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

[LittleBuford]

Like 50% of the comments on this and most movie discussions

Continually trying to bury the leads…

Which are the choices they make for films are entirely out of whack and they are actively making bad business decisions with them in many cases.

And when something makes no money…it’s a fail. All this nonsense about “sometimes it’s not about the money…” and “everything makes money on Disney + (declining subs)” is just fans trying to self soothe themselves with utter CRAP

Am I being too nuanced?

But you aren't providing any specific examples. And your responses to my posts show that you aren't really interested in specifics anyway.

What you are looking for is dogmatism, and that's not a good basis for productive discussion. You want me and others to say "Snow White was an awful idea and lost money for Disney!" and leave it there, as if box-office performance should be the only thing we care about. But my own feelings on the film are more complex than that, so why shouldn't I explore and voice them? (I'm referring to other threads in this part of the forum; I realise this particular thread is specifically about the box office.)

Let me end by reiterating a point I've made before. I know it rubs you the wrong way whenever I bring it up, but we both give money to Disney. Indeed, you give considerably more than I do, based on what you yourself have revealed about your spending at the parks. I'm generally happy with what Disney currently offers, even if I am criticial of certain products and decisions. You, on the other hand, seem generally unhappy with what Disney currently offers. That's perfectly fair—we're all entitled to our tastes and opinions—but I really don't think you're in any position to preach to others about how deluded we are to support the company in its present state.

 

[TP2000]

TP2GCC

is now totally a thing

We can monitor and direct the activities of The RAGE Network from there

We let Ted monitor and direct that segment for us.

That's why most of his blinky lights at his console are red. They're burning hot with rage and hate. Ted's a real piece of work.

 

[Chi84]

Like 50% of the comments on this and most movie discussions

Continually trying to bury the leads…

Which are the choices they make for films are entirely out of whack and they are actively making bad business decisions with them in many cases.

And when something makes no money…it’s a fail. All this nonsense about “sometimes it’s not about the money…” and “everything makes money on Disney + (declining subs)” is just fans trying to self soothe themselves with utter CRAP

Am I being too nuanced?

Sometimes movies aren't all about the money and they do make money outside of the theatrical release. I know this is a box office thread but those two subjects are at least tangential and it makes sense to discuss them here.

My question is why you think people who post the comments you referenced are doing it to "soothe themselves?" You're too much into the "feels" sometimes. You care deeply about Disney and tend to attribute that level of caring to others. I can acknowledge what a movie makes outside of its theatrical release without feeling "soothed" or any other kind of way.

Only a few generations "grew up" alongside Disney. It's losing those generations now and younger fans don't "feel" much of anything toward the Disney company. It's possible that would have happened no matter who was in charge.

 

[DKampy]

We saw Drop today… pretty good thriller

the theater did not up the screens for Minecraft…. It was still on 2 screens… interestingly they had King of Kings on 5 screens…. I was surprised by that

As we were leaving the theater a group of 5 or 6 teenage girls were being kicked out of the theater….as they were leaving I heard one of the girls say I was able to video everything on my phone…I was told by a poster that all the videos popping up were from the same show just different angles… if that’s the case I still wonder how many copycats did those inspire

 

[Disstevefan1]

What do you mean exactly by "apologizing for Disney"? Can you provide some examples from the movie threads?

I jumped in and saw posts implying folks are apologizing for Disney, if there are no examples, GREAT!!! Folks should NOT apologize for Disney. Disney does what Disney does and does not apologize, so folks shouldn't apologize for them either.

Only one example, I wish Disney would apologize for destroying the fountain of nations and replacing it with an ugly planter in EPCOT.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Box Office: ‘Minecraft’ Scores $80 Million in Massive Second Weekend

“A Minecraft Movie” scored a massive $80 million in its second weekend of release and remained at No. 1 at the box office as five new movies opened in theaters. Ticket sales for “A Minecraft Movie” declined 50% from its record-breaking $162.7 million debut, which represents an impressive hold...

www.yahoo.com

Minecraft had a 50% drop but it made $80 million and stayed #1. It’s at $550 million globally after just 10 days. I wonder what Easter weekend will bring.

This is really depressing. The ramifications will be profound.

 

[Disstevefan1]

This is really depressing. The ramifications will be profound.

I am happy for the movie theaters. Movies will come along that sell tickets.

 

[erasure fan1]

I am happy for the movie theaters. Movies will come along that sell tickets.

Yea that's a real strange take he has. It's funny because if I was going to call out a film as having "profound ramifications", it would be Moana 2. A movie thrown together from a tv show that deserved much more care than it received, that made a ton of money. That's a bigger problem than a movie that was marketed as silly nonsense.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Yea that's a real strange take he has. It's funny because if I was going to call out a film as having "profound ramifications", it would be Moana 2. A movie thrown together from a tv show that deserved much more care than it received, that made a ton of money. That's a bigger problem than a movie that was marketed as silly nonsense.

I am happy about Moana 2 for both the theaters and Disney.

Disney cobbled together a movie from a Disney+ series and turned in what would have been a PURE COST to Disney+ into a HUGE money maker for both the theater and Disney.

A brilliant move by Disney! (see when Disney does something right I happily say it!)

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I am happy about Moana 2 for both the theaters and Disney.

Disney cobbled together a movie from a Disney+ series and turned in what would have been a PURE COST to Disney+ into a HUGE money maker for both the theater and Disney.

