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

[Casper Gutman]

And who's fault is it that she's the only one? Maybe direct your issues at Disney instead of looking for reasons to shame people here. Serious question. Do you really think race swapping is the answer to equality? Seems to me they've proven they can make new diverse films. Moana, encanto, coco... And the ones that didn't succeed like Reya and wish, just weren't good films not because of race.

You listed animated films. Until recently, animation was one of the few places creating original IPs (we’ll see less of this now). This conversation is about live-action films, a very different matter.

Race-swapping isn’t a solution to the problems we face, but it’s a little tiny bit of progress and the hate campaign and the powerful people perpetuating it are a sign of very significant social regression on the issue.

Disney is an utterly cowardly company, as are most corporations. They deserve criticism. But the far bigger issue is that any little bit of what a poster below you calls “social engineering” brings a torrent of abuse and hate and threats of governmental repression. That should be the focus of our concern.

There's always a but with you. He wasn't just accepted, he was loved by the majority. A fan favorite. The thing you refuse to acknowledge, is that maybe, just maybe, people would have liked/preferred, to see a character they loved, get a shot to break out of that sidekick role and be the lead.

The “but” with me is an understanding of historical context and nuance. You are exaggerating here to desperately make a point - Falcon was liked well enough, but he certainly wasn’t a “fan favorite” like Loki or Iron Man. That aside, the character DID get a chance to be the lead. The character is Sam Wilson. He’s Sam Wilson as Falcon and Sam Wilson as Cap. You need to reconsider why so many people were upset when he became a symbol of America instead of a man in a bird outfit and think about how close “He should have stayed as Falcon,” is to “he should have known his place.”

And for the record, I don't refuse to acknowledge that race can be a part of it. At this point I just don't think you want to listen. Where we differ is I'm not looking at the world all side eyed all the time. There's bad people in the world, there always will be. History is littered with them. But I don't think they are controlling the narrative as much as you do.

At this moment in history this amounts to willful ignorance. As numerous posters have pointed out in this thread, the country has regressed SIGNIFICANTLY on racial matters over the last decade. The people in power are very literally erasing the history of American minority groups. No matter how hard you may close your eyes to what’s happening, it’s still happening - and at some point, denial becomes inseparable from acceptance and even support.

Unwarranted optimism does not make you a good person.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

I will let my wife and her friend group know they are officially middle aged men.

So true… it’s my wife who doesn’t want to go because Zegler ripped on the original.
She said we will wait for Disney +.

I would go if she wanted to go, I went to see Barbie because of my wife.

 

[Chi84]

So true… it’s my wife who doesn’t want to go because Zegler ripped on the original.
She said we will wait for Disney +.

I would go if she wanted to go, I went to see Barbie because of my wife.

She didn’t from what I saw. They asked her how the remake was going to differ from the original and from what I’ve seen she was accurate.

 

[Disney Irish]

So true… it’s my wife who doesn’t want to go because Zegler ripped on the original.
She said we will wait for Disney +.

I would go if she wanted to go, I went to see Barbie because of my wife.

As we've been told by many, you have to separate the art from the artist.

Having seen it there is enough bones of the original that its a nice homage while adding enough to give it a modern twist. For example this idea that many have that based on Zegler's comments they were going to remove the whole love story aspect is false. Its just told in a slightly different way to give it a more fleshed out story rather than the 30 second "meet cute" from the original.

You say you're a "film nerd", well this one will be interesting to you to watch so should give it a chance.

 

[Trauma]

And what give you indication that isn't true? Your wife and her friends fall outside of that "mostly", but still doesn't show that is not a true statement. I mean the statement could be false, but until otherwise proven it’s a valid opinion of where things sit based on that posters perspective. Just like yours is counter to that.

So maybe take down the snark as it wasn't a slight against anyone in particular, it was just an opinion.


Is it? We've had one day of box office previews so don't know how you can say that. And of the target audience, kids and parents, its had mostly positive tracking with over half the parents marking it down as a definite watch. Which if that continues as its theatrical run goes on will be a better outcome than anticipated, ie another Mufasa.

Some of you all like to dig the grave and bury the body before it’s even dead. How about we do something different and just see how it plays out before pronouncing something as "bad and underperforming".

That is why I said based on estimates.

I don’t make the estimates.

Estimates can be wrong.

You can relax.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

She didn’t from what I saw. They asked her how the remake was going to differ from the original and from what I’ve seen she was accurate.

She also explained why it was going to differ from the original; an explanation that branded the original as problematic. And that is why the public rejected her.

 

[Trauma]

So true… it’s my wife who doesn’t want to go because Zegler ripped on the original.
She said we will wait for Disney +.

I would go if she wanted to go, I went to see Barbie because of my wife.

I go to any movie my wife or daughter wants to see.

