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

[Animaniac93-98]

"Important to note here on a tentpole like Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the number of non-frequent moviegoers who came out which was 62% according to Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak exits (broken down that’s 35% every other month or so, and 27% a few times a year or less). The complaint by the industry has been that it’s the non-frequent moviegoers who’ve shrunk post-pandemic, not necessarily the core cinephiles."

- Deadline

 

[DKampy]

Pixar had perhaps the best track record in film( not just animation studios)history… it is unrealistic to think they could keep up that pace forever

 

[Stripes]

I liked Elio also but with the exception of a couple sequels Pixar hasn’t come anywhere near the “emotions” that made their early films so amazing.

I think that’s where Pixar truly shines, the beginning of UP, Riley returning home and apologizing in Inside Out, Woody saying goodbye… there’s a lot of early Pixar films that still choke me up every time I watch them, and many I’ve seen dozens of times and they still get me. Other than a couple sequels I can’t remember the last time a Pixar film got me in the feels.

Personally, Luca and Soul got me pretty good…

To your point though, I also think Pixar excels at drama. While a few jokes often land across all their films, when the comedy/drama balance is weighted more toward comedy, I find their films don’t resonate with me as much. But maybe that’s my personal bias as someone that prefers the emotional punch of a drama versus the lighthearted entertainment of a comedy. And this is a generalization, Soul was a drama-comedy that still really resonated and affected me. I definitely related to Joe’s struggle to find “purpose” in life and I thought the comedy was pretty funny.

 

[BrianLo]

Elemental was also quite good. They aren’t on a perfect hot streak, but they certainly aren’t in a creative dark age.

 

[BrianLo]

Week One: 88M, implying 264M total
Week Two: 164.7M (+76.7M), implying 320.8M
Week Three: 242.6M (+77.9M), implying 398.4M
Week Four: 297.6M (+55M), implying 407.6M

The end point seems to be solidifying.

Week Five: 332.2M (+34.6), implying 401.4

Not a total Mario collapse, but we can probably just call it now as very near 400.

 

[Nevermore525]

Week Five: 332.2M (+34.6), implying 401.4

Not a total Mario collapse, but we can probably just call it now as very near 400.

Be interesting to monitor how it holds with Galaxy not being as strongly received or recommended.

Mario is fine, just more of the same from before and felt more like a bunch of tik tok/youtube shorts thrown together featuring Mario and friends. Who says you need quality to make near a $Billion

 

[Animaniac93-98]

By end of day tomorrow, Hoppers will have passed $150 million domestically, and by next weekend, Elemental's total

$180 million would be 4x the film's opening weekend

Last year 16 movies made over $150 million in the USA and Canada, the vast majority being sequels, remakes or reboots

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Personally, Luca and Soul got me pretty good…

To your point though, I also think Pixar excels at drama. While a few jokes often land across all their films, when the comedy/drama balance is weighted more toward comedy, I find their films don’t resonate with me as much. But maybe that’s my personal bias as someone that prefers the emotional punch of a drama versus the lighthearted entertainment of a comedy. And this is a generalization, Soul was a drama-comedy that still really resonated and affected me. I definitely related to Joe’s struggle to find “purpose” in life and I thought the comedy was pretty funny.

Soul was their last non sequel I loved, had Joe chosen to “go on” I think it would be one of my all time favorite Pixar films, that was the only thing I didn’t like about that film, him realizing his “bad life” was actually a “great life” through the eyes of another was such a brilliant concept, I think it lost some of the impact because he chose to go back rather than being content he’d already lived an amazing life and moving on to the next adventure… small nitpick but I think them not fully committing to the emotional arc decreased the impact. Still their last amazing original film.

I enjoyed Luca but not the same level as Soul, I also loved Onward which I know didn’t connect with a lot of people.

 

[TP2000]

Final tally Box Office is out for this past Easter weekend. Here's how things went, with Super Mario with boffo box office.

After a month in theaters, Hoppers is now sitting at $332 Million globally. It needs $375 Million to break even, and start earning a profit for Pixar.

The Numbers - Where Data and the Movie Business Meet

The Numbers provides detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[DKampy]

Soul was their last non sequel I loved, had Joe chosen to “go on” I think it would be one of my all time favorite Pixar films, that was the only thing I didn’t like about that film, him realizing his “bad life” was actually a “great life” through the eyes of another was such a brilliant concept, I think it lost some of the impact because he chose to go back rather than being content he’d already lived an amazing life and moving on to the next adventure… small nitpick but I think them not fully committing to the emotional arc decreased the impact. Still their last amazing original film.

Nice to see someone else who appreciates Soul…That is a top tier Pixar film for me… it is up there with some of their earlier classics for me

 

[Disney Irish]

Nice to see someone else who appreciates Soul…That is a top tier Pixar film for me… it is up there with some of their earlier classics for me

I think had Soul been released to theaters it would have been seen as one of the top films for Pixar overall. Unfortunately it got the D+ effect and seen by many as "less than", and so usually gets written off as just a "streaming movie".

