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

Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
TalkingHead said:
www.hollywoodreporter.com

Disney to Invest $1 Billion in OpenAI in Major Deal That Boosts Sora In Hollywood

Users of the AI video creation platform will now be able to create clips of 200 characters from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars franchises.
www.hollywoodreporter.com www.hollywoodreporter.com

Iger and Sam Altman are two peas in a pod (derogatory)
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Disney has been quite hostile to human creators and entertainers lately.

Thankfully it will be easy for Tilly Norwood to balance her duties with roles in the MCU, Star Wars, and Disney Princess live action franchises.
 
Casper Gutman

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
BrianLo said:
I really haven't waded into Netflix yet, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I think the truth is in the middle. I don't think Netflix is acquiring with the intent of fully eliminating theatrical output. That also doesn't mean the they'll release dozens of films like Warner has in the past.

I tend to believe Iger that the metrics of a movie being released theatrically generally gives the perception of higher value and therefore it also plays better in the streaming landscape longterm. Most of Netflix direct to streaming films are empty calories people forgot about instantly. For that reason I think whether the words are empty or not, Netflix long term might see the value in keeping some theatrical in a way they hadn't experienced before.

It seems everyone is way more negative about Netflix than I thought they were, in the broad sense. It's certainly not my favourite streamer, but the anger at it is surprising me.
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Netflix’s goal is to eliminate theatrical entirely. They’re not shy about that. Their public statements about releasing WB films theatrically have been very, very cagey and they haven’t been able to even maintain the pretense of intending to do so consistently. Netflix is built on “content,” not film. They see it as a different business.

I dislike streaming generally for a variety of reasons but Netflix is absolutely the bottom of the barrel. Apple actually has a strong record and both HBO and Disney occasionally produce interesting and/or fun content. Amazon has a lousy batting average but Fallout is fun. Netflix, however, consistently turns out garbage, and that’s largely by design.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
Netflix’s goal is to eliminate theatrical entirely. They’re not shy about that. Their public statements about releasing WB films theatrically have been very, very cagey and they haven’t been able to even maintain the pretense of intending to do so consistently. Netflix is built on “content,” not film. They see it as a different business.

I dislike streaming generally for a variety of reasons but Netflix is absolutely the bottom of the barrel. Apple actually has a strong record and both HBO and Disney occasionally produce interesting and/or fun content. Amazon has a lousy batting average but Fallout is fun. Netflix, however, consistently turns out garbage, and that’s largely by design.
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Netflix did throw a bone to theaters with the Strangers Things finale showings. Customers buy a concession voucher which benefits the theater entirely. I don't think Netflix even gets a cut, as there's no actual movie ticket sold.

On the other hand, they took the Knives Out theatrical franchise and turned it into a streaming property, with a small theatrical release which I'm guessing was strictly about potentially qualifying for awards.

Netflix certainly has a LOT of not-so-great content but I think they see the value in having at least a few flagship quality shows. Stranger Things fits that bill. They brought in David Fincher on House of Cards and that was a quality show that generated real buzz in it's first two seasons.

I'll give them some credit in knowing that certain properties still belong in theaters. DC Superhero movies being the obvious example.

HBO is still considered a more prestige streamer compared to Netflix. Will they want to mess with that? The challenge with Netflix is finding the true quality stuff in the vast mountain of content.
 
Tha Realest

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
Wendy Pleakley said:
Netflix did throw a bone to theaters with the Strangers Things finale showings. Customers buy a concession voucher which benefits the theater entirely. I don't think Netflix even gets a cut, as there's no actual movie ticket sold.

On the other hand, they took the Knives Out theatrical franchise and turned it into a streaming property, with a small theatrical release which I'm guessing was strictly about potentially qualifying for awards.

Netflix certainly has a LOT of not-so-great content but I think they see the value in having at least a few flagship quality shows. Stranger Things fits that bill. They brought in David Fincher on House of Cards and that was a quality show that generated real buzz in it's first two seasons.

I'll give them some credit in knowing that certain properties still belong in theaters. DC Superhero movies being the obvious example.

HBO is still considered a more prestige streamer compared to Netflix. Will they want to mess with that? The challenge with Netflix is finding the true quality stuff in the vast mountain of content.
Click to expand...
Best case (unlikely, but trying to remain optimistic) is if Netflix treats WB studios and HBO like Disney did (largely) with legacy 21CF and FX/Hulu. HBO consistently puts out prestige television shows; Netflix consistently puts out television shows. There’s a difference. Let’s hope they have enough sense to let them continue producing exceptional quality shows.

