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

[Andrew C]

Shockingly, not the best measure of a film’s quality. Lots of great films get miserable exit scores and vice versa.

So no one saw it. And those who did, didn’t like it. Keep the excuses coming though. Or just admit, I dunno, that Disney made a flop and needs to do better. It’s their fault. Not mine or anyone else’s.

 

[LittleBuford]

So what do you think Disney should do? I know people keep saying to make better movies, but it seems like what they’re making gets decent reviews.

What’s really telling is that the things people complain about when it comes to Disney’s latest films are just as present in pre-slump movies that did very well indeed at the box office. It’s not like Disney’s history of “pandering” (not the way I’d frame it) began last year; it goes back at least a decade.

 

[Andrew C]

It’s odd that Ms Marvel, who is vociferously praised even in most negative reviews of the film, keeps getting singled out here.

It just came out. What’s odd.

 

[Disney Irish]

They should stop making films that no one wants to see.

What's funny about this sentence is that no movie studio sets out to "make a film no one wants to see". Every studio, including Disney, sets out to make movies for the audience.

So this sentiment is flawed, because if it was that easy every studio would have 10 $1B+ movies every year.

 

[Casper Gutman]

They should stop making films that no one wants to see. And again, see exit scores for the few people who actually decided to go.

Brilliant and substantive! I mean, it was widely known that EVERYONE wanted to see a film starring Rocket Raccoon back in 2014.

How should they have known no one wanted to see The Marvels, a film based on characters who are significantly more popular in comics then Shang-Chi or the Guardians or Ant-Man?

 

[Andrew C]

What's funny about this sentence is that no movie studio sets out to "make a film no one wants to see". Every studio, including Disney, sets out to make movies for the audience.

So this sentiment is flawed, because if it was that easy every studio would have 10 $1B movies every year.

I didn’t say it was intentional. At least I don’t think it was. That would be a bit crazy.

 

[Andrew C]

How should they have known no one wanted to see The Marvels

Research, metrics, screen testing?

 

[Chi84]

They should stop making films that no one wants to see. And again, see exit scores for the few people who actually decided to go.

How is any studio supposed to know what that is? How do they know no one wants to see a particular film?

 

[Chi84]

Research, metrics, screen testing?

Do you think Disney doesn’t do this?

 

[Casper Gutman]

So no one saw it. And those who did, didn’t like it. Keep the excuses coming though. Or just admit, I dunno, that Disney made a flop and needs to do better. It’s their fault. Not mine or anyone else’s.

Disney made a good film. A lot of things conspired to make it flop - changing film going habits, previous bad films, oversaturation, the strike, bad marketing, etc. Many of these are Disney’s (but not the films) fault. And yes, an absolutely toxic, widespread targeted rage campaign pushed by a lot of powerful people played a part too, though not the primary one.

 

[Andrew C]

Do you think Disney doesn’t do this?

It seems not well recently...or they ignored the warning signs. That is for them to figure out....hopefully this is a bit of a wake up call.

 

[Andrew C]

Disney made a good film

That is a fun opinion, but all metrics point the other direction.

 

[Disney Irish]

I didn’t say it was intentional. At least I don’t think it was. That would be a bit crazy.

So if you know it wasn't intentional, then you know that the audience is fickle. Meaning you can't just "make movies audiences want to see" as audiences tastes, trends, and everything else change.

 

[Casper Gutman]

That is a fun opinion, but all metrics point the other direction.

Neat condescension. Got any substantive criticism of the film?

 

[Andrew C]

Neat condescension. Got any substantive criticism of the film?

My opinion on its own, like what I think about the character design, had no bearing on the outcome of the film. But it becomes a problem when people share similar negative opinions, that it becomes the majority opinion.

 

[Casper Gutman]

My opinion on its own, like what I think about the character design, had no bearing on the outcome of the film. But it becomes a problem when people share similar negative opinions, that it becomes the majority opinion.

The character design from the TV show seems to be the one substantive criticism you’re willing to advance about… the film.

 

[Chi84]

So if you know it wasn't intentional, then you know that the audience is fickle. Meaning you can't just "make movies audiences' want to see" as audiences tastes, trends, and everything else change.

This is true. Disney makes films that rely heavily on young families turning out to see them and their habits have definitely changed.

My daughter has three young kids and it’s easier and cheaper for them to wait until they can see a movie on Disney+. On the other end of the spectrum, my husband and I are turned off by the atrocious behavior of many current movie-goers so we’ll also wait.

 

[Andrew C]

So if you know it wasn't intentional, then you know that the audience is fickle. Meaning you can't just "make movies audiences want to see" as audiences tastes, trends, and everything else change.

I guess there were no warning signs for Disney to read....

 

[DKampy]

T

I wasn't talking about the poster. The character design in general. And then we wonder by it didn't translate well to film. They tried to turn Saved by the Bell into a blockbuster movie.

Told me you did not watch Ms Marvel without telling me you did not watch Ms Marvel

 

[Chi84]

I guess there were no warning signs for Disney to read....

What warning signs were there? I think this is the type of answer that was criticized earlier. If you want to say something, say it.