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

[flynnibus]

Elemental was definitely pretty good and did animation and abstract well. It is more of a romcom so I think it had a hard time hitting its notes for some, but it did it very well.

This is the big problem with Pixar of late vs more hit-n-run successes like the Mario film.

They just aren't nearly as fun. They can be moody, emotional, deep in message, but low on easy to consume entertainment. Toy Story has deep under pinnings, but is still easily digestible by a 8yr old without those messages. Where most of the more recent Pixar stuff isn't the same. They just aren't nearly as wide appealing as a family wide feature. "Family friendly?" sure, but family hits? Strugging.

 

[LittleBuford]

Thats where I think modern Disney has lost its way, they inject so many real world issues into their movies they no longer provide an escape from it.

Can you list those films you think failed because they deal too much with real-world issues? I'm pretty sure Strange World will come to your mind first, but Lightyear, another flop, has no social messaging, whereas Elemental, which proved a sleeper hit, is full of it. The Little Mermaid, which remains as escapist as its animated predecessor, should also have done much better by your logic, while the environmental messaging of Avatar: The Way of Water should have turned audiences off.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Haunted mansion was OK, I watched it "free" on D+. I didn't dislike it, but it was OK.

I watched in the theater….yes…me and 113 other people…

It was middling entertainment but not a good movie at all…

Sounds like Freddy without a $300 mil budget

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Can you list those films you think failed because they deal too much with real-world issues? I'm pretty sure Strange World will come to your mind first, but Lightyear, another flop, has no social messaging, whereas Elemental, which proved a sleeper hit, is full of it. The Little Mermaid, which remains as escapist as its animated predecessor, should also have done much better by your logic, while the environmental messaging of Avatar: The Way of Water should have turned audiences off.

I think Disneys problem is their name right now, people associate Disney with DEI and the culture war so they are now looking for any reason not to go.

The biggest pre opening focus on Strange World was a gay kiss, everything else was completely overshadowed by a blink and miss it moment, the result was Strange World = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

One of the big stories on the Little Mermaid was they cast a black actress, Little Mermaid = DEI so a lot of people instantly skipped it.

Elemental was seen as a metaphor for immigration and fitting into the “majorities” world, Elemental = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

Lightyear “canceled” conservative Tim Allen in favor of liberal Chris Evan’s so a lot of people skipped it.

I think Avatar was so successful because people don’t view it as a Disney film, it’s a Michael Bay film. It escapes the intense criticism and scrutiny because it‘s not Disney.

Disneys name used to be their biggest asset, it’s now a liability.

 

[LSLS]

I watched in the theater….yes…me and 113 other people…

It was middling entertainment but not a good movie at all…

Sounds like Freddy without a $300 mil budget

Entertaining makes a good movie to me. I don't need all the nonsense the so-called experts point to. Give me something that is fun, I don't need to dissect the brilliance of shooting the kiss from a back angle.

 

[LittleBuford]

I think Disneys problem is their name right now, people associate Disney with DEI and the culture war so they are now looking for any reason not to go.

The biggest pre opening focus on Strange World was a gay kiss, everything else was completely overshadowed by a blink and miss it moment, the result was Strange World = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

One of the big stories on the Little Mermaid was they cast a black actress, Little Mermaid = DEI so a lot of people instantly skipped it.

Elemental was seen as a metaphor for immigration and fitting into the “majorities” world, Elemental = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

Lightyear “canceled” conservative Tim Allen in favor of liberal Chris Evan’s so a lot of people skipped it.

I think Avatar was so successful because people don’t view it as a Disney film, it’s a Michael Bay film. It escapes the intense criticism and scrutiny because it‘s not Disney.

Disneys name used to be their biggest asset, it’s now a liability.

Then what is Disney to do? You're essentially saying that the issue is the company's reputation rather than the actual content of the films themselves (which is rather different from your earlier claim that the movies "no longer provide an escape from" the real world).

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Then what is Disney to do? You're essentially saying that the issue is the company's reputation rather than the actual content of the films themselves (which is rather different from your earlier claim that the movies "no longer provide an escape from" the real world).