WB film studio side is up and down (they’ve had a great box office and critical run this year, ironically) but they’re consistence can be erratic and Netflix exists to disrupt if not destroy the theatrical experience.
 
Casper Gutman

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
Wendy Pleakley said:
Netflix did throw a bone to theaters with the Strangers Things finale showings. Customers buy a concession voucher which benefits the theater entirely. I don't think Netflix even gets a cut, as there's no actual movie ticket sold.

On the other hand, they took the Knives Out theatrical franchise and turned it into a streaming property, with a small theatrical release which I'm guessing was strictly about potentially qualifying for awards.

Netflix certainly has a LOT of not-so-great content but I think they see the value in having at least a few flagship quality shows. Stranger Things fits that bill. They brought in David Fincher on House of Cards and that was a quality show that generated real buzz in it's first two seasons.

I'll give them some credit in knowing that certain properties still belong in theaters. DC Superhero movies being the obvious example.

HBO is still considered a more prestige streamer compared to Netflix. Will they want to mess with that? The challenge with Netflix is finding the true quality stuff in the vast mountain of content.
Click to expand...
House of Cards was essentially the first original content Netflix produced. The company’s situation and philosophy have changed immeasurably since then - it’s not the same universe.

When was the last real, genuine theatrical release of Netflix content? Apple actually tries to have real theatrical releases -look at F1. Netflix does not.

It’s very odd to me that this forum is full of posters who are extremely informed and very cynical about mega-corp Disney but who don’t want to bring that same clarity to a more nefarious and less storied company like Netflix. They’re very open about what they’re doing!
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
House of Cards was essentially the first original content Netflix produced. The company’s situation and philosophy have changed immeasurably since then - it’s not the same universe.

When was the last real, genuine theatrical release of Netflix content? Apple actually tries to have real theatrical releases -look at F1. Netflix does not.

It’s very odd to me that this forum is full of posters who are extremely informed and very cynical about mega-corp Disney but who don’t want to bring that same clarity to a more nefarious and less storied company like Netflix. They’re very open about what they’re doing!
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When you say "Netflix’s goal is to eliminate theatrical entirely" do you mean in general or just for them?

I would argue they shouldn't do theatrical releases. People pay for Netflix with the expectation they get access to that content day one.

Running WB separately would allow them to to get into the theatrical business while not changing what Netflix itself is.
 
Casper Gutman

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
Wendy Pleakley said:
When you say "Netflix’s goal is to eliminate theatrical entirely" do you mean in general or just for them?

I would argue they shouldn't do theatrical releases. People pay for Netflix with the expectation they get access to that content day one.

Running WB separately would allow them to to get into the theatrical business while not changing what Netflix itself is.
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Sarandos views theatrical film releases as an entirely antiquated concept. He fights tooth and nail to avoid putting movies in theaters and when a director is big enough to force the issue the release window is minuscule. His goal is absolutely to kill cinemas. He is buying WB for a lot of reasons but a major one is to kill the competition and strangle the already struggling theatrical market by limiting the supply of product.

He also wants to kill physical media.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Casper Gutman said:
Sarandos views theatrical film releases as an entirely antiquated concept. He fights tooth and nail to avoid putting movies in theaters and when a director is big enough to force the issue the release window is minuscule. His goal is absolutely to kill cinemas. He is buying WB for a lot of reasons but a major one is to kill the competition and strangle the already struggling theatrical market by limiting the supply of product.

He also wants to kill physical media.
Click to expand...

Seems very short sighted to me.

Netflix is doing just fine. Theater's aren't hurting their bottom line.

We've also seen that audiences value theatrical product, which translates to more revenue from the streaming version.
 
TP2000

TP2000

Well-Known Member
Hiya, gang! We're off to the box office again this weekend with another movie from Burbank's studio stable. 🥳

This time, it's something called Ella McCay from Disney's Searchlight Pictures. I've been getting a lot of ads for it on YouTube the past week, and it looks like a gauzy light RomCom but without the Rom. Or at least without a leading man, from the commercials I've seen. I dunno who this movie is for, but it's here now. Oddly, it apparently had no preview showings last night, but is in theaters wide today.

Ella McCay cost a modest $35 Million to produce, so it will need about $88 Million at the global box office to break even.

Here's Thursday's box office, without Ella McCay previews:

Screenshot 2025-12-12 4.05.43 PM.png
 

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