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

[DKampy]

I happily watch Gutfeld! at least 3 or 4 nights per week because it's marketed specifically as a Political Commentary/Humor show. It's on a dedicated cable news network after all, so it's not trying to be The Tonight Show or Ed Sullivan.

I also find the format interesting and refreshing; four informed people sitting around talking and laughing at stuff from the day's news for an hour. No band, no musical guest, no Ed McMahon sipping Scotch out of a coffee mug on the couch, just witty banter and commentary about the day's news.

I miss the heyday of Johnny Carson and David Letterman just like you probably do. I was a bigger Letterman fan in the 80's than I was ever a Carson fan, and some of Letterman's skits and bits still crack me up on YouTube over 40 years later. Larry Bud Melman offering hot towels to arriving bus passengers at the Port Authority still makes me fall off the couch!

But there's a reason why Gutfeld! has higher ratings than any of the other late night talk shows. He clearly cracked a code.

How Greg Gutfeld Became the Bill Maher of Fox News — And Toppled Fallon and Colbert in the Ratings

Greg Gutfeld sounds off in a new Variety cover story on toppling Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel in the ratings.

variety.com

I am not regular watcher of the late night shows…. But if you compare the ratings between them….well then it’s fair you favor Gutfeld due to his politics… just as my liberal parents favor Jimmy Kimmel…. The difference is mom and dad will watch other hosts such as Fallon and Colbert…. Where as far right wing conservatives will just leave fox on throughout their evenings… as @brideck alluded to

 

[Disney Irish]

Well as I have learned from Reddit, it was all part of the same ring. My favourite author was frequently sharing back and forth on social media with the YouTubers we chide. That’s why the message seemed oddly focus and targeted. Just toned way, way down from what she posts with UK rags.

As always, it was hiding behind the legitimacy of Forbes. But I was kind of impressed with how immediately and seriously they took my unsolicited email claims. They did want me to send any more external plagiarism I found, but at a certain point I’ve done enough leg work for them and she’s not worth the energy of wading through her articles.

So much for integrity in journalism I guess, if you'd even consider what she posted journalism. Shows how far Forbes has even dropped in their vetting of their "Contributors", ie no editorial process.

 

[Agent H]

It’s not really the linking to the marginally related articles that is the problem, but copy-pasting large segments from other articles that makes them almost unreadable. Took me 9 months for repetitive exposure to some of her articles to finally piece together what was occurring. My first reaction was AI rather than plagiarism.

I’ll link back to this one. That manages to spend 75% of its almost unending thesis off topic.

The $2.1 Billion Disney Theme Park Gamble

Judging by the huge crowds which have gathered at Tokyo Disney Resort since its new Fantasy Springs land opened last week you would have thought that it was guaranteed to have a happy ending. In fact it could become one of the most expensive mistakes ever made in a Disney park.

www.forbes.com

But now I know she’s just written many other articles on this topic and sews it together into a Frankenstein’s Monster. When you got the chance to interview Eisner once (more than a decade ago) and went Tokyo once (a decade ago), you start to run dry on the material and stop even rewording the same well, but just reposting it.

Now for a grievance, the original content in it is hilarious. Concerns about the presence of IP in TDS, when the park was built with a Jules Verne Land, an Indiana Jones Land, an Aladdin land (sort of) and a Little Mermaid land (that actually sheds pretense that it’s just an IP land). Then out the other side of her mouth questioning the longevity of Frozen and Tangled…

Gold Star to anyone who actually reads this whole article, but I want to bring this one forward because it’s the whole reason I decided I didn’t like this author, not the box office interpretation. But got there in the end.

Another fun fact is I guess the Box Office subreddit has banned her articles. Discovered that on my google rabbit hole.

it sure was something listening to her trash fantasy springs like it isn’t one of the best lands they’ve ever designed.

 

[TP2000]

Or... he just happens to be on a channel whose viewership watches precious little else on TV. Most everyone else splits their ballots with what they watch, so to speak.

Tell that to the network salesmen trying to sell airtime on shows that are losing their audience share.

"I know Colbert doesn't have as big an audience as Gutfeld, but that's because the ballots are split! Advertise with us, please!"

