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

[Casper Gutman]

I watched Guardians 3 the other day and, although it was ok, it was my least favorite Guardians movie… which made me realize this is a trend with Disney that’s been happening for a few years.

The most recent Guardians movie = my least favorite Guardians movie.
The most recent Thor movie = my least favorite Thor movie.
The most recent AntMan = my least favorite AntMan.
The most recent remake (Peter Pan and Wendy since I haven’t seen TLM yet) = my least favorite remake. (Which prior to that was Pinocchio, the next most recent, which prior to that was Mulan, the next most recent.)
The most recent Mandalorian season = my least favorite Mando season.
The most recent Star Wars show (Andor) = my least favorite Star Wars show.
The most recent Toy Story (Lightyear) = my least favorite Toy Story.
The most recent animated movie (Strange World) = my least favorite animated movie.

Is it really hard to see why they’re struggling at the box office?

Their once stellar reputation for high quality isn’t what it used to be, they’re going to need a string of hits to convince me to blindly give them my money in theaters again.

If Andor is your least favorite Star Wars show, I feel pretty safe in saying you’ve decided you’re going to dislike new Disney content before you ever watch it.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Crickets.

You’re not going to answer the question I asked you yesterday? Who is this “very small audience” that does not have money? Come on. Don’t be shy. You made a bold statement. Tell us who exactly you were referring to.

I also haven’t gotten any answers as to what folks view as the two or three most “preachy,” “political” moments in recent Disney media.

 

[Willmark]

Backing up to a few pages back: Marvel and to which I’ll also add Star Wars.

Marvel hasn’t faltered yet (largely) and I have no idea what Marvels will do. I do think the first one benefited from Endgame being right around the corner. I’m looking forward to Cap. After that…

As far as Star Wars? It’s rather telling that it’s still on hold moviewise. Last Jedi fractured the fan base and any movie they make is likely to have a divide. Rise of SkyWalker sure did I’m not sure (or maybe they are) just how much they alienated the fan base with that movie.

I can only use my own experience here: of the Disney SW movies Rogue One was the best and I really liked Solo. After that? I learned through painful lesson that SW Disney would be uneven at best. It also explains while I’m the right demographic cohort, why I passed on Dial of Destiny despite seeing Raiders easily over a hundred times. I even liked Crystal Skull.

Simply put I don’t trust Disney at this point enough to throw dollars their way.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

I watched Guardians 3 the other day and, although it was ok, it was my least favorite Guardians movie… which made me realize this is a trend with Disney that’s been happening for a few years.

The most recent Guardians movie = my least favorite Guardians movie.
The most recent Thor movie = my least favorite Thor movie.
The most recent AntMan = my least favorite AntMan.
The most recent remake (Peter Pan and Wendy since I haven’t seen TLM yet) = my least favorite remake. (Which prior to that was Pinocchio, the next most recent, which prior to that was Mulan, the next most recent.)
The most recent Mandalorian season = my least favorite Mando season.
The most recent Star Wars show (Andor) = my least favorite Star Wars show.
The most recent Toy Story (Lightyear) = my least favorite Toy Story.
The most recent animated movie (Strange World) = my least favorite animated movie.

Is it really hard to see why they’re struggling at the box office?

Their once stellar reputation for high quality isn’t what it used to be, they’re going to need a string of hits to convince me to blindly give them my money in theaters again.

I mostly agree with this, but Andor? C'mon man, that show is incredible.

I don't consider Lightyear a TS movie, but it's definitely in the conversation for worst ever Pixar film

And lastly, I'll take Thor 4 all day every day over Thor 1 and 2

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I mostly agree with this, but Andor? C'mon man, that show is incredible.

I just looked and I only made it half way through episode 2 before giving up on it.

Maybe it’s another casualty of me no longer giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, with so much to watch there’s no reason to sit through something I’m not enjoying in hopes it’ll get better.

 

[Jedijax719]

I just looked and I only made it half way through episode 2 before giving up on it.

Maybe it’s another casualty of me no longer giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, with so much to watch there’s no reason to sit through something I’m not enjoying in hopes it’ll get better.

