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

[Tha Realest]

I loved Maisel as Lois

100%…maybe the best ever. And I really waned to love Amy Adams…but it just didn’t work

I appreciated Kidder for her boldness, and it feels decidedly groundbreaking considering the era in which the film was made/set. I didn’t get how Superman would/was attracted to her, as I found her demeanor and mental games off putting.

Hatcher combined both sides perfectly well, but in a show that felt uneven (even to a young teen at the time).

Delaney brought a great personality to the voice role, but it always felt weird as I associated her as The Phantasm at the time.

Durance checked the box of “who would Superman be attracted to,” but I never bought the “elite journalist” aspect of her character. That show was completely nonserious so perhaps that’s why.

Adams, until now, tied with Hatcher (in my view) as the best combo of the necessary traits for the character. It also helps those two were (until now) the best actresses to portray the character in the modern times (I don’t count the serials or the Fleischer cartoons).

I never watched Superman and Lois as I had long checked out of the CW/Arrowverse stuff and it was too time consuming to keep up with all that, so can’t speak to that actress. I had forgotten until recently Kate Bosworth played her in Superman Returns, and that was probably the worst casting for the character in my mind.

Brosnahan was a revelation as Maisel. I haven’t watched much of her work elsewhere so I can’t speak to it but The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stands out amongst some of the greatest 21st century golden age of TV series, due in great part to her performance. With the caveat we do not see her “journalisming” much during the film - Gunn had a LOT going on in Plot A, B, C, and D - I think she’s already my favorite.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I appreciated Kidder for her boldness, and it feels decidedly groundbreaking considering the era in which the film was made/set. I didn’t get how Superman would/was attracted to her, as I found her demeanor and mental games off putting.

Hatcher combined both sides perfectly well, but in a show that felt uneven (even to a young teen at the time).

Delaney brought a great personality to the voice role, but it always felt weird as I associated her as The Phantasm at the time.

Durance checked the box of “who would Superman be attracted to,” but I never bought the “elite journalist” aspect of her character. That show was completely nonserious so perhaps that’s why.

Adams, until now, tied with Hatcher (in my view) as the best combo of the necessary traits for the character. It also helps those two were (until now) the best actresses to portray the character in the modern times (I don’t count the serials or the Fleischer cartoons).

I never watched Superman and Lois as I had long checked out of the CW/Arrowverse stuff and it was too time consuming to keep up with all that, so can’t speak to that actress. I had forgotten until recently Kate Bosworth played her in Superman Returns, and that was probably the worst casting for the character in my mind.

Brosnahan was a revelation as Maisel. I haven’t watched much of her work elsewhere so I can’t speak to it but The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel stands out amongst some of the greatest 21st century golden age of TV series, due in great part to her performance. With the caveat we do not see her “journalisming” much during the film - Gunn had a LOT going on in Plot A, B, C, and D - I think she’s already my favorite.

I think brosnahan did a pretty good job mixing the cynicism that kidder pioneered with the attractiveness that they needed and maybe tried to overdue some since? Like It’s hard not to appreciate her on multiple levels.

Delaney…and I’m glad you brought it up…is one of the most outstanding actresses of the last 40 years. She brings class to everything. China beach was a masterpiece.

You a big Hatcher guy? Easy, tiger
(I kid…we’re in the same vintage…it was the picture in the cape on the bed wasn’t it? I mean…it was IT for all red bloods )

 

[brideck]

I'm going to ask a Superman spoilers question because it's been bothering me for several days and I'm not sure where else to ask it ...

SPOILERS

Spoiler: Superman Question

How the hell did Lex Luthor think that "drowning" Superman by filling his lungs with nanobytes so he couldn't breathe was going to kill Superman ... when Superman routinely flies into outer space and clearly does not require breathing or oxygen (at least for extensive periods of time, if at all)?

There have been a lot of different versions of Superman over the years, and a lot of different takes on his abilities, so this would depend on the power level that the movie is establishing for him.

Spoiler: Different Comics Takes

I've read different comic book takes with Superman in space from straight up needing an air mask to being able to hold his breath for a long time to using big breaths to enrich his bloodstream with enough oxygen to essentially not need to worry about it. If the former, Luthor's scheme would have reaped immediate dividends. If either of the latter, it could've eventually been effective, just taken awhile, similar to Luthor's plan in All-Star Superman.

 

[BrianLo]

Before or after the UK gave them $65 million in reimbursements?

Either. You are using a 1.45X breakeven. You are making quite a number of films that we all have agreed weren’t profitable in the last three years profitable.

Like I said, I appreciate the counter point and disagree. But you’ll have to take it up with peers who staunchly want to double that.

 

[Phroobar]

I'm going to ask a Superman spoilers question because it's been bothering me for several days and I'm not sure where else to ask it ...

