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

[HauntedPirate]

What is Disney's contract with theaters? I recall hearing that Disney was particularly brutal with theaters requiring they show their movies for a longer period than other studios.

I don’t know what the “regular” ticket split is for sure, guessing 50/50 or 55/45, but I recall Disney wanting, and getting, a 65% cut of ticket sales for the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

To be clear, there's nothing live action Snow White in the parks. The most you get is a coffee blend at Disney Springs. Epcot has 1937 Snow White stuff.

Unless you mean 1937 Snow White has nothing to do with it, which is possible; I know they gave Italian Pinocchio German clothing.

Meant live action... but still nothing from the new film? TP take note...

I don’t know what the “regular” ticket split is for sure, guessing 50/50 or 55/45, but I recall Disney wanting, and getting, a 65% cut of ticket sales for the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

I'm babbling on about something about Disney strong arms theatres into keeping their film on screens for a longer amount of time but upon some light research just now, Disney is strong arming the other way and doing a 45 day window before transferring to Disney plus.

I wonder if they may keep this off of Disney plus (ala the horrendous Willow) so they do not have to pay/deal with residuals.

 

[BrianLo]

Little Mermaid remake did $300M domestic, $570M worldwide total.

Hard to imagine Stitch does more domestically but assuming it does better overseas, over/under $700M? (Mufasa’s done $720M worldwide)

I'll be bold and go over. I think they'll be quite happy at 600, but this one seems to be hitting consistently in the realm of anticipation rather than disdain.

Trailer views were stellar, second to Lion King.

 

[BrianLo]

I wonder if they may keep this off of Disney plus (ala the horrendous Willow) so they do not have to pay/deal with residuals.

I already explained a couple pages back how they are two very different things. Willow cost 170 million exclusively to the streaming service. So when it flopped on the service, they removed it to get the loss back.

Snow already has a loss in its production unit. The service will more willingly pay 40 million to have access to it rather than not at all. There's really nothing to gain by throwing it away entirely, they can't generate more of a loss. That's cheap tentpole content, even if it's not going to be a smashing success by any stretch of the imagination, it's good value.

It's partially why Iger has discovered he prefers everything go theatrical first. It is means tested, generally makes the content seem more valuable to users of the service and D+ doesn't have to guess at its value.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I'll be bold and go over. I think they'll be quite happy at 600, but this one seems to be hitting consistently in the realm of anticipation rather than disdain.

Trailer views were stellar, second to Lion King.

I think Stitch could really benefit from repeat viewings also, I had several friends with kids that saw Frozen, Moana, etc more than once before it finally left theaters. IF kids love Stitch and a decent chunk see it more than once that could have a huge affect on its box office.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

My friends who don't even like the original have interest in seeing live action Stitch... I think it's going to be a win.

 

[TalkingHead]

I'll be bold and go over. I think they'll be quite happy at 600, but this one seems to be hitting consistently in the realm of anticipation rather than disdain.

Trailer views were stellar, second to Lion King.

Makes sense. I could see an argument that Mufasa did well in Dec/Jan when movie attention is compressed with holiday and family time. But Stitch seems to have a prime position at the start of summer, last May notwithstanding.

Although I do wondering if Stitch is a more generation-specific property and how that might affect turnout.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It also assumes that people would be ok with her comments if they disapprove, I loathe our neighbors Gov but there’s a difference between saying he’s an idiot and saying I hope Californians never know peace, I have a ton of friends in CA, many who voted for him, but they’re still my friends and I don’t wish ill on them, so even though I disapprove of the person I’d still take offense to the comment as repulsive.

To be clear, these are the remarks that Zegler cited and echoed. They were written by the singer Ethel Cain:

I hope that peace never finds you. Instead, I hope clarity strikes you someday like a clap of lightning and you have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge and guilt of what you’ve done and who you are as a person.​

Obviously, this is not a kind thing to wish on people. And it’s perfectly reasonable to argue that wanting others to feel mental anguish is itself a form of wishing harm (I would actually say that it is). But please, please let’s not pretend that there is any threat or implication here of physical violence.

Thank you. I wasted 10 minutes trying to find that reference.

