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

[Tony the Tigger]

 

[Tony the Tigger]

BTW, Thunderbolts is still bringing in higher daily totals than Cap4 at the same point. Its on track to bring in more than Cap4 domestically if not also internationally by the end of its run, leading to a larger WW total in the end. Which I know some will automatically mention that isn't what Disney wants since its not huge numbers, but that is beside the point. As it shows that the audience might be coming back, albeit slowly. So it'll be interesting to see if F4 does good numbers leading to more audience engagement down the line.

Finally saw this. It was fine. I found cap four more enjoyable to sit through. Found myself dozing off a few times. It seemed slow in spots.

So despite the better/good reviews, I don’t think word of mouth was as enthusiastic as, let’s say, sinners. Clearly, the numbers are disappointing after opening week.

Maybe the next one is more interesting if they have two different batches of supposed avengers fighting each other.

 

[Disney Irish]

Finally saw this. It was fine. I found cap four more enjoyable to sit through. Found myself dozing off a few times. It seemed slow in spots.

So despite the better/good reviews, I don’t think word of mouth was as enthusiastic as, let’s say, sinners. Clearly, the numbers are disappointing after opening week.

Maybe the next one is more interesting if they have two different batches of supposed avengers fighting each other.

The next movie is Fantastic Four (F4) and after that its Doomday and then Secret Wars. So we'll see what those stories bring.

 

[Nevermore525]

The next movie is Fantastic Four (F4) and after that its Doomday and then Secret Wars. So we'll see what those stories bring.

There’s also Spider-Man: Brand New Day that now leads into Doomsday. Granted Sony does the distribution for Spider-Man still.

 

[Disney Irish]

There’s also Spider-Man: Brand New Day that now leads into Doomsday. Granted Sony does the distribution for Spider-Man still.

Yes, I wasn't directly counting that since it likely won't deal with any Avengers directly other than Spidey.

 

[Nevermore525]

Yes, I wasn't directly counting that since it likely won't deal with any Avengers directly other than Spidey.

Just something that can be a lead in to Doomsday and provide some build up to it. Especially with how No Way Home was received.

 

[Disney Irish]

Just something that can be a lead in to Doomsday and provide some build up to it. Especially with how No Way Home was received.

Well it was suppose to come after Doomsday, so if there was anything being tied to Brand New Day from Doomsday it'll have to be changed, or the movie will have to be rescheduled to after Dec 2026.

 

[Nevermore525]

Well it was suppose to come after Doomsday, so if there was anything being tied to Brand New Day from Doomsday it'll have to be changed, or the movie will have to be rescheduled to after Dec 2026.

Production hasn’t started for Brand New Day and only just getting going for Doomsday, I’m sure they had some planning in motion before this change was officially announced

 

[BrianLo]

I didn’t realize there was such a gap in the MCU. That’s weird, a big pull back from a few years ago.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I didn’t realize there was such a gap in the MCU. That’s weird, a big pull back from a few years ago.

A lot of these recent movies have had various delays, which has led to some odd timing and gaps in the schedule.

But we still have the same number of MCU movies this year as we did in 2022 and 2023. It's just that they were all front loaded in the calendar compared to those years when there was a November release. This year's 3rd Marvel release is in July and there's no Feb 2026 release.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The next movie is Fantastic Four (F4) and after that its Doomday and then Secret Wars. So we'll see what those stories bring.

Yeah. Saw the trailer. I think the only hook for me there is I enjoy Pedro Pascal (in a non-romantic way.)

 

[Animaniac93-98]

We talk a lot about post box office revenue, but what about post box office revenue 30 years later?

"There’s a lot of questions whether this opening (and we haven’t seen the full spectrum of foreign yet) is substantial for a production which cost $300M-$400M. Here’s the thing: For Hollywood studios, the value of franchise properties increases with each subsequent installment and across multiple revenue streams. Where new entries have one waterfall, franchise films benefit from an entire library. Paramount celebrated the Mission: Impossible franchise across Home Entertainment digital platforms and Paramount+, driving a substantial uptick in views of the previous films on Paramount+ and transactions via Digital Retail partners. I’ve heard that the original 1996 movie alone generates $10M a year from all types of media for the Melrose lot. Hence, that $300M+ movie is a lifelong investment that should pay off heads and tails in TV airings and streamings of Final Reckoning. Also remember, Paramount is only on the hook for 50% of the production cost."