Not to continue this non-Oscars/non-box office discussion, but lets also not get things twisted here, we're talking about a show that only gets an average of 2.5M viewers. And while that might be more than other late night shows, its certainly not blowing the doors off any ranking list other than late night. It should also be noted that a majority of those viewers skew older, with only ~355K of them being 25-54 which in itself is low in my opinion even if they have had some gains recently it isn't a trend I see changing as the show will remain predominately older.

I'm afraid the Nielsen statistics don't show that at all. I know you don't approve of misinformation, so it's just a situation of you being under false impressions on this topic.

Gutfeld! gets the biggest share of not just overall viewers, but also gets the biggest share of young viewers "in the key demo" of 18-49 years old on the paid cable channel Fox News than the other late night talk shows on the free networks.

In January, 2025, the ratings looked like this, from highest to lowest:

• Gutfeld! (Fox News): 3,497,000 viewers | 308,000 in the key demo
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS): 2,376,000 viewers | 239,000 in the key demo
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC): 1,946,000 viewers | 212,000 in the key demo
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC): 1,229,000 viewers | 188,000 in the key demo

The whole network tends to also skew older, but that is another discussion.

I'm sure compared to The Cartoon Network or MTV that Fox News skews older. But compared to its real competition of other cable news, Fox News actually skews the youngest in the demo of 18-49 years old. It's been that way for years now, but it's grown stronger in the past year or so.

Overall Average Viewers For Cable News Networks for 2024
1. Fox News: 2,470,000 Viewers average at any one time
2. MSNBC: 1,263,000 Viewers average at any one time
3. CNN 777,000 Viewers average at any one time
4. Newsmax 294,000 Viewers average at any one time
5. CNBC 122,000 Viewers average at any one time
6. Newsnation 108,000 Viewers average at any one time

Fox News averages more viewers than the next four cable news networks combined (MSNBC, CNN, Newsmax, CNBC).

Overage Average Viewers For Cable News Networks Aged 18-49 for 2024
1. Fox News: 203,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
2. CNN: 107,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
3. MSNBC, 86,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
4. The other cable news shows have less than 50,000 viewers in the demo, so they aren't tracked

Fox News averages more viewers aged 18-49 that CNN and MSNBC combined. (And likely with CNBC and Newsmax too).

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2024’s Winners and Losers

TV network ratings for 2024: A complete broadcast, cable and pay TV ranker of the most watched channels of the year, including winners and losers.

variety.com

 

[Disney Irish]

Tell that to the network salesmen trying to sell airtime on shows that are losing their audience share.

"I know Colbert doesn't have as big an audience as Gutfeld, but that's because the ballots are split! Advertise with us, please!"



I'm afraid the Nielsen statistics don't show that at all. I know you don't approve of misinformation, so it's just a situation of you being under false impressions on this topic.

Gutfeld! gets the biggest share of not just overall viewers, but also gets the biggest share of young viewers "in the key demo" of 18-49 years old on the paid cable channel Fox News than the other late night talk shows on the free networks.

In January, 2025, the ratings looked like this, from highest to lowest:

• Gutfeld! (Fox News): 3,497,000 viewers | 308,000 in the key demo
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS): 2,376,000 viewers | 239,000 in the key demo
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC): 1,946,000 viewers | 212,000 in the key demo
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC): 1,229,000 viewers | 188,000 in the key demo

I know math is hard for you so let me break this down for you.

Gutfeld! (Fox News): 3,497,000 viewers | 308,000 in the key demo - only 8%
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS): 2,376,000 viewers | 239,000 in the key demo - 10%
Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC): 1,946,000 viewers | 212,000 in the key demo - 10 %
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC): 1,229,000 viewers | 188,000 in the key demo - 15%

So of the "key" demographic your buddy Gutfeld gets LESS percentage wise than the others. Meaning that the other shows are MORE popular with the younger demographic than Gutfeld when comparing their overall viewership numbers. Which again means that Gutfeld skews older with 92% of its viewers.

I'm sure compared to The Cartoon Network or MTV that Fox News skews older. But compared to its real competition of other cable news, Fox News actually skews the youngest in the demo of 18-49 years old. It's been that way for years now, but it's grown stronger in the past year or so.

Overall Average Viewers For Cable News Networks for 2024
1. Fox News: 2,470,000 Viewers average at any one time
2. MSNBC: 1,263,000 Viewers average at any one time
3. CNN 777,000 Viewers average at any one time
4. Newsmax 294,000 Viewers average at any one time
5. CNBC 122,000 Viewers average at any one time
6. Newsnation 108,000 Viewers average at any one time

Fox News averages more viewers than the next four cable news networks combined (MSNBC, CNN, Newsmax, CNBC).