Thats the billion dollar question, I don’t even know if they can fix it at this point, they may have irreparably damaged the brand with a significant portion of their audience. The only solution may be time, make more conservative decisions (which will likely anger the other side) and give people time to remember them as an entertainment company first and social engineers second.

 

[LittleBuford]

Thats the billion dollar question, I don’t even know if they can fix it at this point, they may have irreparably damaged the brand with a significant portion of their audience. The only solution may be time, make more conservative decisions (which will likely anger the other side) and give people time to remember them as an entertainment company first and social engineers second.

What do you mean by "more conservative decisions"?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

What do you mean by "more conservative decisions"?

Boring, non controversial… the type of decisions that will be seen as “backtracking“ on social issues and likely anger the other side.

Giving us 7 dwarfs rather than 7 magical creatures is a good example, some are praising it, some are calling it caving, some are saying nothing changed… but everyone is talking about it.

 

[celluloid]

This is the big problem with Pixar of late vs more hit-n-run successes like the Mario film.

They just aren't nearly as fun. They can be moody, emotional, deep in message, but low on easy to consume entertainment. Toy Story has deep under pinnings, but is still easily digestible by a 8yr old without those messages. Where most of the more recent Pixar stuff isn't the same. They just aren't nearly as wide appealing as a family wide feature. "Family friendly?" sure, but family hits? Strugging.

And to throw in the subjective on the other end. I found Mario a bit too light and silly. It felt like I watched nothing. Well done on pointing out Toy Story. That is the balance.

 

[DKampy]

Two different metrics, this is a box office forum thread, so it would be on profitability first or only.

The box office has no care for if a movie is good, other than word of mouth and generating more business.

Go look at The Marvels thread…which is largely predicting the box office profits which I am sure will turn into another box office thread once it is released

 

[LittleBuford]

Boring, non controversial… the type of decisions that will be seen as “backtracking“ on social issues and likely anger the other side.

Giving us 7 dwarfs rather than 7 magical creatures is a good example, some are praising it, some are calling it caving, some are saying nothing changed… but everyone is talking about it.

I'd be very surprised if this "conservative decision" is going to do anything to improve the film's potential viewership or Disney's reputation.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I'd be very surprised if this "conservative decision" is going to do anything to improve the film's potential viewership.

I agree, I think it’s too late for Snow, it’s already tainted in too many people’s minds… but it will still be seen as a “step in the right direction” by those same people and maybe they’ll give the next remake a chance.

 

[celluloid]

Then what is Disney to do? You're essentially saying that the issue is the company's reputation rather than the actual content of the films themselves (which is rather different from your earlier claim that the movies "no longer provide an escape from" the real world).

Reputation is earned back. You can bet a lot of Five Nights at Freddy's Success was also in part because of the brand that Blumhouse typically delivers fun horror of varying levels for fans. M3GAN being a recent horror hit helped.
You can have a miss still do well if surrounded by well done (Exorcist made money back but it was not as big of hit as they were hoping for, and was typically reviewed poorly by audiences)

Mario was not as likely to do as good as it did but Illumination has struck a chord entertaining family for more than a decade. It was easy for people to trust.

Pixar has taken a dive for years, as has Disney as a whole.

Reputation takes time. Disney's brand has been damaged. Elemental was a step in a right direction as others have noted, but it is not going to just be likely to be a hit against its budget.

 

[TP2000]

Weekend box office has been revised and finalized. A few changes from yesterday's weekend tally...

Freddy's and Miss Swift actually increased their box office tally for the weekend. The Creator remains in 10th place for the weekend, and A Haunting In Venice fell to 13th place after box office came in from two small independent studios. I imagine this was Venice's last weekend in theaters?

 

[Dranth]

Thats the billion dollar question, I don’t even know if they can fix it at this point, they may have irreparably damaged the brand with a significant portion of their audience. The only solution may be time, make more conservative decisions (which will likely anger the other side) and give people time to remember them as an entertainment company first and social engineers second.

