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

[donaldtoo]

I visited WDW for the first time when I was 29. Then went back for another 50+ visits.

Started out taking our parents, now we take our kids and grandkids.

We loved the all-inclusive feel of WDW. There’s less of that every visit now.

We still enjoy it but have branched out to cruising so we go less often now. If our kids had to pay, they would choose a less expensive vacation.

Y’all sound kinda’ like us.
My DWifey first visited WDW when she was 21.
We didn’t know each other then, but we went to WDW for our honeymoon in December of ‘88…she was 25 and I was 26.
I had also been to Disneyland 4 times prior to that, including 1 time with her in ‘87. I had previously been to Disneyland in ‘68, ‘70 and ‘72.
We didn’t take our first family trip to WDW until July of ‘01. Our kids were 6, 8 and our oldest turned 10 while we were there.
We haven’t been nearly close to 50+ times, but we’ve been about a dozen times. The last 2 times with our 2 young granddaughters.
We took our first Carnival cruise in December of ‘17 and have been hooked since. We’ve taken 5 cruises, including 1 DCL cruise, since then (3 with oldest granddaughter, and 2 with youngest), and have another Carnival cruise scheduled for this coming June.
We love cruising in general, but there’s also something about being out on the veranda to watch the sunrise that really puts me at peace…!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

I now question if you actually grew up in the 70s and 80s, some kids were getting these as presents and loving them -

I had one of those.
It peed and crapped everywhere, darn near ate me outta’ house and home and tore up the furniture.
I had to give it to the rock shelter.
I hope it finally found the right home.

 

[TP2000]

Snow White is now in 610 theatres and as of yesterday (Friday) is at 85.4 million...

It will not be making 90 million domestic.

That definitely warrants an Oof! Just two months ago in this thread, who among us could have thought it would bomb that badly?

Sorry for missing my reporting shift here yesterday, gang. I was extra sociable this weekend for this town's Concours events, January-like temps and rain and all!

Rachel Zegler's Snow White took a mighty drop down to 16th place this weekend. She might still be able to creep past $200 Million globally, but it's going to be tight. As noted above, getting to $90 Million domestically will be nearly impossible now.

 

[Agent H]

I had one of those.
It peed and crapped everywhere, darn near ate me outta’ house and home and tore up the furniture.
I had to give it to the rock shelter.
I hope it finally found the right home.

What a badly behaved pet. You should have rocked it to sleep.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Indeed. Regardless of nitpicking the sequels longevity (I don’t know!), it’s a bit hard to ignore Grogu’s merchandise penetration.

That one isn’t 50 year old men driving that.

The whole reason that stuck in the first place is because it’s a yoda junior wizard…

Yeah…the 50 year old “problem” again…

They’ve spun it “cute” since…too cute actually…but the reason it got a beach head was because of Frank Oz

Let’s not kid


And there’s no sense going the Irish “we don’t know what the movies will be like later…” with that terrible sequel set. They’re awful…a bland reboot and two unwatchable pieces of digital trash. They have no “longterm”

Far, far less than the prequels…

The only way people are “ok” with then from a nostalgia standpoint is if Disney rebuilds the brand to where it’s dependable to deliver good material and people accept them as just a bad chapter…not something done on purpose

They have a growing opportunity there…but let’s see how they screw it up?

 

[brideck]

And there’s no sense going the Irish “we don’t know what the movies will be like later…” with that terrible sequel set. They’re awful…a bland reboot and two unwatchable pieces of digital trash. They have no “longterm”

But again... we're talking about kids here. Even if I take your descriptors at face value (not that I agree with them), 8-year olds watch all sorts of "digital trash" and grow up having warm, nostalgic feelings about it anyway. We really can't predict what the long-term feelings about them will be from that set of people.

It's very clear what your long-term feelings for them are, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

20 year old film Disney didn't make does gangbuster. Obvious how Star Wars fans will come out to see real Star Wars.

 

[Disney Irish]

Nostalgia is a funny thing, one can never tell what the masses will be nostalgia for. For example if anyone would have said that the number one movie of 2025 so far would be from a 15 year old open world building game just 5 years ago they would have been lying.

15 years seems to be the when nostalgia starts to hit and just grows stronger from there. So yeah in about 5 years or so we'll see if the 20-somethings at the time are starting to be nostalgic for the ST.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’: Disney’s First R-Rated MCU Title Claws Way To $400M Profit And No. 3 On 2024’s Most Valuable Blockbuster List

Deadpool & Wolverine starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman helped resurrect superhero cinema with $1.3 billion-plus at the worldwide box office.

deadline.com

 

[brideck]

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’: Disney’s First R-Rated MCU Title Claws Way To $400M Profit And No. 3 On 2024’s Most Valuable Blockbuster List

Deadpool & Wolverine starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman helped resurrect superhero cinema with $1.3 billion-plus at the worldwide box office.

deadline.com

Well, there you have it. That should mean that Disney had the three most profitable movies of 2024. The struggle is real.