I had a hard time with Andor and did mostly the same thing (but think I got through 3 episodes). I've been meaning to watch it full force, but haven't been motivated to do so.

 

[erasure fan1]

I mostly agree with this, but Andor? C'mon man, that show is incredible.

For a lot of casual fans, and some bigger fans, it was too slow and lacked in the action department. I really liked it but I can very much see why some don't connect with it. If you aren't invested in the material, and lets face it, Cassian isn't the most mainstream of characters. There's a good chance you won't connect with it.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I just looked and I only made it half way through episode 2 before giving up on it.

Maybe it’s another casualty of me no longer giving Disney the benefit of the doubt, with so much to watch there’s no reason to sit through something I’m not enjoying in hopes it’ll get better.

It was fairly universally praised by both critics and viewers alike as one of the best shows of the year and the best SW media since Empire. Rejecting it if you have any taste at all for Star Wars (or even sci-fi in general) is a sign of some pretty deep-seated bias.

And let’s talk about “distrusting” Disney. It’s actually a really odd idea. It’s very hard to imagine someone saying they “distrust” Universal or Paramount. Sure, you might not like Illumination movies, which share some stylistic elements, but everyone would look at you weird if you refused to see a Fast & Furious movie because you disliked Minions 2. But this is what the Disney attackers have largely been successful in doing, promulgating the almost conspiratorial notion that unlike every other studio, everyone associated with Disney, even quite independent divisions like Marvel and Pixar, operate as a single entity.

 

[MisterPenguin]

That is cool that you think it did fine. But it is at the point where it is not worth perusing for the studio unless they want to see a loss next time even greater.

It cost 250 million, so the most expensive Super Hero Movie for Disney of the year [1]. It underwhelmed at the box office [2] and had spring and summer.

It was not even the top grossing Marvel Movie of the year [3]. Not even the top grossing Chris Pratt movie of the year [4]. Disney is not in the business of breaking even to lose.

Without Gunn do you really think they would be likely to get the entire cast together again? They are ensemble movies. It would be hard to get that cast together again even with Gunn. They certainly won't get a fourth volume movie for less money. [5]

[ 1-5 ] You're going to throw your back out moving the goal post so many times.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Written by Disney.

 

[erasure fan1]

It was fairly universally praised by both critics and viewers alike as one of the best shows of the year and the best SW media since Empire. Rejecting it if you have any taste at all for Star Wars (or even sci-fi in general) is a sign of some pretty deep-seated bias.

I'm not sure that's really fair. Just because something is universally praised, doesn't mean it has to connect with someone. I play a lot of video games, and I love zelda. Breath of the wild is as universally praised as it gets. Fans and critics absolutely love it. I'd put squarely at the bottom of my Zelda list. So all of a sudden that negates my Zelda fandom?

you might not like Illumination movies, which share some stylistic elements, but everyone would look at you weird if you refused to see a Fast & Furious movie because you disliked Minions 2.

This comes down to the average Disney fan I believe. I wouldn't call myself a universal fan. I've never gone to see a movie just because it's universal or WB... But I would go see movies just because they're Disney. So yea I can see why someone would be apprehensive of one movie because of a completely separate movie. Fair or not l think it plays a part.

 

[celluloid]

[ 1-5 ] You're going to throw your back out moving the goal post so many times.

Those are not goal posts . They are called factors of business. Ones that Disney should consider if they continue. My back is fine.
Disney by the numbers has the largest box office debt of all the major studios.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

Advice for watching Andor
-Turn on subtitles
-Yes, the first 2 episode are slow
-By the end of episode 3 you will be hooked
-By the end of episode 10 you will in awe that SW can be this good

 

[flynnibus]

I'm not sure that's really fair. Just because something is universally praised, doesn't mean it has to connect with someone. I play a lot of video games, and I love zelda. Breath of the wild is as universally praised as it gets. Fans and critics absolutely love it. I'd put squarely at the bottom of my Zelda list. So all of a sudden that negates my Zelda fandom?

