Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs

[Disney Irish]

Yes, I understand the basics of profit/loss. The problem is that Poor Things is about $1 Million away from breaking even, and in the best case scenario it will make a profit of $10 or $20 Million. (Realistically, closer to a $5 Million profit, but let's just go big).

Searchlight lost over $65 Million on its three movies in 2023. On top of the hundreds of millions of dollars Disney's flagship studios lost on the flops and outright bombs from Marvel, Lucasfilm, WDAS, Walt Disney Pictures, and Pixar.

That's not sustainable. Searchlight artsy movies will never make big profits, and it's okay for them to lose a little money if it keeps the rather needy Hollywood types engaged until their next big blockbuster. But when the blockbusters fail one after another like they are now doing for Disney, you can't keep throwing money away at Searchlight. It's just not sustainable.

FY23 is over and in the books, it happened and yes it was bad in terms of box office for Disney, but now its time to move on.

Poor Things has moved into profitability and will be counted toward FY24, no matter whether that is only $1M or 20M.

Next up will be First Omen in April.

 

[brideck]

Just a reminder to those who have not seen it, All of Us Strangers is now streaming on Hulu.

'All of Us Strangers' Is Now Streaming on Hulu

The film stars Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal.

collider.com

Somewhat inexplicably, this is back in an AMC near me this weekend, so barring any long Covid crash days, I think we'll finally actually be able to see this on the big screen. Crossing my fingers.

 

[Phroobar]

Has anyone watched Nimona on Netflix? This was the Blue Sky animation project that Disney essentially rejected for being too queer before Disney just shuttered Blue Sky altogether. [The title character is NB and two other characters are in a gay relationship and <gasp> share a kiss.] DNEG animation ultimately finished it up for Annapurna.

I found it a little uneven in the first act, but it eventually found its stride. Chloe Grace Moretz really knocked it out of the park with her portrayal of the title character. Fantastic energy and humor. I would not have been sad to see it in theaters under 20th Century, or however that would have worked.

It was a really chaotic movie. Much better than Strange World. Good world building too. Everything Disney killed that went to Netflix ended up being something special.

 

[TP2000]

FY23 is over and in the books, it happened and yes it was bad in terms of box office for Disney, but now its time to move on.

Poor Things has moved into profitability and will be counted toward FY24, no matter whether that is only $1M or 20M.

Next up will be First Omen in April.

According to Google, The First Omen is from 20th Century Studios, not Searchlight Pictures.

Searchlight has two movies out now in 2024; Poor Things and All Of Us Strangers. But I can't find any evidence that Searchlight has other movies coming out later in 2024. At least not that they've announced or show up in a quick Google search.

 

[BuddyThomas]

According to Google, The First Omen is from 20th Century Studios, not Searchlight Pictures.

Searchlight has two movies out now in 2024; Poor Things and All Of Us Strangers. But I can't find any evidence that Searchlight has other movies coming out later in 2024. At least not that they've announced or show up in a quick Google search.

View attachment 770523

Try as you might to disparage them, Poor Things and All of Us Strangers are both successful. You can blab the opposite forever and probably you will, for reasons that are apparent. That will never make your abhorrent posts on these subjects true.

 

[brideck]

But I can't find any evidence that Searchlight has other movies coming out later in 2024. At least not that they've announced or show up in a quick Google search.

Let me Google that for you.

Searchlight acquired Jesse Eisenberg's A Real Pain at Sundance this year for $10m. It doesn't have a release date yet, but will surely come at some point this year. They also have Lanthimos's next movie, Kinds of Kindness, more or less ready to go, but that one probably won't hit screens until closer to awards season again.

Everything else I see from Searchlight that looks to be nearing release is going straight to Hulu, like the recent Suncoast.

ETA: It looks like there are a couple more movies currently in post-production, The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and O'Dessa. They don't say that they're Hulu releases, but that may not be decided yet.

Source: https://press.searchlightpictures.com/media/uploads/Searchlight_Slate_Preview_2.27.24.pdf

Also, I'm more than sure that The First Omen was brought up as the next Disney umbrella theatrical release, not because it was thought to be Searchlight specifically.