I will add this: I know no peace already. I’m actively trying to find a place to live other than my home, which I have no reason to leave except for others who are doing more than *wishing* me “no peace.” They are unapologetically fighting tooth and nail to obliterate my peace.

So I agree with and support Rachel 100%, even though I think her comments were a product of youthful inexperience rather than profound observation.

And none of her comments mattered as much as the color of her skin, anyway. As @LittleBuford said, it goes beyond American politics. I’ll add: it’s worldwide racism.

That, in combination with a less than perfect delivery of the film, and yes, those who hate Gadot for her military service, is strangling this film’s chances of earning what it should have earned.

But as I sit in a hotel room in Costa Rica with my husband, wondering if this is a viable option (not sure about that) or how far we need to take this, I repeat: I know no peace. And on that wavelength, I can’t care that much about a movie or an actress or who is upset over which perceived slight or other nonsense.

 

[LittleBuford]

Harm can mean a lot of things in today's society. It's been argued that Caranos beep boop bop, or whatever she put for her pronouns, was causing harm. Otherwise why would it have blown up? So yes, I do believe what she said was wishing harm. As I've been saying and pointing out, it just needs to be consistent.

I don't know what the bolded means. I have certainly been consistent. Perhaps you missed it, but I have myself acknowledged that wishing people mental anguish can be construed as wishing them a form of harm. Again (and this must be the tenth time I'm saying it), I do not think she should have said what she said, and she was right to apologise for it. I was merely trying to clarify that she was not, as some (not necessarily you) have claimed, wishing physical harm on anyone.

 

[Disney Irish]

Can you prove that she wasn't? Of course it's my belief. Hello? Again, I know it's my belief. You don't seem to recognize that your opinion is no more right than mine.

Where do I say that my opinion is more right than yours? This again is you interpreting your own meaning into my posts to try and pick a fight. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I don't accept your opinion or that its somehow being less valid than mine.

I take what she says at face value and don't ascribe some malice to it. If you want to assign some malice to it because that is your belief, go for it you're entitled to your opinion. Doesn't mean I have to agree with you. And honestly I don't even have to acknowledge your belief or opinion, even though I do.

In your mind.

Please provide me evidence that she has shown actual hate before or after said post. Because I've been following her on social media for awhile now (before all this drama) and I don't recall one single post where she has had actual hate expressed. So I form my opinion based on the actual evidence presented in her actual posts on social media, not second hand information from outside sources.

Huh, I wonder where we've heard that before,? Hmmm, wait I know...

Oh yea, I said it! I now fully expect you to change your mind so you don't have to agree with me.

Of course I completely agree with you on this because I've said it as well, even before that post you made today. I've said "death by a thousand cuts" multiple times in this very thread. So why would I try to say I disagree with you when I've posted the same thing multiple times? I don't even understand what you're trying to do here, pick a fight again? You clearly have no issue with leaving off parts of my posts that you want to ignore or don't want to discuss, so why include this one where we actually agree and then try to pick a fight? That just seems like a weird thing to have an issue with.

 

[Baloo124]

I just wish the internet had never made the comparison of Zegler's Snow White hair to Lord Farquaad from Shrek.
I can never unsee it now.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Snow is back on top:

We have many, many weeks to go. Disney has the power to keep movies in the theaters for many, many weeks and the money for any movie will continue to trickle in...

 

[erasure fan1]

I don't know what the bolded means. I have certainly been consistent.

What I meant is that if it's harm on one side, it's harm on the other. I've been told a lot that her comments didn't mean harm. But I was also told Ginas pronoun thing was harm. That's being inconsistent. You asked if I was talking about her comments wishing violence. So I was giving my interpretation. You did say mental anguish was harm, and I was agreeing.

Where do I say that my opinion is more right than yours? This again is you interpreting your own meaning into my posts to try and pick a fight.

You didn't, I'm telling you that. You specifically told me to prove it. And I'm saying prove it she didn't mean harm. So I'm stating that I'm no less right than you.

I don't even understand what you're trying to do here, pick a fight again? You clearly have no issue with leaving off parts of my posts that you want to ignore or don't want to discuss, so why include this one where we actually agree and then try to pick a fight? That just seems like a weird thing to have an issue with.

