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

[celluloid]

Not a special event if it plays every weekend for two months. It’s a wide release with upcharge based on demand. Their deals with the studios probably prevents doing the same with titles they’re exhibiting but not distributing. But PLF pricing accomplishes something similar. The subscription packages wouldn’t exist if the business was robust and growing. They’re literally giving movies away if you see more than two in a month.

Do you see it still playing well on the charts for its thirteen week run? There is a reason they charged a lot and fast for it for the weekends. It was a scarcity see it now event. Not the norm.

Put it this way, imagine a ticket to Wish cost closer to 20 but Migration cost the standard 10 bucks. What movie do you think most families are going to pick?

Imagine how bad Wish, Haunted Mansion, The Marvels and all other large budget movies would have done of they would have charged so much more.

Also, The concert films are a terrible example to bring up for this premise, as they are closer to a limited run event nearly exclusive to major theater chains and were not major budget situations, quite the opposite. Eras movie has a reported budget of only around 15 million. The concert movies directly argue against the big budget films charging more as it was a much lower budget than most feature films.

So the budget basis for charging more is just silly if this is the best example we have.

Disney is in no place to raise the prices of their films at the theatrical relase time.

 

[Disney Irish]

Here is another example of a major theater chain trying dynamic ticket pricing, which is a quick step away from variable pricing....

How Cinemark Is Approaching Dynamic Ticket Pricing

"We do believe that there's an opportunity on the pricing side," CFO Melissa Thomas told an investors conference about factoring in the time of day and day of the week that a movie plays.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

And since I see the majority of movies at my local Cinemark it now makes sense why they cost more than the local regional theater 30 miles south.

 

[Disney Irish]

And yet another example of variable pricing being tried this year for specific movies, 80 for Brady had lower pricing for all showings than other movies.....

‘80 For Brady’ Changes Box Office Playbook, Lowers Movie Ticket Prices

In a bold experiment, theater owners hope to win over older movieogers by charging less to see the new sports comedy starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

So Spielberg (and Lucas) knew what he was talking about....

 

[celluloid]

Ah yes, the experiment of variable pricing of 80 for Brady. Ha. A shining example of if a studio feels a movie is not that desirable, you can charge less and make...about the same. Of course they have experiemented with this. The thing that it was wrong is that it would become the norm with higher prices for bigger budget films. That has not happened. If The Marvels would have cost a few dollars more per ticket, people would have likely hated it even more or at very least seen it even less.

The mostly retired bearded wonders(love Steven, but he keeps trying these musicals lately that don't resonate) sure are right with their prediction we would be seeing Tent Poles for 25 dollars a ticket by now because some theaters charged less for 80 for brady and some failed experiments with the idea that proved it is not viable.

Do people even read what they share? .

 

[Disney Irish]

Ah yes, the variable pricing of 80 for Brady. Ha. A shining example of if a studio feels a movie is not that desirable, you can charge less and make...about the same.

The mostly retired bearded wonders(love Steven, but he keeps trying these musicals lately that don't resonate) sure are right with their prediction we would be seeing Tent Poles for 25 dollars a ticket by now because some theaters charged less for 80 for brady and some failed experiments with the idea that proved it is not viable.

Do people even read what they share?

The point is that its happening, your claim that its not happening is just false as shown by multiple examples. Both dynamic and variable pricing is coming to theaters and movies across the industry. And it'll become a norm as time goes on, maybe not in the time frame that Spielberg (and Lucas) predicted but as an industry is happening.

And just like he predicted this, the implosion of the box office is happening too.

As your screen name indicates I assume you're a Cinephile. I know its hard to accept that the industry has changed so much in the last 10-15 years. But I think overall this is a good thing that it revitalizes the industry as a whole and puts less focus on the box office and more focus on the art of making movies again. Anyways just my opinion.

 

[celluloid]

The point is that its happening, your claim that its not happening is just false as shown by multiple examples. Both dynamic and variable pricing is coming to theaters and movies across the industry. And it'll become a norm as time goes on, maybe not in the time frame that Spielberg (and Lucas) predicted but as an industry is happening.