 

[brideck]

i was originally Interested in Beau is Afraid after I saw the trailer and I like the writer/directors other work…Hereditary is especially great, but when the reviews were not great and I heard from some others that it was weird just for weirds sake I skipped it…I think the length deter me as well…as I was not sure I could take 3 hours of just complete weirdness…but your review has me thinking of giving it a go…I could watch in parts at home

I should follow up to say that it is definitely an aggressively chaotic movie, and it wears its influences on its sleeve. It's a very different vibe from Hereditary or Midsommar, both of which I like more. But if you can let yourself go along for the ride, it's a good time.

For those influences, check out https://www.filmlinc.org/daily/prep...h-ari-aster-selects-taking-place-april-14-20/

 

[BuddyThomas]

Phil (husband) watched this the other night and he cannot stop talking about it.

 

[celluloid]

you do realize once a film breaks even at the theatrical box office everything else is gravy…it will continue to add to it’s profits long after it’s theater run is done….I imagine the profits will especially continue with those average film goers who were afraid to take a chance on an artful film such as Poor Things…but will be willing to take a chance on a rental out of curiosity especially with all the awards talk…This is very much a win for Disney

Gravy? Once a film makes its profit at the box office, the people who invested in it start getting their money back.

They want to make a profit so they can keep making movies and get their deserved funds back. There are passion projects, but it is not gravy.

 

[TP2000]

Try as you might to disparage them, Poor Things and All of Us Strangers are both successful. You can blab the opposite forever and probably you will, for reasons that are apparent. That will never make your abhorrent posts on these subjects true.

The "abhorent posts" are based off of factual box office data and publicly available information on production budgets.

Yes, the box office results for Disney in the past 15 months have been mostly abhorrent, thus my posts, grounded in the data that is abhorrent to anyone who likes even modest financial success from an investment, may seem abhorrent.

Taking a riff off an old beer commercial... It's the data.

 

[TP2000]

ETA: It looks like there are a couple more movies currently in post-production, The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat and O'Dessa. They don't say that they're Hulu releases, but that may not be decided yet.

Wait just a dang gone minute.... There's a Searchlight movie coming out in '24 or '25 about The Supremes?!?

As some longtime posters know, even though someone who posts here once tried to claim I was "racist!" for saying so, I am a lifelong lover of The Supremes. I have made two pilgrimages to Detroit to visit the Motown Museum where they have restored the garage that Diana, Mary and Flo recorded their first dozen or so hits in. No one else I've ever known has ever vacationed in Detroit, much less twice!, so that tells me how rare and how cool I am.

I drove up to the Hollywood Bowl two summers ago to see Ms. Ross perform, and I'm afraid that will be my last time. But...

Just like when I first heard about Barbie last June at that neighborhood barbecue, I am all in on The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat!

We'll need to start its own thread for that one, once we have an actual release date. But still... I'm so excited!

 

[Disney Irish]

According to Google, The First Omen is from 20th Century Studios, not Searchlight Pictures.

Searchlight has two movies out now in 2024; Poor Things and All Of Us Strangers. But I can't find any evidence that Searchlight has other movies coming out later in 2024. At least not that they've announced or show up in a quick Google search.

View attachment 770523

Follow along, we're talking about all Disney movies here not just Searchlight. And the point was that we've turned the page and should now we talking about 2024 not 2023.

But as was pointed out there are more Searchlight movies coming out this year.

 

[Disney Irish]

Wait just a dang gone minute.... There's a Searchlight movie coming out in '24 or '25 about The Supremes?!?

As some longtime posters know, even though someone who posts here once tried to claim I was "racist!" for saying so, I am a lifelong lover of The Supremes. I have made two pilgrimages to Detroit to visit the Motown Museum where they have restored the garage that Diana, Mary and Flo recorded their first dozen or so hits in. No one else I've ever known has ever vacationed in Detroit, much less twice!, so that tells me how rare and how cool I am.