Then why did you bring it up? If you agreed than why say, I don't subscribe that it was the primary issue? Because I never said it was either. So why not just say agreed.

I never said or implied that the “majority of people” objected to her skin color. Most people don’t care about any of this nonsense.

Well when you constantly disagree with me that its not the majority of people, it sure seems like you do. As for the 2nd part we agree. I've been saying just that.

The people who loudly and relentlessly objected to her casting for the first two years and then unearthed and broadcast her later comments did it overwhelmingly due to race.

That might be true. I have no idea who the exact person/group to bring up the original comments. There's also a pretty vocal group that just hates Disney and wants to try and sabotage any production Disney is doing. It could be a combination of both. Again, I've never denied there's a hate group out there. We differ on it's impact.

I will also point out that things don’t change without trying to change them, and that’s especially true when we keep a culture industry dependent on telling the same stories over and over again.

Again, we agree. We just disagree on how to accomplish it. This might seem odd, but I think Mufasa is the right way to go if you're going to go down the old franchise path. I don't think race or gender swaps are the way to do it. The Mufasa route you have infinite possibilities to create new stories, with whatever diverse characters you want. It's really limitless.

 

[erasure fan1]

So why would I try to say I disagree with you when I've posted the same thing multiple times?

Just an fyi that was a joke. As in, you don't want to be in agreement with the likes of me.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Snow is back on top:
View attachment 850945
We have many, many weeks to go. Disney has the power to keep movies in the theaters for many, many weeks and the money for any movie will continue to trickle in...

Minecraft (though it also looks awful) is opening soon and going to smash what little "well, I guess we could go to the movies. What's out that's family friendly? I guess we'll go see that" audience Snow White still has.

Think of all the fun mining puns we'll get in box office headlines!

 

[Miss Rori]

Here are the results of those findings, observed earlier this week on a Wednesday afternoon. In short, I couldn't find a single Snow White thing in my entire Target's toy department in the several girls aisles. Not even a classic Snow White thing, where there were Cinderella and Moana and Belle and Mermaid and Jasmine and Elsa and the brunette Frozen girl and that other blonde I always forget the name of toy Princess merchandise.

I checked ShopDisney.com and very, very little remake-specific merchandise has been produced for it. Like Wish eventually got you can buy $100+ collector-oriented fashion dolls of Snow and the Evil Queen, some upmarket jewelry -- most of the collection seems intended strictly for adults. I do know that there are also Funko Pops! available for those two characters, but otherwise, Disney honestly didn't try with this one in terms of merchandising or commercial tie-ins (the two I've seen were for Miracle-Gro and Allegra!). It's like the marketing department assumed only adults would be interested in a movie like this. It's especially noticeable compared to how hard they pushed the Little Mermaid remake, and that definitely helped that film just being a known quantity to the public.

Some analysts have figured Disney was so sick of the ginned-up debates around this film that they just wanted to get it over with and not throw good money after bad (like how there was virtually no push for Strange World), which is plausible. I also think they were spooked by how badly the Lightyear and Wish merchandise sold, and are now a lot more timid about heavily merchandising something they don't think is an absolutely "known", uncontroversial quantity.

And with that in mind, I have seen oodles of fresh Lilo & Stitch merchandise of late at retailers like Hot Topic, Claire's, etc. I think Disney's going all in on marketing and merchandising that remake already, and they'll send the hype into overdrive the closer we get to its release.

 

[Disney Irish]

You didn't, I'm telling you that. You specifically told me to prove it. And I'm saying prove it she didn't mean harm. So I'm stating that I'm no less right than you.

Just as I said the other part of my post that you left off and ignored (again), my evidence is her other social media posts leading up to and after that post. So that is proof I have that is leading me to my opinion. Could that opinion be wrong and her heart if filled with hate and it came out in the post, of course. But that doesn't jive with any other posts she made, nor how people who have worked with her describe her. So I form an opinion based on the evidence and give the benefit of the doubt here.