10 - Sonic 3 - $123.6m
9 - Mufasa - $175.0m
8 - Kung Fu Panda 4 - $178.0m
7 - Dune: Part Two - $184.3m
6 - It Ends With Us - $207.0m
5 - Wicked - $230.0m
4 - Despicable Me 4 - $370.0m
3 - Deadpool & Wolverine - $400.0m

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

But again... we're talking about kids here. Even if I take your descriptors at face value (not that I agree with them), 8-year olds watch all sorts of "digital trash" and grow up having warm, nostalgic feelings about it anyway. We really can't predict what the long-term feelings about them will be from that set of people.

It's very clear what your long-term feelings for them are, but that's neither here nor there.

There will be some kids who cling to it as they age…

But it’s the law of diminishing returns

OT > PT > DT

We shall see


there is already evidence
KK touting daisy Ridley back…which was received like a fart in church

Now the rumor is hide her behind Ryan gosling

Which is actually smart. Rush it into production and get it made. Use it as a platform to try and rebuild

Even “hubritic” Disney might actually be learning they can’t force a fanbase into existence

 

[BrianLo]

Well, there you have it. That should mean that Disney had the three most profitable movies of 2024. The struggle is real.

Interesting the way Moana 2 is breaking up. I think there are some massive backends coming considering Moana 1 remains the number one streamed movie every year.

 

[BrianLo]

But again... we're talking about kids here. Even if I take your descriptors at face value (not that I agree with them), 8-year olds watch all sorts of "digital trash" and grow up having warm, nostalgic feelings about it anyway. We really can't predict what the long-term feelings about them will be from that set of people.

It's very clear what your long-term feelings for them are, but that's neither here nor there.

Agree. The difference in this conversation is we are not talking about movies that weren’t watched and maybe will catch on. Kids again saw these ones.

Certainly episode 7 and 8 did very, very well. So I really think it’s fair of us to say we don’t know. Episode 2 was and is objectively awful, yet prequels generated nostalgia in a cohort Gen X swore it wouldn’t.

I’m not a true Star Wars guy, but my millennial friends fit that classic demo, who really like prequels and the filoni output.

 

[Stripes]

Thunderbolts* | Rotten Tomatoes

Discover reviews, ratings, and trailers for Thunderbolts* on Rotten Tomatoes. Stay updated with critic and audience scores today!

www.rottentomatoes.com

 

[Baloo124]

Episode 2 was and is objectively awful

I know people like to target Episode 1 as the punching bag of that trilogy, and for obvious Jar Jar reasons.
But Episode 2 was my least favorite of all those.

At least the Ep 1 stupidity can be laughed at, and redeemed somewhat with Duel of the Fates... one of my favorite scenes in any SW.
Ep 2, however, just seems unwatchable today, at least most of it. For me at least.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

I really like the prequels when they came out. Looking back I think i was just starved for Star Wars. Now, they're just kind of meh. Sequels are hot garbage.

 

[Disney Irish]

For those worried about Rachel Zegler's future movie prospects she has already lined up her next role co-starring alongside Marisa Tomei -

Rachel Zegler to Star Alongside Marisa Tomei in Comedy Drama ‘She Gets It From Me’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Embankment Films is selling the film, which marks Zegler's first after Snow White and sees her play the daughter of Tomei's anarchic birth mother

variety.com

 

[Prince-1]

For those worried about Rachel Zegler's future movie prospects she has already lined up her next role co-starring alongside Marisa Tomei -

Rachel Zegler to Star Alongside Marisa Tomei in Comedy Drama ‘She Gets It From Me’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Embankment Films is selling the film, which marks Zegler's first after Snow White and sees her play the daughter of Tomei's anarchic birth mother

variety.com

How can that be??? A few of the movie experts on here said that her career was over and that she wouldn't work again???

 

[brideck]

How can that be??? A few of the movie experts on here said that her career was over and that she wouldn't work again???

No, no. You fail to understand the game. It's not a tentpole/blockbuster, therefore it's not real work. [See Daisy Ridley, et al]

 

[Ghost93]

How can that be??? A few of the movie experts on here said that her career was over and that she wouldn't work again???

Zegler definitely has a fanbase, just not enough broad appeal in America to lead blockbusters that cost more than $200 million. I think she can still have a very successful career in smaller, actor-focused projects. She's a very good actress, so I think she will always be able to find some kind of work.