And just like he predicted this, the implosion of the box office is happening too.

As your screen name indicates I assume you're a Cinephile. I know its hard to accept that the industry has changed so much in the last 10-15 years. But I think overall this is a good thing that it revitalizes the industry as a whole and puts less focus on the box office and more focus on the art of making movies again. Anyways just my opinion.

There has yet to be an example where it sticks as successful. So "happening" definition seems to differ. I should have clarified.

When demand is down, you don't charge more. None of the 200 million dollar plus costing movies could have justified charging more and it would have worked out.

I don't think a drastic move will force movie making quality to increase. There is no better incentive than what audiences remind you they want. Free market doing what it should when quality will out.

Superheros are entering sort of what Western and Gangster films did before the bearded wonders came in. There are bits of this happening with MAYA concept. Familiar with the fresh take make the best movie results. Barbie, Oppenheimer and some others really showcased what people want vs the remakes and phoning it in from Disney on laurel resting did.

budget is not an auto indicator of a good movie, so I don't think variable pricing has any basis in improving movie quality.

Godzilla Minus one only cost 15 million dollars(foreign studio but distributed by American division) People recognize quality and are interested when they hear others rave about it. Barbie and Oppenheimer were well recieved from people in the market for such films and delighted some that thought they would not be.

Disney has had the most money thrown at projects, and pleased much less and delighted even less than that.

If one believed in Cost Benefit, they can think paying more automatically gets you better, but most know from experience that is often not the case. Magic Kingodm cost more than any other theme park in the area, yet has invested arguably the least back into the park with sparse additions and rethemed rides.

 

[Disney Irish]

There has yet to be an example where it sticks as successful. So "happening" definition seems to differ. I should have clarified.

The examples provided are just test balloons for the industry to see what the market can handle. Just because it hasn't been successful so far in the wider sense doesn't mean its going to stop. You're going to see more of these tests occur and eventually just become the norm.

When demand is down, you don't charge more. None of the 200 million dollar plus costing movies could have justified charging more and it would have worked out.

No one claimed otherwise. Also no one but you is making the claim of variable pricing being tied directly to budget.

I don't think a drastic move will force movie making quality to increase. There is no better incentive than what audiences remind you they want. Free market doing what it should when quality will out.

No one is claiming this is going to increase quality. I just stated that I think the overall industry with similar changes can revitalize the industry, and yes can lead to an increase in quality. But I never claimed that was going to be a direct result of using variable pricing.

Superheros are entering sort of what Western and Gangster films did before the bearded wonders came in. There are bits of this happening with MAYA concept. Familiar with the fresh take make the best movie results. Barbie, Oppenheimer and some others really showcased what people want vs the remakes and phoning it in from Disney on laurel resting did.

Personally I don't think the superhero franchise phase is over completely. But I can see that some are tired of it and want something else. There is nothing wrong with that. And I think there is a place for all of it.

budget is not an auto indicator of a good movie, so I don't think variable pricing has any basis in improving movie quality.

Godzilla Minus one only cost 15 million dollars(foreign studio but distributed by American division) People recognize quality and are interested when they hear others rave about it. Barbie and Oppenheimer were well recieved from people in the market for such films and delighted some that thought they would not be.

Disney has had the most money thrown at projects, and pleased much less and delighted even less than that.

If one believed in Cost Benefit, they can think paying more automatically gets you better, but most know from experience that is often not the case.

Again no one but you is claiming that budget is the specific driver of variable pricing, or even quality for that matter. Quality is subjective, and is in no way tied to budget or the ticket price.

Magic Kingodm cost more than any other theme park in the area, yet has invested arguably the least back into the park with sparse additions and rethemed rides.

And yet Disney Parks are still the most visited around the world. Uni is giving them a run for their money, but Disney is still on top for now in the theme park space.

