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

[Casper Gutman]

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

Echoing Chi - I’m very interested in clarity in the “warning signs.”

 

[Andrew C]

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.

Huh? I am just stating that I think Disney should have had at least some data telling them this may not resonate well with the public, given that this is not just a one-off in the grand scheme of Disney releases. If it was a one-off, I would be more forgiving. But these flops are a bit of a trend now...

 

[Chi84]

Huh? I am just stating that I think Disney should have had at least some data telling them this may not resonate well with the public, given that this is not just a one-off in the grand scheme of Disney releases. If it was a one-off, I would be more forgiving. But these flops are a bit of a trend now...

Oh okay. So you think there should have been warning signs based on data but you don't know for certain. That's possible. I suspect we can safely conclude that Disney has data, but we don't have any idea of what it's telling them.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Come on. They’re all ridiculous.

Nah. Blame people who don’t even give it a shot because of their own agendas, biases, and made-up slights.

From seeing just the beginning of the TV series, I know her costume was homemade for a costume party. Ironman has money. Kamala does not, and she’s in high school. If she had a fancy costume day one, all the bros would cry, “How does this broke high school girl from Jersey have this?”

They should just stop making sequels because anything with a fandom is now at least 60% obnoxious.

Kinda hard to blame people for not spending their money how they want.

 

[Disney Irish]

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

This is such a cop-out answer.

Warning signs in Hollywood are a myth. There is no way to really tell ahead of time how the general public will react to a particular movie. Test screenings only go so far. They only give you a slice of the general public and tend to be misleading, just like any survey or poll.

As mentioned before if there was such thing as a "sure thing" in Hollywood every studio would have 10 $1B movies every year and never put out an under performing film.

 

[Andrew C]

This is such a cop-out answer.

Eh..maybe it is. But this flop didn't happen in a vacuum..

 

[Tony the Tigger]

As mentioned before if there was such thing as a "sure thing" in Hollywood every studio would have 10 $1B movies every year and never put out an under performing film.

Right? It’s like saying, “Go write a hit song.” Every time. Never fail. If anyone could do that, there would be no songs that flop. And it would be a low paying job.

While we’re at it, “Go paint a masterpiece.”

“When you get up to bat, don’t miss.”

Simple.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Every studio has misses but nearly 10 in a year is mind boggling, I’m amazed they haven’t cleaned house at the studios and brought in new talent to try to turn things around for the future.

 

[Andrew C]

Every time. Never fail. If anyone could do that

They have been failing a lot though recently...as I mentioned in a previous post, I would be more forgiving if this was a one-off.

Batting average this season is horrendous...

 

[Disney Irish]

Eh..maybe it is. But this flop didn't happen in a vacuum..

No disappointing box office performer happens in a vacuum.

The great Martin Scorsese, who claims that superhero movies aren't cinema, just had an huge ~$200M flop of his own.

Audiences have changed, and so have how they consume media. That is a huge part of this discussion.

 

[Disney Irish]

Every studio has misses but nearly 10 in a year is mind boggling, I’m amazed they haven’t cleaned house at the studios and brought in new talent to try to turn things around for the future.

Hollywood in general tends not to "clean house" due to under performing box office, even after a string of failures.

 

[Andrew C]

Audiences have changed, and so have how they consume media.

This sounds like a talking point from Disney, what they would say to excuse their recent poor performing films. While some of this may be true in general, I just don't buy it as a legitimate reason for what is occurring with them.

 

[Disney Irish]

This sounds like a talking point from Disney, what they would say to excuse their recent poor performing films. While some of this may be true, I just don't buy it as a legitimate reason for what is occurring with them.

It doesn't matter if you buy it or not, its a real thing. And some of us have been talking about it all year.

Audience trends change constantly, and so do technological advancements in distribution.

 

[Andrew C]

It doesn't matter if you buy it or not, its a real thing. And some of us have been talking about it all year.

Audience trends change constantly, and so do technological advancements in distribution.

Whether it is a real thing or not doesn't excuse Disney's flops. It is a lame excuse for the company's failings. They should really be embarrassed.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

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.

People should stop claiming to speak for “everyone.”

Maybe just say, “I don’t want to see the film,” instead of the unsubstantiated, “No one wants to see the film.” Plenty of films would kill for a $47m opening. No matter the context, that’s not “no one.”

There may be fewer people in the MCU fandom drawn to a film with 3 female or minority leads. That’s sad, but real. So do you never make that film?

Sometimes you have to break new ground. Will & Grace didn’t come about after gay people were widely treated as equals; they paved the way by showing the characters to mainstream America in a non-threatening way. (Of course, they were all white, so maybe that was easier?)

The kids watching The Marvels today will have no trouble supporting a billion dollar blockbuster with a female Pakistani lead when they are adults with their own kids.

 

[Disney Irish]

Whether it is a real thing or not doesn't excuse Disney's flops. It is a lame excuse for the company's failings. They should really be embarrassed.

Its not a lame excuse if its those same external forces that are the primary driver for what are causing those "flops". Posters constantly state they want Disney to tell original stories, just have a hit, stop putting out content that audiences aren't interested in. As the saying goes, its easy to say all that from the cheap seats.

Despite the fairy tale stories they tell they do not have a crystal ball that predicts the future.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Whether it is a real thing or not doesn't excuse Disney's flops. It is a lame excuse for the company's failings. They should really be embarrassed.

Some people should be embarrassed. I don’t think it’s the studio.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Plenty of films would kill for a $47m opening.

Even if the film cost over $300 Million to make and market?

 

[BuddyThomas]

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.

Warning sight of what? A wake up call to what?

 

[Disney Irish]

Even if the film cost over $300 Million to make and market?

Yep, as I mentioned Scorsese had a film just last month that performed worse than The Marvels, opening at $23M, and will lose ~$200M for Paramount and Apple.