Overage Average Viewers For Cable News Networks Aged 18-49 for 2024
1. Fox News: 203,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
2. CNN: 107,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
3. MSNBC, 86,000 Viewers Age 18-49 average at any one time
4. The other cable news shows have less than 50,000 viewers in the demo, so they aren't tracked

Fox News averages more viewers aged 18-49 that CNN and MSNBC combined. (And likely with CNBC and Newsmax too).

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2024’s Winners and Losers

TV network ratings for 2024: A complete broadcast, cable and pay TV ranker of the most watched channels of the year, including winners and losers.

variety.com

Funny, the article you just posted proves my point, how Fox News ranks number 11 among 18-49, ie the network skews older for its general viewers being that its only getting 8% from the 18-49 crowd out of its total viewership -

And my bet is that goes back down in 2025, it being a non-election year. Because you can look at just the year prior in 2023 and see it was even lower -

The Food Network ranked higher than Fox News in 2023 with 18-49, as it only got 7% of its total viewers from the 18-49 crowd and it was down from even a year prior in 2022.

So yeah tell me again that with 92% of its viewers older than 50 how Fox News doesn't skew older and is a prime watching network for the younger generation when even Telemundo and Univision and reruns on USA beats it in 2024 for that demographic.

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2024’s Winners and Losers

TV network ratings for 2024: A complete broadcast, cable and pay TV ranker of the most watched channels of the year, including winners and losers.

variety.com

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2023’s Winners and Losers

A complete broadcast, cable and pay TV ratings ranker for 2023.

variety.com

 

[Tha Realest]

So of the "key" demographic your buddy Gutfeld gets LESS percentage wise than the others. Meaning that the other shows are MORE popular with the younger demographic than Gutfeld when comparing their overall viewership numbers. Which again means that Gutfeld skews older with 92% of its viewers.

I’m not sure you’re drawing the correct conclusions here. If you as a product want more “key demographic” eyeballs on your product, you would want to advertise on Gutfeld. Using your own numbers, you’d have almost twice as many key demographic eyeballs seeing your ads on Gutfeld than Jimmy Fallon.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I’m not sure you’re drawing the correct conclusions here. If you as a product want more “key demographic” eyeballs on your product, you would want to advertise on Gutfeld. Using your own numbers, you’d have almost twice as many key demographic eyeballs seeing your ads on Gutfeld than Jimmy Fallon.

More importantly it compares a news channel to network TV, rather than other news channels, exactly the thing TP was pointing out as an invalid comparison.

A news channel will always skew older than non news channels, most people, including the key demographic, will prefer sports, comedies, and fun entertainment over the news. That’s not surprising.

 

[brideck]

I’m not sure you’re drawing the correct conclusions here. If you as a product want more “key demographic” eyeballs on your product, you would want to advertise on Gutfeld. Using your own numbers, you’d have almost twice as many key demographic eyeballs seeing your ads on Gutfeld than Jimmy Fallon.

Honestly, I think the numbers are all so low that an advertiser looking for the key demo just wouldn't bother with any of those shows. (Though I understand your point.) It's a bit like arguing about which snail is the world's fastest. [It was the one in my 6th grade homeroom, for the record.]

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Honestly, I think the numbers are all so low that an advertiser looking for the key demo just wouldn't bother with any of those shows. (Though I understand your point.) It's a bit like arguing about which snail is the world's fastest. [It was the one in my 6th grade homeroom, for the record.]

Ads are all catered based on viewership demographics, Gutfield isn’t competing with American Idol for ads, it’s competing with other similar shows that draw the same demographics. Ironically shows like the view that have similar viewership numbers and who’s audience skews even older.

 

[easyrowrdw]

While I believe The Dark Knight should have been nominated and won Best Picture in 2008, Slumdog Millionare was still a pretty great movie and it made a decent amount of money at the box office ($378 million in 2008). Slumdog made much, much more than more modern winners like Anora or the Shape of Water or Moonlight.

Oh sure. I was speaking more of the populist backlash to not getting a nomination. The next year when a tiny movie beats a giant one, it seems like a continuation of a similar theme.