 

[TalkingHead]

Do you see it still playing well on the charts for its thirteen week run? There is a reason they charged a lot and fast for it for the weekends. It was a scarcity see it now event. Not the norm.

Put it this way, imagine a ticket to Wish cost closer to 20 but Migration cost the standard 10 bucks. What movie do you think most families are going to pick?

Imagine how bad Wish, Haunted Mansion, The Marvels and all other large budget movies would have done of they would have charged so much more.

Also, The concert films are a terrible example to bring up for this premise, as they are closer to a limited run event nearly exclusive to major theater chains and were not major budget situations, quite the opposite. Eras movie has a reported budget of only around 15 million. The concert movies directly argue against the big budget films charging more as it was a much lower budget than most feature films.

So the budget basis for charging more is just silly if this is the best example we have.

Disney is in no place to raise the prices of their films at the theatrical relase time.

The Swift film was the biggest hit of the last three months so completely relevant to a theatrical discussion.

Where did anyone say anything about Disney titles having a similar upcharge price? Their movies aren’t in demand in a way that would make that pay off. The point is it shows where AMC is feeling desperate.

 

[celluloid]

The Swift film was the biggest hit of the last three months so completely relevant to a theatrical discussion.

Where did anyone say anything about Disney titles having a similar upcharge price? Their movies aren’t in demand in a way that would make that pay off. The point is it shows where AMC is feeling desperate.

Th Spielberg prediction from years ago was that the norm would be movies that have bigger budgets would be what charged more.

Swift film was not a big blockbuster budget.

It is a thread on Disney at the box office, what now?
So all this does is show how yet other studios are making more than Disney theatrically.
Not s viable way to save the industry's and particularly the studios woes

 

[TP2000]

I'm not counting it out, I just said its tracking below Wish right now. I even said it may change.

The only way this trajectory changes enough for the 35 day old Wish to earn more than the 6 day old Migration is if Iran launches a Nuclear EMP attack on the East Coast, Gulf Coast and West Coast from decoy fishing boats simultaneously this weekend, effectively collapsing the electrical grid in North America and shutting all movie theaters down indefinitely.

Barring that EMP attack scenario, Migration should surpass the box office for Wish by next Monday, January 1st.

 

[TP2000]

The Taylor Swift concert movie had a reported $15M production budget, grossing over $250M globally (more than Wish and Strange World combined BTW).

The Taylor Swift brand is in much better shape than the Disney brand...

Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Concert Film Passes $250 Million Globally

The movie capitalized off Swift’s tour of the same name, which netted the music superstar millions of dollars for each of its stops.

www.forbes.com

For those keeping score at home, here's how that box office data looks for the Divas vs. Disney.

Although only one Diva, Miss Swift, seems to have figured out the way to sell movie tickets.

 

[Disney Irish]

The only way this trajectory changes enough for the 35 day old Wish to earn more than the 6 day old Migration is if Iran launches a Nuclear EMP attack on the East Coast, Gulf Coast and West Coast from decoy fishing boats simultaneously this weekend, effectively collapsing the electrical grid in North America and shutting all movie theaters down indefinitely.

Barring that EMP attack scenario, Migration should surpass the box office for Wish by next Monday, January 1st.

View attachment 760708

Yes that is why I said “right now”. It very well could surpass Wish in the next couple days. All I said is right now it’s been tracking below Wish. It still has been one of the lowest openings for Illumination and hasn’t been tracking very well.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Or said differently, Disney spent about a half a billion dollars in production and marketing expense and got beat by a concert movie playing only on weekends.

But everything is fine….

Hmmmmmm. Could Disney (it's a stretch BUT it would be turn around investment) contract with Taylor Swift to do a concert at each Disney Park?

 

[Heppenheimer]

For those keeping score at home, here's how that box office data looks for the Divas vs. Disney.

Although only one Diva, Miss Swift, seems to have figured out the way to sell movie tickets.

