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

[Heppenheimer]

Either that or make a deal with Paramount to do a SW/Trek combo. Studios are eventually going to have to start considering co-productions, right? At this point, what do they have besides gimmicks?

Dear God, please, no, no, a thousand times no.

I can think of only a single cross-franchise team-up that wasn't a complete disaster, and it mainly worked because it made sense within the larger framework of the story... Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Which probably didn't start with a pitch meeting of 'What if we combined the Mickey Mouse and Looney Tunes universes?"

 

[Tha Realest]

Disney CEO Bob Iger says company's movies have been too focused on messaging

Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged his company's movies have been too focused on messaging rather than strong storytelling.

www.cnbc.com

I wonder if the screen captures of Iger’s recent comments are being shared on Buddy’s private thread

 

[Casper Gutman]

I would also like to know what “messaging” people think Iger is talking about. What is the “message” in The Marvels or TLM or Wish or even Haunted Mansion that is supposedly so distracting?

It seems much more likely that his words are not an authentic expression of his thoughts but an attempt to placate the folks attacking Disney. He’s made numerous attempts to try to quiet the controversy recently. They have been rebuffed and will very likely continue to fail because the entire, profitable point of the attacks is to incite rage.

The one firm conclusion to be drawn from Iger’s comments is that he’s sure the controversy is significantly hurting the box office, something several here have disputed.

 

[DKampy]

I wonder if the screen captures of Iger’s recent comments are being shared on Buddy’s private thread

It is a shame about Iger’s comments… it feels as if he is trying to cater with a certain side… when none of the issues have anything to do with Messaging IMO

 

[DKampy]

I would also like to know what “messaging” people think Iger is talking about. What is the “message” in The Marvels or TLM or Wish or even Haunted Mansion that is supposedly so distracting?

It seems much more likely that his words are not an authentic expression of his thoughts but an attempt to placate the folks attacking Disney. He’s made numerous attempts to try to quiet the controversy recently. They have been rebuffed and will very likely continue to fail because the entire, profitable point of the attacks is to incite rage.

The one firm conclusion to be drawn from Iger’s comments is that he’s sure the controversy is significantly hurting the box office, something several here have disputed.

I believe his comments are only going to raise tensions even more… because those who rage against Disney are just going to go all in on see we were right about everything

 

[_caleb]

Ask Bob Iger. He’s a man that’s exceedingly careful with his words. Prior to and since his return he’s expressed numerous problems with the quality of the creative content being produced. He also stated a desire to “quiet the noise” on the culture war stuff, and now says entertainment has suffered at the expense of pushing a message.

I agree he's careful with his words. I don't believe it's possible to stay neutral (or quiet the noise). Making/perpetuating/amplifying the noise is fun for too large a portion of the public (see these boards for an example).

 

[drizgirl]

I believe his comments are only going to raise tensions even more… because those who rage against Disney are just going to go all in on see we were right about everything

So why do you think he said what he said?

 

[_caleb]

I believe his comments are only going to raise tensions even more… because those who rage against Disney are just going to go all in on see we were right about everything

No kidding. Between the Twitter thread, Iger's comments, and recent box office, the rage seems to have reached a fever pitch around here.

 

[_caleb]

So why do you think he said what he said?

You didn't ask me, but I have some ideas. I think Iger was plugging along with the plan for DTC, weathering the terrible short-term conditions while steering toward longer term goals. But investors and some segments of the public have run out of patience and become disgruntled. So this message is to try to assure those folks and keep them from over-reacting.

Personally, I think it's too late.

Those who've been freaking out about Disney "pandering" to a particular "mob" are the ones with torches and pitchforks.

 

[TalkingHead]

On the subject of interpreting box office numbers, the Beyoncé Dolby tickets are $28.00. Regular shows are $22. Mentioning this because Beyoncé is probably going to make more than Wish this weekend, but that won’t be the full story of number of tickets sold.

 

[drizgirl]

You didn't ask me, but I have some ideas. I think Iger was plugging along with the plan for DTC, weathering the terrible short-term conditions while steering toward longer term goals. But investors and some segments of the public have run out of patience and become disgruntled. So this message is to try to assure those folks and keep them from over-reacting.

