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

[DCLcruiser]

Where does that article say he is autistic or on the spectrum?

"In any case, Olga is clearly overwhelmed and exasperated by Elio, who’s not identified as autistic (as some have speculated online) or disabled (there’s a good explanation for his blue eyepatch)."

 

[Disney Irish]

"In any case, Olga is clearly overwhelmed and exasperated by Elio, who’s not identified as autistic (as some have speculated online) or disabled (there’s a good explanation for his blue eyepatch)."

They are explaining that the internet is wrong and that the story IS NOT about an autistic kid, which is what I said. Not that there is anything wrong with a story like that, but this is not that movie.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No its not. Its about a kid dealing with the loss of parents and not feeling like they belong, so go look for that belonging in the form of aliens.

That’s kinda core classic Disney, no?

 

[DCLcruiser]

They are explaining that the internet is wrong and that the story IS NOT about an autistic kid, which is what I said. Not that there is anything wrong with a story like that, but this is not that movie.

My point was that people THINK that it is. To the point that even Variety mentions it. I recall (it's been awhile) that since Elio was announced, it has always had that association. Right or wrong, that's how it was perceived.

Now, that could have an impact on viewership. It's not necessarily a popcorn topic.

 

[Disney Irish]

That’s kinda core classic Disney, no?

Yep, which makes it more likely to be seen as a return to classic Disney in the long run, and better for brand healing.

 

[Disney Irish]

My point was that people THINK that it is. To the point that even Variety mentions it. I recall (it's been awhile) that since Elio was announced, it has always had that association. Right or wrong, that's how it was perceived.

Now, that could have an impact on viewership. It's not necessarily a popcorn topic.

I never got the impression from anything released since it was announced that Elio was autistic or even on the spectrum. And I say that as someone with members of my family who are, including kids younger than Elio.

So that was an assumption made without any actual acknowledgement of it being true. I think some see an unsual kid with an eye patch and just makes that assumption.

 

[DCLcruiser]

I never got the impression from anything released since it was announced that Elio was autistic or even on the spectrum. And I say that as someone with members of my family who are, including kids younger than Elio.

So that was an assumption made without any actual acknowledgement of it being true. I think some see an unsual kid with an eye patch and just makes that assumption.

Maybe. I just recall it. Can't remember exactly why. There have also been references to an infinity symbol in the movie, which is apparently related.

 

[Disney Irish]

Maybe. I just recall it. Can't remember exactly why. There have also been references to an infinity symbol in the movie, which is apparently related.

As far as I'm aware the puzzle piece is still the primary symbol used for the autism community. The infinity symbol was used to show the infinite potential of the people within the community and only started being associated in 2005, but was never meant to be the primary symbol as there isn't one single symbol meant to represent the entire community

Symbols for Autism: What Do They Mean?

An overview of the most common symbols for autism, including the puzzle piece ribbon, color blue, the butterfly, and the infinity symbol.

www.autismparentingmagazine.com

Also the infinity symbol is used in many many many ways in many different areas of life, including life itself. So I don't know why its automatically assumed to be representing autism especially since Elio never actually has the symbol anywhere on his person (at least that I recall).

 

[Tha Realest]

"In any case, Olga is clearly overwhelmed and exasperated by Elio, who’s not identified as autistic (as some have speculated online) or disabled (there’s a good explanation for his blue eyepatch)."

I mean, there are many who insist that movies like Luca and Frozen (and Frozen II) are gay or gay coded, despite the creators undercutting that view. That’s art - it’s subjective!

I thought Michael Rianda handled both issues perfectly in this interview re: The Mitchells vs The Machines (TLDR: gay representation was intentional and they wanted to make sure they did it right; neurodivergent not intentional going in but glad those who may or may not be on the spectrum may see that trait in those real characters - great!)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines: How Michael Rianda Made a 'Dirtbag Miyazaki' Movie

The Mitchells vs. The Machines' director Michael Rianda tells CBR how his "suburban dirtbag Miyazaki" film strives to represent real people.

www.cbr.com

 

[Dranth]

There have been movies or TV shows over the last ten years where the marketing was to deliberately antagonize the fans.

There has certainly been marketing that tries to reach specific audiences, but that isn't really the same as deliberately antagonizing fans.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There has certainly been marketing that tries to reach specific audiences, but that isn't really the same as deliberately antagonizing fans.

This one is a matter of debate

My view that the marketing in particular has been “ham handed”…at best

They have brought some heat on themselves at times

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I mean, there are many who insist that movies like Luca and Frozen (and Frozen II) are gay or gay coded, despite the creators undercutting that view. That’s art - it’s subjective!