 

[Disney Irish]

I’m not sure you’re drawing the correct conclusions here. If you as a product want more “key demographic” eyeballs on your product, you would want to advertise on Gutfeld. Using your own numbers, you’d have almost twice as many key demographic eyeballs seeing your ads on Gutfeld than Jimmy Fallon.

No it proves exactly what I was trying to say, on a percentage basis Gutfeld (and Fox News in general) skews older than younger compared to other late night shows. From a raw number stand point yes it slightly gets more, but that really doesn't matter to me as I really wasn't looking at ratings from an advertisers point of view anyways that is something that others brought up.

 

[Ghost93]

Oh sure. I was speaking more of the populist backlash to not getting a nomination. The next year when a tiny movie beats a giant one, it seems like a continuation of a similar theme.

The Dark Knight should have DEFINITELY gotten in over The Reader.

In Bruges, Doubt, the Wrestler, Revolutionary Road and WALLE were also better than the vast majority of the 2008 nominees.

 

[Disney Irish]

Ads are all catered based on viewership demographics, Gutfield isn’t competing with American Idol for ads, it’s competing with other similar shows that draw the same demographics. Ironically shows like the view that have similar viewership numbers and who’s audience skews even older.

Actually that is not true, if I'm an advertiser that is trying to advertise for the 18-49 demo I'm going for American Idol not Gutfeld. So in that sense yes Gutfeld is competing for ad dollars with other shows not in its same time block for the age group.

But we've gotten WAY off topic now.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The Dark Knight should have DEFINITELY gotten in over The Reader.

In Bruges, Doubt, the Wrestler, Revolutionary Road and WALLE were also better than the vast majority of the 2008 nominees.

That’s one opinion.

 

[Agent H]

That’s one opinion.

I don’t know about the rest but wall-e is the best movie of all time imo.

 

[DKampy]

That’s one opinion.

Correct.. they are all opinions… who are we to say the nominations are wrong… none of us are in the Academy

I do enjoy watching the Academy Awards…. As I watch a lot of films, so I am familiar with most…. But all I can say is whether I disagree or agree… all film is subjective…. I would never tell someone else’s opinion is wrong

 

[easyrowrdw]

The Dark Knight should have DEFINITELY gotten in over The Reader.

In Bruges, Doubt, the Wrestler, Revolutionary Road and WALLE were also better than the vast majority of the 2008 nominees.

In Bruges is one of my absolute favorites. Slumdog is probably the only one from the actual nominees that I would've had on my list. Everyone's different of course.

My favorite tidbit about The Reader.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Correct.. they are all opinions… who are we to say the nominations are wrong… none of us are in the Academy

I do enjoy watching the Academy Awards…. As I watch a lot of films, so I am familiar with most…. But all I can say is whether I disagree or agree… all film is subjective…. I would never tell someone else’s opinion is wrong

I don't know why people get so hung up on those awards. The Academy Awards tends to award the type of movie that doesn't have a ton of mainstream popularity. It's usually a slower prestige drama type.

There's also a tendency to give an award that is really based on a lifetime of work. Return of the King was really an award for the trilogy.

It's pretty rare that I'm 100% adamantly in agreement with a given award. The notable one I can think of was Schindler's List. I would have been stunned at any other result.

I'll watch sometimes because the Oscars have some entertainment value and it's a chance to learn about movies I probably overlooked. I don't worry too much about how much it aligns with my own opinions.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I would agree, but not for the reason you think. I just think that most of the older generations have moved on, and most of the younger generations aren't watching late night in general. So its not politics in my opinion, as I would think that is fairly even in terms of amount when compared to someone like Gutfeld, its just now a different era where late night is no longer in favor compared to other forms of entertainment. Maybe that changes and things swing back, who knows.

I agree with you!!! There's a first time for everything, LOL.
I am "older" and I used to love to stay up and watch Johnny Carson every night. Then as I got older I quit watching the late night shows, and now don't even think of them. It could be a generational thing.

 

[LittleBuford]

It was five years ago today that Onward was released. It’s the last film I saw at the cinema before the world shut down—it was just me at the screening. As horrible as that moment in history turned out to be, the film holds a very special place in my heart and is now bound up for me with all the intense emotions surrounding that time. I might rewatch it tonight to mark the occasion.