Personally, I think it's too late.

Those who've been freaking out about Disney "pandering" to a particular "mob" are the ones with torches and pitchforks.

So Bob chose to feed the mob a line? One he knew would feed their supposed narrative?

 

[DKampy]

So why do you think he said what he said?

See @_caleb response… pretty much sums up my thoughts

Iger is doing damage control… trying to put trust in the general population that they are going to concentrate on story…It feels disingenuous… I have not noticed any messages in films like The Marvels, Wish, or The Little Mermaid…Barbie and into The Spiderverse had more messaging than any Disney movie…The Film with the most Noticeable message is Elemental and people seem to enjoy that… I also don’t think Bob Igers comments are going to work

 

[_caleb]

So Bob chose to feed the mob a line? One he knew would feed their supposed narrative?

It seems that way to me. Those audiences are/were Disney's meal ticket for a long time. While it seems clear that it's no longer viable to depend only/primarily on them, it's been pretty disastrous to assume their loyalty would stay strong as Disney tries to focus on wider audiences. So Iger is trying to reach out to legacy (note the comment delivered in the style the legacy audience has come to prefer).

 

[DisneyHead123]

I noticed that Christmas With Walt Disney on D+ seemed like a return to retro / classic Disney of decades ago. Wondering if that speaks to their future direction.

Iger seems to be signaling a change of direction. Trying to describe it without using any of the inflammatory terms the mods have asked us not to use, so I’ll leave it at that - a change of direction. Where I think they might run into a roadblock, however, is in creatives willingness to go along with this. At the end of the day, they’re still the people actually producing the content. The desires of execs looking for the broadest possible appeal and the cultural beliefs that I think are extremely widespread and sincerely held among the creative class might really conflict here.

 

[el_super]

So why do you think he said what he said?

Honestly? I think he's working to perpetuate the idea that only he can control the quality of the movies coming out.

That when left unchecked by executives, creatives cannot create quality content.

He's been pretty beaten down in the news, by the strikes, by the streaming transition, and even just complaints against Hollywood as a whole and these comments come at a time where Iger seems like he's trying to justify his place and his legacy at the company.

Also, maybe more subtly, a dig at Chapek. For not understanding the "messaging" and how it needed to be included in the storytelling, or that Chapek wasn't able to keep control of his creatives.

 

[el_super]

The desires of execs looking for the broadest possible appeal and the cultural beliefs that I think are extremely widespread and sincerely held among the creative class might really conflict here.

This is why I've been saying the comments from Iger are mostly hollow. He won't be able to control the creatives any better than Chapek did. The genie is out of the bottle.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This is why I've been saying the comments from Iger are mostly hollow. He won't be able to control the creatives any better than Chapek did. The genie is out of the bottle.

He manages the people who hire and fire the creatives, he has absolute control over the narrative of the creatives.

Will he wield that power? That’s the real question.

(Most likely no, but firing one or two people would probably be enough to change the course.)

 

[el_super]

He manages the people who hire and fire the creatives, he has absolute control over the narrative of the creatives.

Will he wield that power? That’s the real question.

(Most likely no, but firing one or two people would probably be enough to change the course.)

Change the course toward another walk out? Toward cancelled projects and A-List celebrities and showrunners heading to Netflix? Absolutely.

 

[DisneyHead123]

This is why I've been saying the comments from Iger are mostly hollow. He won't be able to control the creatives any better than Chapek did. The genie is out of the bottle.

Control, no. Over time he may be able to find some middle ground or a common narrative that everyone can support and agree on. Not giving up on representation but having a pragmatic approach - i.e., baby steps might ultimately sell it better or open more hearts in the long run. Empathizing with issues that cause hardships for those who are currently giving Disney a hard time, like poverty and the loss of manufacturing jobs, and maybe giving those some airtime too. That type of thing. I don’t think that will happen overnight though - and I imagine it depends on how well he’s able to connect with Disney creatives.

 

[el_super]

Empathizing with issues that cause hardships for those who are currently giving Disney a hard time, like poverty and the loss of manufacturing jobs, and maybe giving those some airtime too.

Isn't that what Strange World was about?