 

[MisterPenguin]

After a month in theaters, Hoppers is now sitting at $332 Million globally. It needs $375 Million to break even, and start earning a profit for Pixar.

Yes, if the theatrical window was the only source of income for movies.

 

[TP2000]

Yes, if the theatrical window was the only source of income for movies.

We'd need a different thread for that.

Perhaps someone could start one called "Disney At The Post-Theatrical Window - Current State Of Affairs", and we could track Disney+ costs to offer Rachel Zegler's Snow White to dozens of viewing families per month?

 

[Disney Irish]

We'd need a different thread for that.

Perhaps someone could start one called "Disney At The Post-Theatrical Window - Current State Of Affairs", and we could track Disney+ costs to offer Rachel Zegler's Snow White to dozens of viewing families per month?

Actually we don’t because it’s been discussed in this thread many times before for many movies both Disney and non-Disney.

 

[MisterPenguin]

We'd need a different thread for that.

Perhaps someone could start one called "Disney At The Post-Theatrical Window - Current State Of Affairs", and we could track Disney+ costs to offer Rachel Zegler's Snow White to dozens of viewing families per month?

OR... hear me out... we can stop declaring a movie profitable or not by just looking at its Box Office receipts.

We could say things like, "it didn't reach profitability while in the theaters."

After all, some like to portray themselves as understanding "the Biz" because they found a website with Box Office totals, but they only look at domestic numbers and conveniently forget about post-theatrical windows. Surely, these newly minted cinephile experts wouldn't want to do such a biased, cherry-picked thing.

 

[easyrowrdw]

After a month in theaters, Hoppers is now sitting at $332 Million globally. It needs $375 Million to break even, and start earning a profit for Pixar.

Yes, if the theatrical window was the only source of income for movies.

The comment didn't say the theater was the only source of income. But as long as the movie is in theaters, I think focusing on the box office is appropriate. I think Hoppers is going to hit profitability before it leaves the theaters, but we'll see.

And, if memory serves me correctly, movies that do better at the box office tend to do better on digital. A positive return at the theater should be good in the long run for Disney.

 

[MisterPenguin]

But as long as the movie is in theaters, I think focusing on the box office is appropriate.

I agree.

I have no issue with claiming a movie was a loss... in the theatrical window. Too often, such a movie is characterized as a flop as if the other windows didn't exist.

Encanto was certainly a loss... a flop even... in its theatrical window (mostly due to Disney kneecapping it's theatrical run by announcing up front it would only be in theaters for 30 days). That is certainly no longer the case given its post-theatrical success.

But there are still those who look at just the B.O. and declare it a loss.

 

[Nevermore525]

Hoppers still holding above $1M daily grosses through Monday.

Mario Galaxy currently trending about 10% behind Super Mario Bros domestically through the holiday weekend.

 

[Chi84]

But there are still those who look at just the B.O. and declare it a loss.

One guy completely forgot about the pandemic.

 

[TP2000]

OR... hear me out... we can stop declaring a movie profitable or not by just looking at its Box Office receipts.

We could say things like, "it didn't reach profitability while in the theaters."

I completely understand that. But how do you quantify it?

Disney+ made $1.3 Billion in profit in fiscal 2025. How do you split that up amongst the 20 or so movies Disney moved from theatrical to streaming in 2025? How much of that $1.3 Billion did Rachel Zegler's Snow White make on Disney+ after it's $200+ Million loss at the box office? How much money did Zootopia 2 make on Disney+ after it's $600+ Million profit at the box office?

How do you track it all financially, and where is that information found?

If there is a source for that streaming data for each film, it seems like it would need its own thread. Because it's not Box Office.

After all, some like to portray themselves as understanding "the Biz" because they found a website with Box Office totals, but they only look at domestic numbers and conveniently forget about post-theatrical windows. Surely, these newly minted cinephile experts wouldn't want to do such a biased, cherry-picked thing.

No one has been as transparent as I have that I'm not an expert at any of this. The TP2000 Global Command Center has seven semi-Animatronic figures that only move from the waist up (there's a few good jokes about my Love Life there), a dozen panels of blinky lights, and some 27 inch TV screens that just show wavy lines and the occasional crashing Gooney Bird. Plus our pre-show hostess, Connie, who isn't much for conversation but looks great in her polyester jumpsuit.

And darnit, we try hard!

I rarely even go to the movies, and the last few movies I've been to haven't been from Burbank's campus. But the data is out there, and it's easy to use.

If I'm using the wrong Box Office data, please let me know where the real Box Office data is being kept. I'll use that, instead.

The Numbers - Where Data and the Movie Business Meet

The Numbers provides detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

www.the-numbers.com