I thought Michael Rianda handled both issues perfectly in this interview re: The Mitchells vs The Machines (TLDR: gay representation was intentional and they wanted to make sure they did it right; neurodivergent not intentional going in but glad those who may or may not be on the spectrum may see that trait in those real characters - great!)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines: How Michael Rianda Made a 'Dirtbag Miyazaki' Movie

The Mitchells vs. The Machines' director Michael Rianda tells CBR how his "suburban dirtbag Miyazaki" film strives to represent real people.

www.cbr.com

I don't know what the Elio filmmakers intended but it wouldn't be strange for a sci-fi show to speak to issues like autism in an allegorical rather than explicit way.

 

[Dranth]

This one is a matter of debate

My view that the marketing in particular has been “ham handed”…at best

They have brought some heat on themselves at times

Maybe someone can find an example of some marketing that was done to purposely antagonize their customers but I can't think of any and it certainly isn't widespread.

Now, I can think of attempts that ended up antagonizing customers, but it wasn't selected and purposely done for that goal, which is what I was responding to.

It just seems to me that people often want to mistake poor choices, thought and/or execution for malice.

 

[TP2000]

We seem to be in universal agreement that Elio is a massive box office bomb. And globally too.

But there's a thought mentioned occasionally that it may "leg out" and go on to almost break even like Elemental did. While it's only one day of data, the box office for Monday is not a good indicator that Elio is getting good word of mouth.

Elio dropped 58% domestically on Monday from its already anemic Sunday box office. As a comparison, here are the two other SciFi Pixar movies from recent years, plus an inflation adjusted Wall-E thrown in for fun. All four of these Pixar SciFi movies debuted on a non-holiday June weekend, with their first Monday in theaters also a non-holiday.

Elio's 58% drop is notably steeper than Elemental's 35% Monday drop, and also weaker than Lightyear's 52% drop and WALL-E's 50% drop. If Elio is going to leg out on good word of mouth, people need to start talking ASAP!

Elio (2025) - Box Office and Financial Information

Financial analysis of Elio (2025) including production budget, domestic and international box office gross, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[TP2000]

It just seems to me that people often want to mistake poor choices, thought and/or execution for malice.

I can agree with that. That's a lesson from the Alissa Heinerscheid School Of Brand Destruction.

Ms. Heinerscheid didn't mean to destroy the sales of Bud Light and alienate almost its entire core demographic that had been buying the product for 50 years, but that's exactly what she did.

Ms. Heineirscheid wasn't being purposely malicious, she was just incredibly out of touch with her customers and had the unfortunate instinct to go on a podcast and brag about how much she disliked those customers. She was the epitome of living in an Elite Coastal Bubble while trying to sell to people who live outside her bubble. And she now looks like an idiot.

Disney and its various flagship movie studios (plus the Parks division too) made some of those same mistakes. And the mistakes were bragged about by both the talent (Rachel Zegler) or by smug Burbank execs bloviating on leaked Zoom calls with other execs. Luckily, it's apparent that Burbank and the senior execs now realize that mistake and are in the process of correcting it, while the production pipes get flushed out of all the previous mistakes that are too far along to fix.

None of that was malicious. But it was purposeful. And idiotic from a brand and profit standpoint. The box office proves it.

 

[Casper Gutman]

My point was that people THINK that it is. To the point that even Variety mentions it. I recall (it's been awhile) that since Elio was announced, it has always had that association. Right or wrong, that's how it was perceived.

Now, that could have an impact on viewership. It's not necessarily a popcorn topic.

I haven’t once heard that association before your posts - and I follow this stuff pretty closely.

Over the past couple pages, we seem to be getting several explanations for the modern box office that pretty much amount to more gentle articulations of the idea that the audience is getting stupider - unable to discern fact from reality in a media ecosystem drenching them with a firehose of misinformation and manipulative rage-bait.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Maybe someone can find an example of some marketing that was done to purposely antagonize their customers but I can't think of any and it certainly isn't widespread.

Now, I can think of attempts that ended up antagonizing customers, but it wasn't selected and purposely done for that goal, which is what I was responding to.

It just seems to me that people often want to mistake poor choices, thought and/or execution for malice.

People want to be victims. It justifies the things they want to do to other people.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The title sounds like it's about frozen pizza.

^This!

Also, my husband looked at the AMC app yesterday and said, “Elio? Is that the one we saw when the kid goes into the water and turns into something?”

 

[Willmark]

People want to be victims. It justifies the things they want to do to other people.

That’s your take? People want to be victims?

As noted I think there’s a lot of people that said meh and shuffled off to do other things.

 

[Casper Gutman]

That’s your take? People want to be victims?

As noted I think there’s a lot of people that said meh and shuffled off to do other things.

Clearly you’ve put the whole thing behind you and moved on.