So if you want me to align my opinion with yours and agree that she was wishing harm, in whatever form you want to say that takes, I'll need more than just your belief. Otherwise lets just agree to disagree and move on, because we'll never see eye-to-eye on this. Again I don't automatically assign malice to someones intentions, especially when no previous malice is present.

Then why did you bring it up? If you agreed than why say, I don't subscribe that it was the primary issue? Because I never said it was either. So why not just say agreed.

Its called expressing an opinion and finishing out a thought during the flow of a discussion. I didn't realize I needed to go back and agree with your previous posts where our opinions aligned during a discussion just to say I explicitly agree with you. I didn't realize you needed that type of validation from me.

Just an fyi that was a joke. As in, you don't want to be in agreement with the likes of me.

With how contentious and confrontational the rest of your posts have been in this exchange it didn't read as a joke.

 

[TP2000]

I never said or implied that the “majority of people” objected to her skin color. Most people don’t care about any of this nonsense.

Exactly. People weren't annoyed by the fact she's a Polish-Colombian American (phew!) actress starring in Disney movie.

Instead, people were annoyed by the fact she's a self-described "White Latina" (Huh? See above, I guess) playing a famously white European Princess in a famous story set in Germany. That sort of purposeful, virtue-signaling race swapping is just cringey to most people, of all races. Heck, even the dorky merchandise planners in a Celebration cubicle farm know which pavilion to stock the Snow White souvenirs in; Germany. It's obvious what race Snow White is.

The people who loudly and relentlessly objected to her casting for the first two years and then unearthed and broadcast her later comments did it overwhelmingly due to race.

I know this may seem impossible to you, but in 2025 most people, especially Americans, are not the racist horribles you assume them to be. That said, most people, regardless of nationality, are inherently able to pick up on cringe and needless race swapping.

I'm of the opinion that the "controversy" in America surrounding the casting of a self-described White Latina (Jeez, that phrase never stops being funny!) was based mostly on the cringe factor and the eye-rolling need of Hollywood execs to virtue signal and rewrite old stories that need no rewriting.

But that take requires some understanding of how large swaths of the population think and feel, and it's apparently easier to just call them ists and phobes for not hewing to the approved Hollywood Elite messaging.

I’m not going to rehash the entire history of race in America or the history of representation in Hollywood.

Why would you, in this case? Why would you even bring it up? That's a valid topic for a doctoral dissertation on American pop culture history of the 20th century, but not much else in 2025.

 

[LittleBuford]

she's a self-described "White Latina" (Huh? See above, I guess)

There are many white Latinos; she’s not the only one to describe herself as such. I’m not sure why you find the term surprising.

 

[TP2000]

I checked ShopDisney.com and very, very little remake-specific merchandise has been produced for it. Like Wish eventually got you can buy $100+ collector-oriented fashion dolls of Snow and the Evil Queen, some upmarket jewelry -- most of the collection seems intended strictly for adults. I do know that there are also Funko Pops! available for those two characters, but otherwise, Disney honestly didn't try with this one in terms of merchandising or commercial tie-ins (the two I've seen were for Miracle-Gro and Allegra!).

That's fascinating! And I forgot about that Allegra commercial that popped up on me on YouTube a week or so ago. I stared at the TV open-mouthed and thought "Was that a joke?"

And just last night I got another long 45 second Snow White ad on YouTube, and it was almost all focused on the dwarves. Their last-minute "How do we save this turkey" messaging seems to be to pivot ASAP to the wacky dwarves.

Too late, I'm afraid. And can you imagine how furious Peter Dinklage must be this week?!?

It's like the marketing department assumed only adults would be interested in a movie like this. It's especially noticeable compared to how hard they pushed the Little Mermaid remake, and that definitely helped that film just being a known quantity to the public.

The marketing is odd. And I hadn't realized the adult-focused marketing until you mentioned it. But you're right.

Maybe after all the scandals that Rachel Zegler brought upon this movie, they somehow thought it would be best to pivot to adults as the core demographic for this movie? I don't get it.

It does speak to the fact there had to be widespread panic, and several rounds of rethinking, for this movie in the past two years. Our Miss Zegler sure can stir up the nest, can't she?