View attachment 760713

Taylor Swift merely showing up at a random location can apparently draw out the fans:

Long Beach Island still abuzz after Taylor Swift, multiple celebrities hit Jersey Shore

Taylor Swift, along with actors Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz, were in town for the wedding of music producer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Qualley.

www.cbsnews.com

I was actually an hour away in Ocean City at the time. A young couple in the house next door got into a very loud argument, and I realized after the fact the woman desperately wanted to join that crowd while the man wanted nothing to do with it.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

BTW, I can't speak about your local theaters, but I can speak about mine. They actually do charge a higher ticket price for tentpole movies and premium screens. And charge lower for lower budget movies.

So it 100% did come to be, as Spielberg predicted.

I haven't noticed any across the board upcharges for event movies locally, but theaters did charge a premium for special advance screenings.

Most big movies open with Thursday night "previews" at 7:00. What I saw was upcharges to see a special earlier screening, like 6:00 ish, for big movies like Star Wars.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

ahhh, that "agenda", yes how dare they have gay people in their movies

The irony is, the people complaining about "an agenda" want zero acknowledgement of LGBT people which is itself a pretty dramatic agenda.

For all the talk of Disney needing to make a better product, this is not the answer. Pandering to bigotry won't attract talent. I bet they'd lose talent. Heck, they couldn't even convince most of their staff to move to Florida.

If Disney agrees to erase a demographic from their movies, you think Idina Menzel comes back for Frozen? Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't do music for them again.

 

[Phroobar]

That's stupid to increase ticket prices for higher budget movies since they can't even fill the theater in the first place at regular ticket prices. Every time I go to theater there are less than twenty people in it and that for the movies doing well. They should be lowering prices with incentives to go see the movie.

I guess I can go to a private screening of Wish and do my MST3K riff on it.

 

[DKampy]

That's stupid to increase ticket prices for higher budget movies since they can't even fill the theater in the first place at regular ticket prices. Every time I go to theater there are less than twenty people in it and that for the movies doing well. They should be lowering prices with incentives to go see the movie.

I guess I can go to a private screening of Wish and do my MST3K riff on it.

Perhaps that is why some people’s theaters are doing it and some are not… I can confirm my theater charges extra for premium blockbuster films… and seems to be able to get people to pay… as there is usually a decent crowd… but I usually go opening weekend for most films

 

[Phroobar]

Perhaps that is why some people’s theaters are doing it and some are not… I can confirm my theater charges extra for premium blockbuster films… and seems to be able to get people to pay… as there is usually a decent crowd… but I usually go opening weekend for most films

Interesting. Is it a smaller theater with fewer screens? Could it be the difference in showing times? Usually matinees are cheaper. What are your prices? Matinees are usually $9 while evenings are $12 for my area. I know LA is way more.

 

[TP2000]

So a newbie is using another person on here as proof. Man are you bad at this. You said that TLM lost $100 million and I asked for proof and you had none. In the future if you are going to post something outrageous as this you might want to have the back up or you look like you do now: totally clueless or a liar. Here are two actual websites and the important quotes from them that indicate that the movie made money. It wasn't a lot but it was profitable:


"In the case of The Little Mermaid, Disney's $284.8 million share of the box office left it with a $44.6 million profit after deducting its $240.2 million net spending."

Disney Sinks $300 Million Into ‘Over Budget’ ‘Little Mermaid’ Movie

Disney has revealed that the cost of making the live action version of The Little Mermaid swelled to nearly $300m by the end of August last year, eight months before the movie opened.

www.forbes.com

"The film grossed $298 million domestically and $569 million worldwide. This does push the movie beyond the estimated break-even point, but just barely."

Was The Little Mermaid a Box Office Success?

The Little Mermaid's box office has been analyzed to fit many narratives, but here is a closer look at how the film did at the box office.

movieweb.com

Those articles only use the production budget, after tax credits, to "break even".

The Little Mermaid had an additional marketing budget of $140 Million, per Disney.

Thus, The Little Mermaid had a net loss of just over $100 Million for Disney.