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

[Tha Realest]

Ok, so what do you call ALF? Outside of an Alien (or any variation of that word), what do you call his status being in a land not of his origin and living as a permanent resident (legal status notwithstanding)?

I’m unclear on the “gotcha” you’re trying to impose here. Are you really trying to assert A.L.F. and Kal-El are functionally the same as a modern human being of another country that entered here (lawfully or unlawfully) because they are all co-equally “aliens”? Much like the broad use of “immigrant,” this is really pedantic.

This is like saying Babe Ruth and Bruce Wayne are alike because they both used “bats” to their advantage.

 

[Disney Irish]

I’m unclear on the “gotcha” you’re trying to impose here. Are you really trying to assert A.L.F. and Kal-El are functionally the same as a modern human being of another country that entered here (lawfully or unlawfully) because they are all co-equally “aliens”? Much like the broad use of “immigrant,” this is really pedantic.

This is like saying Babe Ruth and Bruce Wayne are alike because they both used “bats” to their advantage.

What I'm saying is that the word immigrant is correct in both instances, and has been used in many other alien movies and tv shows including other Disney movies and shows, just like the example I used Alien Nation from the 80s which came out at the exact same time as ALF.

 

[Disney Irish]

Fine ... the last two films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy made $1.1 billion and should have made $3.5 billion (Avengers Infinity War + Endgame money). Kennedy is clearly a genius. Obviously she "got butts in the door" by hiring an office full of feminists who hated Luke Skywalker.

Again potential earnings discussion aside, a debate I wasn't trying to have, but getting over $1B on any movie is getting butts in seats despite any controversy.

So it remains to be seen what'll happen next year with Mando and Grogu, so we'll see if that also gets butts in seats.

 

[Tha Realest]

Well again, go back to the next example I used which you ignored, Alien Nation (technically a Disney movie now via the 20th Century acquisition).

The movie and subsequent TV show of the 80s (same time frame as ALF) is literally about the same topic, an alien race who crash lands in the Mohave Desert and as immigrants are being integrated into US.

Since Disney now owns 20th Century Fox, they should retitle all the Alien franchise films:

Alien -> Aliens (1978) (since every character is an alien under the invader/not of this planet defintiion)

Aliens -> Aliens (1986) (see above)

Alien vs. Predator -> Aliens vs. Aliens (The Three Predators) As Observed by Aliens (multiple aliens from the xenomorph line fight three predators, and some human beings observe this while exploring an uninhabited island they are not native to)

 

[Dranth]

Fine ... the last two films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy made $1.1 billion and should have made $3.5 billion (Avengers Infinity War + Endgame money). Kennedy is clearly a genius. Obviously she "got butts in the door" by hiring an office full of feminists who hated Luke Skywalker.

The second two movies grossed 1.3 (TLJ) and 1.1 (ROS) billion each. Incidentally, that big drop between TFA and TLJ is the same thing that happened in the prequals with AotC dropping significantly from TPM.

I don't think most of that was social issues, just bad to mediocre movies that caused people to disengage.

Now sure, we could say they should make better movies, and that they left money on the table by not doing so. I agree with you there, but apparently George couldn't do that either so it must not be as easy as we all think it should be.

 

[TP2000]

You buy something for $5 and it is now worth $50 dollars. If you sell it for $25, you didn't make $20 ... you just lost $25. The second two films in the sequel trilogy were lost money. So were Rogue Nation and Solo and pretty much every Star Wars project that has been produced since (with the exception of the Mandalorian). The brand is shot. Kennedy and her politics killed it. Did these films make a profit? Sure. But the company owned a money printing machine and hit it repeatedly (and intentionally) with a sledge hammer for a decade.

EDIT: And now Marvel is doing the same thing with the same results. Which, in that instance, is really incredible because they are also doing exactly what tanked their comic book division with literally the same characters that tanked their comic book division.

We could also add Pixar to that list.

It was a close call for Elio, where they had to remove the storyline that Elio was a young gay boy. But that obviously didn't help the story as it hacked the movie apart and shot up costs. It could be part of the reason why Elio performed so badly; too many cooks in the kitchen and all that.

But previous to Elio, the team at Pixar was already pumping out mediocre blather. If it weren't for Inside Out 2, they'd be dead by now.

 

[TP2000]

I think I've found a solution for Superman and his classic tale of immigration!

He apparently qualifies for an O-1 Visa and could live and work in the US legally, until his citizenship application is approved and he is sworn in as a US citizen. Anyone know a good immigration attorney in Metropolis?

 

[easyrowrdw]

The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy definitely had a political message, but I'd argue the second two films underperformed, in-part, because of it being so explicit. And I would further argue that the politics being so overt killed Rogue One and Solo. But that's what happens when you put a back-up dancer (with an agenda) in charge of a five billion dollar company.

Yeah. Your original post said, “name the film in the last decade that made money because it touched a hot button issue.” I would say the sequels made money because they were Episodes 7-9, not because they had a hot button message.

Of those mentioned elsewhere, I’d say Get Out is probably the best example. There’s really no way around the issue at the core of the movie, which is definitely hot button, and it was very successful. Maybe Parasite too, but I don’t think its message is as hot button.