They just need to fix their budgets. Many of the bombs would have broken even/made money had their budgets been in line with where they should be. The culture war junk will take care of itself over time without them having to do much of anything.

 

[TP2000]

Or said differently, a $20M budgeted teen horror movie grossed in a weekend about the same as the entire domestic runs of “The Creator” and “Venice” combined.

It's alarming, isn't it? Or at least it should be for Burbank.

Of course, Freddy's would have done just as badly as The Creator and Venice if the strike was over and it had thus been able to send its actors onto late night talk shows that no one watches any more, if it hadn't debuted on Peacock "for free" the same weekend it opened in theaters, and if Covid never happened.

Or something like that, I get confused on how the excuse logic works sometimes.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Or said differently, a $20M budgeted teen horror movie grossed in a weekend about the same as the entire domestic runs of “The Creator” and “Venice” combined.

Or said differently, a 20M budgeted teen horror has a much better ROI than the last 7 or 8 Disney movies.

 

[TP2000]

Or said differently, a 20M budgeted teen horror has a much better ROI than the last 7 or 8 Disney movies.

That's a very interesting one to contemplate too.

It's actually the last 9 Disney movies, since the last Disney movie to make a profit was Guardians 3, with a profit from its box office run of $59 Million.

Guardians 3: $250 Production $100 Marketing, Box Office $215 USA, $194 Foreign, $409 B.O. Take = $59 Million Profit
Chevalier: $46 Production, $15 Marketing, Box Office $2.1 USA, $120,000 Foreign, B.O. Take $2.2 = $60 Million Loss
Mermaid: $250 Production $140 Marketing, Box Office $179 USA, $105 Foreign, $284 B.O. Take = $106 Million Loss
Elemental: $200 Production $100 Marketing, Box Office $92 USA, $130 Foreign, $222 B.O. Take = $78 Million Loss
Indy 5: $300 Production $125 Marketing, Box Office $105 USA, $79 Foreign, $184 B.O. Take = $241 Million Loss
Haunted Mansion: $157 Production, $63 Marketing, Box Office $39 USA $14 Foreign, $53 B.O. Take = $167 Million Loss
The Boogeyman: $35 Production, $17 Marketing, Box Office $26 USA, $16 Foreign, B.O. Take $42 = $10 Million Loss
Theater Camp: $8 Production, $4 Marketing, Box Office $2.2 USA, $71,000 Foreign, B.O. Take $2.3 = $10 Million Loss
A Haunting In Venice; $60 Production, $30 Marketing, $25 Domestic, $26 Overseas = $39 Million Loss
The Creator; $80 Production, $40 Marketing, $22 Domestic, $21 Overseas = $77 Million Loss

Five Nights at Freddy's; $25 Production, $25 Marketing, $48 Domestic, $21 Overseas = $19 Million Profit After 3 Days

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think Disneys problem is their name right now, people associate Disney with DEI and the culture war so they are now looking for any reason not to go.

The biggest pre opening focus on Strange World was a gay kiss, everything else was completely overshadowed by a blink and miss it moment, the result was Strange World = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

One of the big stories on the Little Mermaid was they cast a black actress, Little Mermaid = DEI so a lot of people instantly skipped it.

Elemental was seen as a metaphor for immigration and fitting into the “majorities” world, Elemental = DEI so a lot of people skipped it.

Lightyear “canceled” conservative Tim Allen in favor of liberal Chris Evan’s so a lot of people skipped it.

I think Avatar was so successful because people don’t view it as a Disney film, it’s a Michael Bay film. It escapes the intense criticism and scrutiny because it‘s not Disney.

Disneys name used to be their biggest asset, it’s now a liability.

I’m gonna reject part of this analysis…
Yes…Disney is mishandling their pivot…

But the reality is one has been governor pulling a campaign stunt and appealing to beats on the couch who - let’s face it - largely are NOT bankrolling Disney - isn’t the prime reason

They’re making stale and frankly bad product…

Overextended their comic book franchises…over used the Pixar stuff…boring animated remakes…bombed out the two LFL franchises.
Not much good

Queue: Pirates of the Caribbean and the Grumpy on the Pillow