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

[TP2000]

I also just noticed the per-screen average for Poor Things and its week-over-week hold (the best on the chart outside of the recently expanded indies with positive numbers). She's got legs, and she knows how to use them.

What's your thought on when the Oscar bump will increase Poor Things 750 theater count? For Golden Globes Weekend last weekend it lost 50 theaters to celebrate its GG nominations. The moment Oscar noms are announced later this month, do you expect Poor Things to add theaters that week? Or does that not happen until the actual Oscars show airs that very few people watch any more?

Poor Things had a budget of $35 Million. With a guess at a miniscule marketing budget of $15 Million, that means that with Poor Things current box office of $16 Million, it's still about $40 Million in the hole.

The Poor Things example, which is perfect really, seems rather wasteful when none of the USA the parks still don't have a night parade, and no new ride is under construction on either coast. Will Sidekick Tightpants get away with another presentation at D23 Expo VISA The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this summer showing vague and unfunded blue sky concepts shown from above through hazy clouds while the studios vaporize untold millions of dollars? I really, really hope not.

Poor Things vaporized a small pile of cash, but please enjoy this hazy vague artwork of unfunded projects instead...

 

[TP2000]

Not sure there's a better thread for this, so I'll just put it here. An interesting take today on the Pixar layoffs news from the Bay Area media, with news that Pixar has already been trying to sub-lease 16,000 square feet of office space in Emeryville back in 2023, before the layoffs in '24.

For those unfamiliar with the Bay Area, Emeryville is in just as much of a societal/financial doom loop as its bigger neighbors San Francisco and Oakland. Huge swaths of empty offices, massive departures by major retailers and restaurants, and a pervasive homeless and crime problem with open drug use. I have to wonder if Pixar actually got someone to sublease from them yet?

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/disney-pixar-layoffs-18605432.php

The Pixar campus is located off Hollis St. in Emeryville. This is the Hollis Street freeway ramp that you would take off I-80 if you were commuting to the Pixar campus. Want to sublease any of these tents?

 

[DKampy]

What's your thought on when the Oscar bump will increase Poor Things 750 theater count? For Golden Globes Weekend last weekend it lost 50 theaters to celebrate its GG nominations. The moment Oscar noms are announced later this month, do you expect Poor Things to add theaters that week? Or does that not happen until the actual Oscars show airs that very few people watch any more?

Poor Things had a budget of $35 Million. With a guess at a miniscule marketing budget of $15 Million, that means that with Poor Things current box office of $16 Million, it's still about $40 Million in the hole.

The Poor Things example, which is perfect really, seems rather wasteful when none of the USA the parks still don't have a night parade, and no new ride is under construction on either coast. Will Sidekick Tightpants get away with another presentation at D23 Expo VISA The Ultimate Disney Fan Event this summer showing vague and unfunded blue sky concepts shown from above through hazy clouds while the studios vaporize untold millions of dollars? I really, really hope not.

Poor Things vaporized a small pile of cash, but please enjoy this hazy vague artwork of unfunded projects instead...

I expect in the next couple of weeks Poor things will begin upping it’s theater count… lots of competition for screens this weekend, but the next couple of weeks not so much… that’s when I expect to see some Oscar contenders to expand even wider… I have a feeling Poor Things is the film that will benefit the most from that

I suspect film budget and park budgets don’t affect each other…2 different divisions

 

[brideck]

What's your thought on when the Oscar bump will increase Poor Things 750 theater count? For Golden Globes Weekend last weekend it lost 50 theaters to celebrate its GG nominations. The moment Oscar noms are announced later this month, do you expect Poor Things to add theaters that week?

Oscar nominations are on a Tuesday (Jan 23), so you will see screen counts adjust the following weekend (Jan 26-28). Poor Things also finally arrives in some overseas markets (including the UK) this weekend, so it'll be interesting to see how it hits. The UK is especially notable in this case both because the director's previous film made more than $20 million there ($5 million opening weekend) and because it's based on an award-winning British book.

 

[brideck]

lots of competition for screens this weekend, but the next couple of weeks not so much

Huh. Yeah, I hadn't looked at the release calendar for Jan 26 & Feb 2 until now, but boy... there's not really anything is there? Theaters shouldn't have too much trouble making room to bounce Best Picture nominees back up in count.

 

[DKampy]

Oscar nominations are on a Tuesday (Jan 23), so you will see screen counts adjust the following weekend (Jan 26-28). Poor Things also finally arrives in some overseas markets (including the UK) this weekend, so it'll be interesting to see how it hits. The UK is especially notable in this case both because the director's previous film made more than $20 million there ($5 million opening weekend) and because it's based on an award-winning British book.

I agree… I am very interested to see what Poor Things does internationally this weekend with it opening in the UK

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Soul had a per theater average of $92 yesterday. That's not a typo.