 

[Disney Irish]

Since Disney now owns 20th Century Fox, they should retitle all the Alien franchise films:

Alien -> Aliens (1978) (since every character is an alien under the invader/not of this planet defintiion)

Aliens -> Aliens (1986) (see above)

Alien vs. Predator -> Aliens vs. Aliens (The Three Predators) As Observed by Aliens (multiple aliens from the xenomorph line fight three predators, and some human beings observe this while exploring an uninhabited island they are not native to)

Funny, but I'd still like to differentiate between species.

 

[Disney Irish]

I think I've found a solution for Superman and his classic tale of immigration!

He apparently qualifies for an O-1 Visa and could live and work in the US legally, until his citizenship application is approved and he is sworn in as a US citizen. Anyone know a good immigration attorney in Metropolis?

View attachment 870221

Given that he doesn't work FOR anyone, I doubt he would even need to qualify for a work visa only need to establish residency status which we already established he has, no matter the word you like to use.

And just for fun I put it into Google AI since you like to believe that more than any of us, here is what is says for residency -

 

[coffeefan]

James Gunn's Superman is an immigrant, like previous interpretations and comics. I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings, because your "news" influencers told you so.

 

[Fox&Hound]

I think you are on target on that one. Too bad too.

What I would like to see to an 4K remaster of the original Toy Story with new assets instead of a TS5.
The 1995 humans haven't stood the test of time. It could look amazing with better assets.

Yeah the people are scary, especially the baby sister, Molly. But I imagine that is why they chose the topic of toys they could animate well.

 

[Serpico Jones]

I’m still not sure how Kathleen Kennedy survived the Solo debacle. The stories I’ve heard coming out of that production were absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Tha Realest]

Given that he doesn't work FOR anyone, I doubt he would even need to qualify for a work visa only need to establish residency status which we already established he has, no matter the word you like to use.

And just for fun I put it into Google AI since you like to believe that more than any of us, here is what is says for residency -

View attachment 870224

View attachment 870225

He works “for” the Daily Planet. Maybe journalism is in such disrepute in the 2025 Gunniverse that it’s a job Americans won’t do?

 

[Agent H]

James Gunn's Superman is an immigrant, like previous interpretations and comics. I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings, because your "news" influencers told you so.

It’s great that it’s leaving behind all the anger people are projecting on to it.

 

[Disney Irish]

He works “for” the Daily Planet. Maybe journalism is in such disrepute in the 2025 Gunniverse that it’s a job Americans won’t do?

No, Clark Kent works for the Daily Planet.

Superman doesn't "work" for anyone, he is independent (movie even goes into this), outside of maybe the Justice League but even then he isn't "employed" by them.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Maybe some consider them of good quality. But when push comes to shove, they haven't connect with me masses for the most part. I'm at work right now and I just asked, just for this discussion, one of my employees who goes to the movies a few times a month. I asked him "did you see Elio yet?" It's one person I know. His answer, and I quote. Pixar just isn't what it used to be.

I know some like to point to reviews and say, see lightyear was really good, the reviews say so. As the opposite happens as well. The movies trash because the reviews are bad! I take all reviews with grain of salt. The last ten year pixar has been a mixed bag. I know that hurts a lot of hardcore Disney fans like we have on this site. The output just isn't the quality or hasn't resonated like it once did.

Movies like Luca or Soul or onward... aren't bad films. But they didn't create that IT factor of previous works. Can they get to original films doing well? Of course they can. But it won't be because of one film. They need to earn that benefit of the doubt back. That means multiple films back to back that resonate. Just because something like inside out 2 really hit, it's most definitely an outlier.

Pixar used to push boundaries and continue to evolve as a business. But Luca, Turning Red, Lightyear, and Elio just feel very…safe. Nothing visually that interesting and no real risk in story telling. I hope they can recapture some of their lost magic. Even movies like Wild Robot, Puss and Boots: Last Wish, or Spiderman into the Spiderverse seem to be pushing boundaries and demonstrating innovation much more than Pixar.

 

[Tha Realest]

James Gunn's Superman is an immigrant, like previous interpretations and comics. I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings, because your "news" influencers told you so.

Ohh this is a fun game! “(Insert movie) is successful because of concepts I’m grafting onto it, so suck it Republicans!”

Is he an “immigrant?” Maybe. He’s also a “refugee” and fully assimilated into the culture he grew up into.

But! Using some favored words of the other side, given how many Kryptonians he’s housing and welcoming to earth, and his designs on Lois, he’s also a “colonizer.” He’s also inserting himself into conflicts not his own, and bringing into it asymmetrical warfare. Those’ll surely be popular buzzwords at the same faculty lounges where sociology grad students grouse their career at Pixar ended because the company refused to put $150M behind their personal story.

 

[Disney Irish]

Yeah the people are scary, especially the baby sister, Molly. But I imagine that is why they chose the topic of toys they could animate well.

You haven't seen Pixar's first baby have you?

 

[Tha Realest]

No, Clark Kent works for the Daily Planet.

Superman doesn't "work" for anyone, he is independent (movie even goes into this), outside of maybe the Justice League but even then he isn't "employed" by them.

You know Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same?

So ALF and Superman/Kal-El and Elon Musk are “aliens” and “immigrants,” but “Clark Kent” is not?

I’m trying to see where you’re drawing lines.