SPOILERS

Spoiler: Superman Question

How the hell did Lex Luthor think that "drowning" Superman by filling his lungs with nanobytes so he couldn't breathe was going to kill Superman ... when Superman routinely flies into outer space and clearly does not require breathing or oxygen (at least for extensive periods of time, if at all)?

The bigger question is why didn't the two bad guys pass out? I would assume since one a clone of Superman (ie Bizarro), he could hold his breath too. The Engineer could redirect her nanobots to keep her body from failing.

 

[Disney Irish]

As someone who was very familiar with Yahoo and Lycos and AskJeeves (and Prodigy and Compuserve before that), and remembers when “the internet” was a disparate set of Usenet forums, the Google of two plus decades ago was truly revolutionary. It’s now entered the lexicon as default for “internet search engine,” and I can tell you from personal experience my kids and their friends don’t consciously use “Google,” but rather some combination of Siri and AI software to answer basic questions. Ex., I don’t believe my youngest, who doesn’t have a personal device and only uses Siri to prompt searches, has ever consciously gone to Google.com and typed a query.

Oh I’m aware, I’ve used them all too. I was just pointing out that Google isn’t the only game in the search business either in the past or even today.

 

[Phroobar]

Rachel Brosnahan nailed it as Louis Lane. She is pretty, smart and willing to stand toe to toe with Superman and Lex. Great casting for all the principles.

 

[Tha Realest]

Rachel Brosnahan nailed it as Louis Lane. She is pretty, smart and willing to stand toe to toe with Superman and Lex. Great casting for all the principles.

And was the audience proxy for how ridiculous Guy Gardner looks.

 

[Willmark]

I wasn’t able to get to SM, but Mrs Willmark and Willmark Jr did and they enjoyed it very much.

Plan currently is we are going to see FF first then go back with them to see SM.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Either. You are using a 1.45X breakeven. You are making quite a number of films that we all have agreed weren’t profitable in the last three years profitable.

Like I said, I appreciate the counter point and disagree. But you’ll have to take it up with peers who staunchly want to double that.

You know that eventually these companies post writedowns on the movies…after the dust settles. They are public and there are advantages to that as well…

So they’re not “under the radar making money”…they’re losing.

The optimistic side of that is it’s the cost of doing business in the big game. You stay in the conscious and score in other ways…

But it’s also why they keep floating that “YUGE money is gonna come from streaming”…which some parrot so often you’d think they want a cracker?…
Because that’s an ambiguous soup that you can’t untangle from a money perspective… and you get a new narrative

“Well Snow White bombed…so we’ll just say that we’re smart anyway because people kept their Hulu to watch the bear and we can claim victory and say it was really for Snow White”

The money really ain’t there yet…but I get their strategy with that

 

[Disney Irish]

You know that eventually these companies post writedowns on the movies…after the dust settles. They are public and there are advantages to that as well…

So they’re not “under the radar making money”…they’re losing.

The optimistic side of that is it’s the cost of doing business in the big game. You stay in the conscious and score in other ways…

But it’s also why they keep floating that “YUGE money is gonna come from streaming”…which some parrot so often you’d think they want a cracker?…
Because that’s an ambiguous soup that you can’t untangle from a money perspective… and you get a new narrative

“Well Snow White bombed…so we’ll just say that we’re smart anyway because people kept their Hulu to watch the bear and we can claim victory and say it was really for Snow White”

The money really ain’t there yet…but I get their strategy with that

We'll see what happens with the recent set of movies deemed "bombs" here, such as Snow White, as we're a bit of time still away from any indication on those. But forgetting 2025 movies at the moment, of the movies that you've listed over the last few years as "bombs" which of them were actually written down by Disney? Please provide a list and the financial statement where they were shown to be written down. Because unless I missed it, and I'll happily be corrected on it, there haven't been many (if any at all) that were actually written down in the last few years. As I said I'm prepared to be corrected for that, but would need to see the proof of that not just your "word" that it happened. In fact I'll venture to guess that Snow White maybe the first in quite a long while, but again we'll have to wait and see in the upcoming quarters to see if that happens.

The point is that, as pointed out previously, the box office will continue to be less of a factor in terms of a movies earnings. And that they can and do make up for that shortfall elsewhere without having to actually write down the movie.

 

[Disney Irish]

There is nothing “past grievances” about the current state of Disneys Star Wars…they have lost…and will continue to lose billions in ancillary sales until they get some non diehards back into the room with some fist pumping in front of the screen…be that a silver one or a LED one on a wall.

The supporters of this disjointed nonsense from the KK regime have been proven wrong and will continue to be. It doesn’t matter if I say it…or you admit it…the die is cast. They best do better. Here Endeth the lesson.

We'll see professor. As time tends to favor these type of things. I have a feeling that as time goes on the ST will be looked at more favorably then it has been, similar to the PT. You can sort of already see it if you take off the disdain filled glasses.