I think it was a mistake to chose this movie over other potential Disney re-releases.

 

[Tha Realest]

Soul had a per theater average of $92 yesterday. That's not a typo.

View attachment 762773

I think it was a mistake to chose this movie over other potential Disney re-releases.

“That’s $92/screen that they didn’t make three years ago - every little bit helps as it inches towards profitability!”

 

[HoustonHorn]

Soul had a per theater average of $92 yesterday. That's not a typo.

View attachment 762773

I think it was a mistake to chose this movie over other potential Disney re-releases.

ummmmmmmmm........

 

[Disney Irish]

ummmmmmmmm........

And? I never claimed any specific performance good or bad, I even said I’m not making any predictions. All I said is you’d be surprised how well rereleases can do. As there have been many successful rereleases in the past, such as the ones I and others named.

 

[TalkingHead]

Soul had a per theater average of $92 yesterday. That's not a typo.

View attachment 762773

I think it was a mistake to chose this movie over other potential Disney re-releases.

Crazy thing is they shelled out some on marketing because there’s a large Soul standee at AMC. Wonder if the sent those to theaters outside of LA and Orlando.

No attempt to sweeten the deal by releasing with a new short or anything. Or do a double feature program with Soul and Inside Out, like they’ve done with Toy Story before. Advertises for the summer sequel and adds a little value to the ticket.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Crazy thing is they shelled out some on marketing because there’s a large Soul standee at AMC. Wonder if the sent those to theaters outside of LA and Orlando.

No attempt to sweeten the deal by releasing with a new short or anything. Or do a double feature program with Soul and Inside Out, like they’ve done with Toy Story before. Advertises for the summer sequel and adds a little value to the ticket.

I expect Luca and Turning Red to do slightly better, but I never understood the reasoning behind these movies selected for reissue beyond maybe making some Pixar employees feel better about these titles getting nation wide theatrical releases.

 

[TsWade2]

I’m giving up hope for Wish. I guess Wish won’t do well on DisneyPlus. And I bet it won’t do well digitally and won’t do well on physical media either. I guess Disney Animation and Pixar are in jeopardy if they don’t shape up. I guess Wish will be forgotten as Black Cauldron and Strange World. I still love the movie, but life is so unfair! Great! Now I’m being negative like you guys, which is sad for me! And I guess you guys like it because you guys hated Disney!

 

[Disney Irish]

I’m giving up hope for Wish. I guess Wish won’t do well on DisneyPlus. And I bet it won’t do well digitally and won’t do well on physical media either. I guess Disney Animation and Pixar are in jeopardy if they don’t shape up. I guess Wish will be forgotten as Black Cauldron and Strange World. I still love the movie, but life is so unfair! Great! Now I’m being negative like you guys, which is sad for me! And I guess you guys like it because you guys hated Disney!

The only thing that is important is if you liked the movie or not. And since you did then the rest doesn't matter and shouldn't be any worry for you. So just concentrate on that.

Wish will perform however it does on Disney+. I suspect it'll get a couple weeks where its watch by those that didn't see it in theaters, as has been the case for most Disney movies the last couple years. After that it'll be there in the Disney catalog just like every other Disney animated movie.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

More from Deadline:

"Disney’s rer-elease of Pixar’s Soul at 1,350 theaters, a movie that’s been on Disney+ since December 2020, is yielding empty auditoriums after a $125K Friday and expected 4-day of $516K. The movie’s previous overseas release from then is currently $121M."

and congrats to Godzilla Minus One:

"Shoutout to Toho’s Godzilla Minus One, which has just crossed $50M at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing Japanese language live action or animated movie ever released in the U.S./Canada. Godzilla Minus One is currently the fifth-highest grossing non-English language film at the domestic B.O."

 

[HoustonHorn]

And? I never claimed any specific performance good or bad, I even said I’m not making any predictions. All I said is you’d be surprised how well rereleases can do. As there have been many successful rereleases in the past, such as the ones I and others named.

No. I made a sarcastic post about releasing old films into theatres. You decided to respond. You didn't have to,, but you did.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Disney did well with re-issues of Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas this past October, so re-releases can do well if the title selected and timing of the release is done correctly.

Both of the above movies were celebrating their 30th anniversaries, were released in time for Halloween (the holiday they are closely associated with) and have a cult following that has shown a sustained interest over time.

Soul was a straight to streaming title from 3 years ago that has no cultural cache, seasonal significance or anything to make it stand out more than other recent Disney+ movies that have not been in wide theatrical release yet. There was also no clear call to action or urgency to see this movie now and pay extra to do so. As @TalkingHead suggested, there needed to be something to sweeten the deal, or IMO they just should have picked a different movie.

My choice for January 2024? