange World Travel Line Art T-shirt, Strange World Adventurer Bars woman's tank top, Travel Line Art Girls t-shirt, Family Split Panel Bars hoodie

Misc:

• Various Chinese Manufacturers - Off-brand Splat Plush, Cake toppers
• Bendon - Party favors
• Disney - Venture beyond Samsung Phone case, Official soundtrack
• Trends International - Hang in there posters, Let's Go Make History poster
• Unknown - Steel water bottle

 

[TP2000]

Ouch. This got me curious so I decided to also look at all the lincensees/manufactuers. This might be the most comprehensive list of what Strange World merch exists and who made it. The largest collection of merch can be found at Amazon, where most of this list came from. The Splat Plush and steel water bottle seem to be shopdisney exclusive. Here's an image album of further merch I found, just as proof they exist.

Books:

• Little Golden Books - book adaptation
• DK Children - Ultimate Sticker Book
• RH/Disney - Junior Novelization, Deluxe Junior Novelization, Graphic Novel, Meet the Clades, So You Want to Be an Explorer!, Adventure Awaits!
• Chronicle Books - The art of Strange World
• Bendon - Imagine Ink Book

Toys:

• Basic Fun (no really, that's their name) - Mini Figure Collector Set, Ethan and Skiff Vehicle
• Unknown - Official Splat Plush

Outfits:

• Disney (according to amazon, anyways) - Splat Wave, Let's Make History, Splat Focus, Hang in There, Destiny Awaits, Clades Family Venture Beyond Poster T-shirt, Venture Beyond Badge T-shirt, Avalonia Venture Beyond, Destiny Awaits Group Shot, Venture Beyond Knit Top, Splat logo pull over hoodie, Clades Family Let's Make History long sleeve shirt, Strange Adventures Girls Short Sleeve Tee, Strange World Travel Line Art T-shirt, Strange World Adventurer Bars woman's tank top, Travel Line Art Girls t-shirt, Family Split Panel Bars hoodie

Misc:

• Various Chinese Manufacturers - Off-brand Splat Plush, Cake toppers
• Bendon - Party favors
• Disney - Venture beyond Samsung Phone case, Official soundtrack
• Trends International - Hang in there posters, Let's Go Make History poster
• Unknown - Steel water bottle

What this shows and proves is that a broad range of Strange World merchandise was developed, designed, manufactured and sent to retail stores for sale.

And then they buried the movie, barely marketed it, and didn't put the merchandise on shelves for Christmas.

This honestly has to be one of the weirdest big budget movie scenarios that I've ever seen Disney do.

And I'd love to know the story behind these decisions! There's a juicy story to tell here, obviously.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Is it safe to say that this would've lost less money if it went straight to Disney+, even if (hypothetically) it attracted zero new subscribers or kept zero people subscribed, rather than spend the money that was required for this movie to go into theaters?

 

[Ghost93]

Is it safe to say that this would've lost less money if it went straight to Disney+, even if (hypothetically) it attracted zero new subscribers or kept zero people subscribed, rather than spend the money that was required for this movie to go into theaters?

Even if Strange World is a total flop, I think it was the right call to send it to theaters. Disney made a grave mistake by getting people used to the idea of movies going straight to Disney plus for free with Soul, Luca, Turning Red, the day and date release for Raya and the extremely short theatrical window for Encanto.

Disney needs to retrain audiences to go to theaters. I wouldn't put Strange World on Disney Plus until February. Not because it will make more money, but because I think in late December you want all of the headlines to be about Avatar's (probable) success: the Way of Water. You don't want to reignite discourse on one of Disney's biggest flops.

 

[Phroobar]

Probably the theater deal was already set in stone and they couldn't pull out.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Even if Strange World is a total flop, I think it was the right call to send it to theaters. Disney made a grave mistake by getting people used to the idea of movies going straight to Disney plus for free with Soul, Luca, Turning Red, the day and date release for Raya and the extremely short theatrical window for Encanto.

Disney needs to retrain audiences to go to theaters. I wouldn't put Strange World on Disney Plus until February. Not because it will make more money, but because I think in late December you want all of the headlines to be about Avatar's (probable) success: the Way of Water. You don't want to reignite discourse on one of Disney's biggest flops.

Disney couldn't train anything. Strange World was D+ material from the get-go. People go see what they want, when they want and spend what they want when they want. Disney needs to return / retrain itself to providing the public with what is wanted.

 

[Phroobar]

Disney couldn't train anything. Strange World was D+ material from the get-go. People go see what they want, when they want and spend what they want when they want. Disney needs to return / retrain itself to providing the public with what is wanted.

The problem is these movies take 4-5 years to make. Disney can't turn on a dime.

 

[Ghost93]

Disney couldn't train anything. Strange World was D+ material from the get-go. People go see what they want, when they want and spend what they want when they want. Disney needs to return / retrain itself to providing the public with what is wanted.

My point wasn't on the quality of the movie, but in changing audiences expectations. Disney needs to stop making people feel they can just get $150-180 million movies for FREE on Disney Plus.

Because of the the Soul/Luca/Turning Red releases, audiences now expect Disney to make EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE movies available for free. That's not sustainable. The costs of these movies are too high.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I can't wait to see this movie when its "free" on D+ .
Now I MUST see just how allegedly bad it really is.

It's kinda like that I MUST look at the Moana construction photos... I can't look away.

FYI, I am one of the three people who liked John Carter when I saw it "free" on streaming.

 

[GimpYancIent]

My point wasn't on the quality of the movie, but in changing audiences expectations. Disney needs to stop making people feel they can just get $150-180 million movies for FREE on Disney Plus.

Because of the the Soul/Luca/Turning Red releases, audiences now expect Disney to make EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE movies available for free. That's not sustainable. The costs of these movies are too high.

Yes, the public in general needs to lower expectations for Disney animated productions.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Is it safe to say that this would've lost less money if it went straight to Disney+, even if (hypothetically) it attracted zero new subscribers or kept zero people subscribed, rather than spend the money that was required for this movie to go into theaters?

Well, they do spend money to advertise new content on D+. Probably a lot less than for a wide theatrical release.

Using "the rule of thumb" for movie financials, Disney would have spent about $75M to advertise SW (or absolutely nothing if you believe the anecdotal IT WASN'T ADVERTISED claims ).

So at this point, it may have been a wash if released to D+ and no one saw it compared to the decision for a wide theatrical release.

 

[Ghost93]

I can't wait to see this movie when its "free" on D+ .
Now I MUST see just how allegedly bad it really is.

Strange World isn't "bad" it's just really mediocre and not noteworthy. It's a perfectly fine 6/10 film. If not for the gay controversy, I don't think anyone would even be talking about the movie at all. I imagine the film flopping at the box office might lead to people lowering their expectations and then saying, "well, it's actually not that terrible," when they see it on streaming.

But "actually not that terrible" isn't the standard Disney Animation should aim for. We expect excellence. While I, as a gay man, admire the representation in Strange World, representation alone doesn't make a movie good or great.

 

[DCLcruiser]

AMC at Disney Springs was advertising and you could watch a preview at DHS.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The Disney animation cycle, 80s were just ok, 90s were mostly great, 00s were just ok, 10’s were mostly great, 20s starting off just ok… looking forward to the 30s.

 

[TwilightZone]

Ouch. This got me curious so I decided to also look at all the lincensees/manufactuers. This might be the most comprehensive list of what Strange World merch exists and who made it. The largest collection of merch can be found at Amazon, where most of this list came from. The Splat Plush and steel water bottle seem to be shopdisney exclusive. Here's an image album of further merch I found, just as proof they exist.

Just remembered you can do tables here! Here's a hopefully more eligible version of this list because I love lists!

Books

Manufacturer	Title
Little Golden Books	Strange World
DK Children	Ultimate Sticker Book
RH/Disney	Junior Novelization	Deluxe Junior Novelization	Graphic Novel	Meet the Clades	So You Want to Be an Explorer!	Adventure Awaits!
Chronicle Books	The art of Strange World
Bendon	Imagine Ink Book

Toys

Manufacturer	Type of Toy
Basic Fun	Mini Figure Collector Set	Ethan and Skiff Vehicle
Unknown	Official Splat Plush

Outfits

Manufacturer	Outfit Description/Title
Disney (According to Amazon, anyways)	Splat Wave	Let's Make History	Splat Focus	Hang in There	Destiny Awaits	Clades Family Venture Beyond Poster T-shirt	Venture Beyond Badge T-shirt	Avalonia Venture Beyond	Destiny Awaits Group Shot	Venture Beyond Knit Top	Splat logo pull over hoodie	Clades Family Let's Make History long sleeve shirt	Strange Adventures Girls Short Sleeve Tee
	Strange World Travel Line Art T-shirt	Strange World Adventurer Bars woman's tank top	Travel Line Art Girls t-shirt	Family Split Panel Bars hoodie

Misc

Manufacturer	Type of Merch
Various Chinese Manufacturers	Off-brand Splat Plush	Cake toppers
Bendon	Party favors
Disney	Venture beyond Samsung Phone case	Official soundtrack
Trends International	Hang in there posters	Let's Go Make History posters
Unknown	Steel water bottle

 

[TP2000]

Is it safe to say that this would've lost less money if it went straight to Disney+, even if (hypothetically) it attracted zero new subscribers or kept zero people subscribed, rather than spend the money that was required for this movie to go into theaters?

That's the million dollar question that I think Burbank is trying to figure out now after the disastrous year Pixar and Walt Disney Animation has had. Their streaming strategy with mega-budget movies clearly needs fixing. Or is it the mega-budget strategy in the age of streaming that needs fixing?

But I am of the firm opinion that the following answer is the right one, even as financially painful as it may be at a time of corporate crisis like Burbank is now in....

Even if Strange World is a total flop, I think it was the right call to send it to theaters. Disney made a grave mistake by getting people used to the idea of movies going straight to Disney plus for free with Soul, Luca, Turning Red, the day and date release for Raya and the extremely short theatrical window for Encanto.

And the cherry on top is this really good point on the timing for mercifully shuffling Strange World off to Disney+...

I wouldn't put Strange World on Disney Plus until February. Not because it will make more money, but because I think in late December you want all of the headlines to be about Avatar's (probable) success: the Way of Water. You don't want to reignite discourse on one of Disney's biggest flops.

Shifting gears...

Because of the the Soul/Luca/Turning Red releases, audiences now expect Disney to make EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE movies available for free. That's not sustainable. The costs of these movies are too high.

I agree. I've been saying that here since Lightyear ($200 Million production budget!) face planted, and Lightyear wasn't nearly the disastrous flop that Strange World is.

This business model is not sustainable. Drastic changes are needed ASAP. Good luck, Bob!