Doesn't negate it - but certainly invites concerns about your tastes ToTK is like BoTW on turbo.. adding more puzzles and discovery. You can literally get hundreds of hours of play out of them. That's notable

 

[erasure fan1]

Doesn't negate it - but certainly invites concerns about your tastes ToTK is like BoTW on turbo.. adding more puzzles and discovery. You can literally get hundreds of hours of play out of them. That's notable

I haven't played tears yet, but it does seem to fix a lot of my issues with breath. BotW seemed more like a tech demo more than a full game. Ocarina, link to the past, the original, the oracle games, minish cap, wind waker, Links awakening, twilight princess, all are ahead of breath for me.

 

[Disstevefan1]

In my opinion the budgets for the movies have gotten out of hand. There was a time budgets were enforced.

Today there are not enough people going to the movies to pay for these massive budgets.

Either they regain control of the budgets or no longer use the box office as a measure and use box office + purchase over stream + purchase of physical media + merch to determine if a movie is a success or not. The problem there is it will take years to see this data.

It seems the box office is baked in as THE measure. So they must LOWER the budgets of the movies.

 

[Jedijax719]

In my opinion the budgets for the movies have gotten out of hand. There was a time budgets were enforced.

Today there are not enough people going to the movies to pay for these massive budgets.

Either they regain control of the budgets or no longer use the box office as a measure and use box office + purchase over stream + purchase of physical media + merch to determine if a movie is a success or not. The problem there is it will take years to see this data.

It seems the box office is baked in as THE measure. So they must LOWER the budgets of the movies.

Have budgets gone so high or is it that the costs to make films have gotten so high that the budgets HAVE to be inflated?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It was fairly universally praised by both critics and viewers alike as one of the best shows of the year and the best SW media since Empire. Rejecting it if you have any taste at all for Star Wars (or even sci-fi in general) is a sign of some pretty deep-seated bias.

And let’s talk about “distrusting” Disney. It’s actually a really odd idea. It’s very hard to imagine someone saying they “distrust” Universal or Paramount. Sure, you might not like Illumination movies, which share some stylistic elements, but everyone would look at you weird if you refused to see a Fast & Furious movie because you disliked Minions 2. But this is what the Disney attackers have largely been successful in doing, promulgating the almost conspiratorial notion that unlike every other studio, everyone associated with Disney, even quite independent divisions like Marvel and Pixar, operate as a a single entity

First, I’m a huge Disney fan and I watch (or at least attempt to watch) pretty much everything Disney releases, I just wait for it on D+ now because I don’t trust that I’ll like it and I don’t want to waste my money on something I won’t like, especially when I know it’ll be available on D+ in a few months.

Second, rejecting a show after watching a couple episodes is a far cry from rejecting it because I didn’t like some completely unrelated show. Not sure how you even came to that conclusion. Finding a show slow and boring shows bias? To what, boredom? Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that, that’s the craziest thing I’ve read in a while.

 

[Disney Irish]

In my opinion the budgets for the movies have gotten out of hand. There was a time budgets were enforced.

Today there are not enough people going to the movies to pay for these massive budgets.

Either they regain control of the budgets or no longer use the box office as a measure and use box office + purchase over stream + purchase of physical media + merch to determine if a movie is a success or not. The problem there is it will take years to see this data.

It seems the box office is baked in as THE measure. So they must LOWER the budgets of the movies.

Movie budgets get approved on average 3-4 years before a movie is released. So all the budgets we're seeing now were approved mostly in 2019 before the pandemic.

Any budget slashing being done now won't really be felt for a few years in most cases.

 

[Casper Gutman]

In my opinion the budgets for the movies have gotten out of hand. There was a time budgets were enforced.

Today there are not enough people going to the movies to pay for these massive budgets.

Either they regain control of the budgets or no longer use the box office as a measure and use box office + purchase over stream + purchase of physical media + merch to determine if a movie is a success or not. The problem there is it will take years to see this data.

It seems the box office is baked in as THE measure. So they must LOWER the budgets of the movies.

That is the measure they use. It’s the measure they’ve used for forty years and especially for the last fifteen. It is why studios are financially structured as they are, why particular mergers and acquisitions take place.

Films ALMOST ALWAYS make money (Indy probably won’t, the rest of Disney’s slate will) and the studios ALWAYS pretend they don’t. Would everyone like MORE money at every phase of a film’s existence, including box office? Sure! Does that make BO the be all and end all? Nope.