Summer Bound For $4.2B After Record $322M Memorial Day Weekend: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Dancing To $180M Holiday High, ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ $77M – Early Sunday Box Office Update

The mega Memorial Day weekend at the box office is off to a great start with 'Lilo & Stitch' eyeing a Disney preview best for holiday at $14M and 'Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning' Looking at $8M Franchise record.

deadline.com

Disney's magic in the past was having a library of unrelated titles sharing the common company name, or sub brand in video collections ("Classics", "Masterpiece Collection", "The [x actor] Collection")

 

[Tony the Tigger]

They’re referring to Mission impossible here, but this is very relevant to recent discussions in this thread about lifetime revenue across channels.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Memorial Day Box Office Record Breaker! ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Debuts to Massive $183 Million, ‘Mission: Impossible’ Scores Series-Best $77 Million

"Lilo & Stitch" and "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" fueled a Memorial Day weekend box office record.

variety.com

It’s a Memorial Day weekend for the box office record books.

Movie theaters across the country were jamming as “Lilo & Stitch” and Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” fueled the largest Memorial Day holiday in history — and established several other benchmarks in the process.

Families turned out in force for Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remake, which collected a blockbuster $145.5 million in its opening weekend and estimated $183 million through Monday. Those ticket sales defied projections and cemented a Memorial Day opening weekend record, overtaking a different Cruise tentpole, 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” with $126 million over the weekend and $160 million through the four days. “Lilo & Stitch” also secured the second-largest start across any four-day holiday weekend, behind only 2018’s “Black Panther,” which amassed $242 million over Presidents’ Day.

 

[Nevermore525]

Disney became the first of the domestic studios to hit $2B globally for 2025 following this weekend.

 

[LittleBuford]

Disney became the first of the domestic studios to hit $2B globally for 2025 following this weekend.

They were the only studio to reach that milestone last year too. You’d never know it from most of the things posted here, of course.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Disney became the first of the domestic studios to hit $2B globally for 2025 following this weekend.

You mean they didn’t go broke?

 

[Nevermore525]

You mean they didn’t go broke?

Apparently not? The one studio that keeps defying narratives that are only made for them!

 

[TP2000]

Disney doesn’t make movies like Cap 4 and Thunderbolts to break even in theaters.

Especially when they are spending $180 to $250 Million on those tentpole movies from Lucas, Marvel, Pixar, WDAS, Disney, etc. to get them into a theater.

That said, Lilo & Stitch, with its comparatively modest $100 Million production budget is an interesting twist. If Burbank can use AI and replace a bunch of people on the studio lot with technology to get the costs down for most of their movies to $100 Million, I could see that penciling out for them quite handily.

Assuming that those new $100 Million tentpoles made with AI Helper go on to do decent streaming/rental business in the first few fiscal years after they do merely "okay" in theaters.

I'm sure this will be disagreed with, but I don't remember this being posted previously. Deadline (using the same formulations they use to determine the end-of-year successes and failures each Spring) has Snow White as losing less than one would think, primarily because of its post-theatrical allotment.

Think of it this way... This thread is about box office, which gives us a fairly accurate dollar figure to know how deep the financial holes are the bombs like Snow White or Indy 5 or Wish made for themselves, or how deep the holes are mere flops like Captain America 4 or Thunderbolts are in to creep their way out of via future streaming fees.

We'll see next Spring if they ultimately stick with that number when the year's biggest bombs are revisited.

That sounds reasonable. But we'll need a new thread for that future-potential earnings reporting. Probably best to call it something like "Disney+ And Rental Income From Yesteryear's Movies". I don't know, the title needs some work. Something catchier. I'll let the thread starter for that mull it over more, whomever they may be.

 

[TP2000]

Here's a quick holiday weekend update, and we'll need to wait for Tuesday for the full 4 day weekend haul.

This is the inflation adjusted look at the opening weekend's for some of the live action remakes of the past decade. Lilo & Stitch is in 2nd place, handily beating Aladdin and coming in behind Beauty & The Beast.

And again, with that tiny $100 Million production budget, Lilo & Stitch is going to be profitable by early June! Now that's the way to make a fun summer blockbuster, Burbank! Let's hope they remember that. How did the Lilo & Stitch budget remain so low??? Anyone know? Was this supposed to be a TV show that they strung together into a movie?