Now back to superheroes

I actually think Superman will see the least drop off of a second week of any major release this year…but that’s just a hunch

And fantastic four is still heading for troubled waters…but again…just a hunch

Let’s see it play?

Dunno, I think Superman will have a similar drop to The Batman from a couple years ago, 50-60%. But I think it'll come under it in terms of total box office, in the $500-600ish range.

F4 I think will start strong, similar to Superman, but also have similar drops. But can't guess total box office until I see opening weekend.

 

[Disney Irish]

Rachel Brosnahan nailed it as Louis Lane. She is pretty, smart and willing to stand toe to toe with Superman and Lex. Great casting for all the principles.

Spoiler: Question on your comment here

Wait, did I miss a scene, when did Lois (correct spelling by the way ) even have a scene with Lex in this movie?

 

[Phroobar]

Spoiler: Question on your comment here

Wait, did I miss a scene, when did Lois (correct spelling by the way ) even have a scene with Lex in this movie?

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Either. You are using a 1.45X breakeven. You are making quite a number of films that we all have agreed weren’t profitable in the last three years profitable.

Only if they are getting similar opening weekend splits from the theater operators.

 

[Disney Irish]

Only if they are getting similar opening weekend splits from the theater operators.

I think you're missing the point.

I've asked a couple times now. Can you please provide where you've gotten this calculation you're insisting be used? As I think a few of us would like to verify its validity. And if it holds up to scrutiny we can certainly use it. I don't mind having a more progressive calculation be used, it certainly would make a lot of Disney movies look a lot better. And would probably provide an explanation for many here why movies can now get covered by post-theatrical better these days.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We'll see what happens with the recent set of movies deemed "bombs" here, such as Snow White, as we're a bit of time still away from any indication on those. But forgetting 2025 movies at the moment, of the movies that you've listed over the last few years as "bombs" which of them were actually written down by Disney? Please provide a list and the financial statement where they were shown to be written down. Because unless I missed it, and I'll happily be corrected on it, there haven't been many (if any at all) that were actually written down in the last few years. As I said I'm prepared to be corrected for that, but would need to see the proof of that not just your "word" that it happened. In fact I'll venture to guess that Snow White maybe the first in quite a long while, but again we'll have to wait and see in the upcoming quarters to see if that happens.

The point is that, as pointed out previously, the box office will continue to be less of a factor in terms of a movies earnings. And that they can and do make up for that shortfall elsewhere without having to actually write down the movie.

I can help you out with this…
Snow White was a bomb

The two marvel movies this year were disappointments

Stitch hit huge


There’s a very easy metric we can apply - that still applies and has for a long time…

That being the ability to generate buzz, cross-sell product, and set up more material to start that cycle again.

In one of the variety articles this weekend…it was noted that the stitch merch machine is roaring…I’m not sure where they’re getting that?…but I bet it’s true and we will hear bits of confirmation very soon.

Look at it from the ambiguity angle: even if the box office closes in 5 years and every suburban home in the world builds its own “stream theater” with a snack bar…the cycle I’m giving you will still be the same…that’s still the goal: the ability to sell in more places.

So Snow White is still a bomb under that scenario and stitch is still a hit

 

[Disney Irish]

I can help you out with this…
Snow White was a bomb

The two marvel movies this year were disappointments

Stitch hit huge


There’s a very easy metric we can apply - that still applies and has for a long time…

That being the ability to generate buzz, cross-sell product, and set up more material to start that cycle again.

In one of the variety articles this weekend…it was noted that the stitch mech machine is roaring…I’m not sure where they’re getting that?…but I bet it’s true and we will hear bits of confirmation very soon.

Look at it from the ambiguity angle: even if the box office closes in 5 years and every suburban home in the world builds its own “stream theater” with a snack bar…the cycle I’m giving you will still be the same…that’s still the goal: the ability to sell in more places.

So Snow White is still a bomb under that scenario and stitch is still a hit

"Buzz" aside, you said write down which has a financial and legal impact and requirement. So just because something doesn't generate "buzz" doesn't mean it requires a write down.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Seeing some chatter that pirates 6 may have “jack sparrow” back in the fold

Now would they recast? Or was depp knocked down enough pegs where he will have to behave for once?

Wouldn’t think anyone would try a recast there…but you never know with a company that once…on Second thought…nevermind

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

"Buzz" aside, you said write down which has a financial and legal impact and requirement. So just because something doesn't generate "buzz" doesn't mean it requires a write down.

And as we discussed waaaayyyy upthread a few months ago…the actual write down numbers for “2023: year of the uranium movies” were higher than we believed them to be at that time.

But it was definitely in late 2024 or early 2025 where it got play

There’s a reason you want to “bury” the corpse…not set it up in a lawn chair in the backyard next to the grill