I have an exactly 0% chance of seeing this one.

 

[Chi84]

She also explained why it was going to differ from the original; an explanation that branded the original as problematic. And that is why the public rejected her.

She didn’t write the screenplay.

Was she supposed to lie?

 

[Disney Irish]

That is why I said based on estimates.

I don’t make the estimates.

Estimated can be wrong.

You can relax.

I am relaxed, but thanks for caring.

As far as estimates, Disney is the one who provides estimates to the trades based on their internal tracking, and usually provides conservative ones in order to temper expectations. Now they can be right on, or they could be off in either direction. But it doesn't mean it "underperformed" if it comes directly from Disney as they are the one who are doing the estimating, especially after a single day of previews.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Makes sense…. Most of the outrage is coming from middle age men

I do not understand being outraged.

When I see Disney do what I know is a mistake I just laugh and shake my head.

I will admit, I get a little sad for the loss of the castle lights at Christmastime, the Osborne lights and the loss of RoA, TSI and the riverboat but there is nothing to be done but to laugh and shake my head again.

Disney is gonna do what Disney's gonna do and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

 

[Trauma]

 

[Disney Irish]

View attachment 849220

FYI, I linked to the actual Deadline article 2 pages ago and provided that very same information -

Early estimates has Thursday night previews at $3.5M. From what I can tell this is middle of the road for the "classic" Disney era live action movies but lower than some of the renaissance Disney live action movies, which maybe telling unto itself where audiences have the most nostalgia for these days.

It seems to be tracking high with kids, especially girls under 12 which isn't surprising.

"Disney‘s Thursday preview figure for Snow White came in at $3.5 million. Early PostTrak shows 5 stars with kids under 12. Of those kids who showed up last night, 84% were girls under 12.

The film’s general audience is 3 stars. However, definite recommend is low at 39%. In fact, Warner Bros’ The Alto Knights has a higher definite recommend of 44%. Parents with Snow White are weathering the film at 2 1/2 stars, though their definite recommend is higher at 52%."

Ho-Hum, Ho-Hum: ‘Snow White’ Opens To $43M — What Poisoned This Princess At The Box Office – Sunday AM Box Office Update

Disney's controversial 'Snow White' begins with $3.5M in previews on Thursday.

deadline.com

We'll see how it goes, but from these early results parents (especially those with young girls) seem not to care as much about the "drama" as some here would have us believe.

 

[Trauma]

FYI, I linked to the actual Deadline article 2 pages ago and provided that very same information -

This way you don’t have to click a link.

 

[Disney Irish]

This way you don’t have to click a link.

And you didn't have to click the link in my post if you just wanted the same blurb in that Reddit post as I quoted it right in the post. Basically its duplicate information just this time not from the source but still quoting the source, ie its better to get it right from the source and not a Reddit post.

 

[Disstevefan1]

View attachment 849220

The great thing is, all those kids under 12 need a parent to also buy a ticket to take them to see SW.

It's great Disney makes movies they want to make and that make their Stakeholders happy.

It would also be great if they also made movies that are profitable to make their Shareholders happy too.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

She didn’t write the screenplay.

Was she supposed to lie?

No, she's supposed to say, "It's gonna be exciting. You'll just have to wait and see how we blended the fantastic original classic with some new elements and songs," ... like a normal actress with more than 5 minutes of media training would have done.

 

[Chi84]

The great thing is, all those kids under 12 need a parent to also buy a ticket to take them to see SW.

This is true of all movies, which is why so many wait to see it at home. This is particularly true of those with very young children who have a hard time sitting quietly in a theater.

 

[Disney Irish]

The great thing is, all those kids under 12 need a parent to also buy a ticket to take them to see SW.

It shows that Disney's core audience for "Disney" movies is and will continue to be families. And outside any "drama" the movie has that appeal which hopefully will bode well for the box office.

It's great Disney makes movies they want to make and that make their Stakeholders happy.

It would also be great if they also made movies that are profitable to make their Shareholders happy too.

These are not mutually exclusive. Too many people think these two groups are at odds with each other but they typically aren't, they just look at it from different perspectives.

 

[Chi84]

No, she's supposed to say, "It's gonna be exciting. You'll just have to wait and see how we blended the fantastic original classic with some new elements and songs," ... like a normal actress with more than 5 minutes of media training would have done.

I disagree. She was hired to act in a movie and she answered honestly when asked about it.

It’s not normal to dodge questions when you’re put out there for the purpose of answering them.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I disagree. She was hired to act in a movie and she answered honestly when asked about it.

It’s not normal to dodge questions when you’re put out there for the purpose of answering them.

You can disagree all you want; your recommended course of action likely cost Disney a couple hundred million dollars (and ended Zeigler's career as a leading lady).