A brilliant move by Disney! (see when Disney does something right I happily say it!)

I still haven’t been able to finish Moana2 on D+, I think it highlights just how desperate people are for a good Disney flick, put out something decent and people will show up with their wallets out, makes me very optimistic for Stitch.

I enjoyed Mufasa a lot more than I expected to at least.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yea that's a real strange take he has. It's funny because if I was going to call out a film as having "profound ramifications", it would be Moana 2. A movie thrown together from a tv show that deserved much more care than it received, that made a ton of money. That's a bigger problem than a movie that was marketed as silly nonsense.

Which movie do you feel is going to have more a profound impact on the industry? Which is exciting more attention in the industry? How many TV show episodes do you expect to be converted to theatrical films?

 

[easyrowrdw]

This is really depressing. The ramifications will be profound.

What do you think the ramifications are?

My kids want to see it so I think we’re going this weekend.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I don't think Minecraft will have a major impact on the movie industry.

We frequently see a movie come somewhat out of nowhere to be a surprise hit. If it represented a trend or something people could predict, they would. I don't think it's as easy as people think to just come up with the "next Minecraft".

We continue to see the trend that audiences want things that are familiar. That's nothing new. We also have to remember that even the most reliable properties will fade over time. That seems to be happening with Marvel, but the next Avengers movies will tell that tale.

Therefore we'll continue to see some original movies, as studios look for that next big hit that can turn into a franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean for example, would be considered risky. Previous pirate movie Cutthroat Island was a financial disaster. Johnny Depp gave a performance that had executives worried. It turned out to be the start of a huge franchise that I doubt anyone would have predicted.

Streaming will continue to have an impact. I imagine theaters will continue to prioritize the big spectacle films that are more likely to draw theater visits. On the other hand, the ease of accessing smaller movies at home may benefit smaller movies. We no longer have to go to a specialty video store to track down a copy of a niche film.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I don't think Minecraft will have a major impact on the movie industry.

We frequently see a movie come somewhat out of nowhere to be a surprise hit. If it represented a trend or something people could predict, they would. I don't think it's as easy as people think to just come up with the "next Minecraft".

We continue to see the trend that audiences want things that are familiar. That's nothing new. We also have to remember that even the most reliable properties will fade over time. That seems to be happening with Marvel, but the next Avengers movies will tell that tale.

Therefore we'll continue to see some original movies, as studios look for that next big hit that can turn into a franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean for example, would be considered risky. Previous pirate movie Cutthroat Island was a financial disaster. Johnny Depp gave a performance that had executives worried. It turned out to be the start of a huge franchise that I doubt anyone would have predicted.

Streaming will continue to have an impact. I imagine theaters will continue to prioritize the big spectacle films that are more likely to draw theater visits. On the other hand, the ease of accessing smaller movies at home may benefit smaller movies. We no longer have to go to a specialty video store to track down a copy of a niche film.

It’s about how we engage with media. The proliferation of memes and extremely short-form content is altering a generation in ways we don’t understand. We’re seeing statistically significant decreases in the ability to engage with books and films. It’s only been a matter of time before the studios, desperate for hits and adrift in a sea of economic instability, began to try and adapt. Minecraft is likely a tipping point. We’re likely to see a significant effort to move away from storytelling to emphasize content that attempts to leverage familiarity with social media trends and meme recognition. This approach will also be much cheaper for an industry desperate to save money.

While there are certain connective threads to the IP-driven cinema of the last 25 years or so, this will be a new beast, different in kind and not just degree. The nostalgia for superhero content, for instance, hinges largely on themes and fundamental character traits rather than simple images - it’s one of the reasons there’s so much debate over “accuracy.” The MCU has worked because the characters FEEL right, not LOOK right.

 

[erasure fan1]

Which movie do you feel is going to have more a profound impact on the industry? Which is exciting more attention in the industry? How many TV show episodes do you expect to be converted to theatrical films?

There always have, and will always be stupid movies for the sake of stupid movies. In this situation Moana is the clear answer in my opinion. One of your most popular franchise's is given a streaming show. Then they decided well that's not going to make us enough money. So it's duck taped together into a film and released, and it does over a billion. Showing Disney they don't have to really put a ton of effort and give things the care they deserve and they can still make money. That perception is more damaging in my eyes. Now if they would have released the show, and then made a proper theatrical sequel, then yea Minecraft is the choice. But that's not what happened.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Speaking of stupid movies I cant wait for Five nights at Freddy's 2!

Its most likely we will wait for streaming (we saw the first one on streaming) but who knows, its coming out during Christmastime so who knows, depending on the family, maybe we will go to the theater to see this stupid movie

 

[Disstevefan1]

Megan 2.0 looks even stupider. lol

The creators must have had some edibles or something. I don't know what they were thinking.

I think what makes these movies work is folks go into these movies KNOWING they are cr@p, expectations the absolutely the lowest! I watched Megan 1.0 "free" on streaming, and it was stupid but it was entertaining, the last scene where Megan gets it was very entertaining.

Yes, I will watch Megan 2.0 "free" on streaming.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Who in this thread is complaining about “stupid” movies?

“Stupid” and “bad” are not the same thing, by the way.

 

[Andrew C]

Speaking of stupid movies I cant wait for Five nights at Freddy's 2!

Never saw the first!

 

[Casper Gutman]

Never saw the first!

It’s bad, largely because it’s not stupid enough.