I drove up to the Hollywood Bowl two summers ago to see Ms. Ross perform, and I'm afraid that will be my last time. But...

Just like when I first heard about Barbie last June at that neighborhood barbecue, I am all in on The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat!

We'll need to start its own thread for that one, once we have an actual release date. But still... I'm so excited!

Wow a modern Disney movie you might actually see in the theaters and have first hand knowledge about.

 

[TP2000]

Wow a modern Disney movie you might actually see in the theaters and have first hand knowledge about.

Isn't it exciting?!?

I'm hoping this movie is about the girls early in their career. Like after a long recording session in '63 or '64 on Grand Blvd. with Mr. Gordy the girls went to a place in Detroit called Earl's and dished it out and hashed it out.

Or maybe in Autumn '65, after their hugely successful appearance at Lincoln Center in New York after they'd truly made it and were known around the world, they went to a place uptown or in Harlem called Earl's and dished it out and hashed it out.

Whatever it is, if it's got Diana, Mary and Flo in it, I'm all in. Cindy was great in '67 when she had to take over for Flo, don't get me wrong, but it's those original 3 girls from '62 to '66 that were truly.... SUPREME.

 

[Disney Irish]

Gravy? Once a film makes its profit at the box office, the people who invested in it start getting their money back.

They want to make a profit so they can keep making movies and get their deserved funds back. There are passion projects, but it is not gravy.

They've already made their money back, ie their investment, when a film broke even. So don't know how you can say they start getting their money back when it makes profit.

And yes movie investors would like to make more than their money back, ie profit, but know its a gamble. Also passion projects are passion projects for a reason, any profit made is gravy because it wasn't done for the money in the first place.

 

[Disney Irish]

Isn't it exciting?!?

I'm hoping this movie is about the girls early in their career. Like after a long recording session in '63 or '64 on Grand Blvd. with Mr. Gordy the girls went to a place in Detroit called Earl's and dished it out and hashed it out.

Or maybe in Autumn '65, after their hugely successful appearance at Lincoln Center in New York after they'd truly made it and were known around the world, they went to a place uptown or in Harlem called Earl's and dished it out and hashed it out.

Whatever it is, if it's got Diana, Mary and Flo in it, I'm all in. Cindy was great in '67 when she had to take over for Flo, don't get me wrong, but it's those original 3 girls from '62 to '66 that were truly.... SUPREME.

Who has the heart to tell him?

 

[TP2000]

Who has the heart to tell him?

Oh, hell. Do I dare Google? Is this movie smutty like Poor Things?

 

[Disney Irish]

Oh, hell. Do I dare Google? Is this movie smutty like Poor Things?

I haven't seen the movie so can't say, but no I wouldn't say its smutty (not that I said that about Poor Things anyways).

But its not about what you think its about.

 

[TP2000]

Never mind. I Googled it. Cripes.

It's not about The Supremes at all.

Probably without any good music, much less Motown, and certainly nothing you could dance to or make chocolate chip cookies to in the kitchen at 11pm on a second glass of Drambuie.

So... okay. It's Poor Things and All Of Us Strangers so far. Then more artsy stuff for niche audiences that won't break even. Yay?

 

[Disney Irish]

Never mind. I Googled it. Cripes.

It's not about The Supremes at all.

Probably without any good music, much less Motown, and certainly nothing you could dance to or make chocolate chip cookies to in the kitchen at 11pm on a second glass of Drambuie.

So... okay. It's Poor Things and All Of Us Strangers so far. Then more artsy stuff for niche audiences that won't break even. Yay?

Its about women, not men, and its based on a book.

If it follows the book, its set in the past, present, and future, and follows the lives of three women, who's friends have dubbed them The Supremes, who meet every Sunday at the first black owned Midwest all you can eat diner called Earl's to gossip and discuss their lives.

You can find a synopsis of the book here if you really want to know more.

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore - Reading Guide: 9780307950437 - PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STREAMING ON HULU • A warmhearted, "complex, believable, and always intriguing story” (The New York Journal of Books) that celebrates female friendship and second...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com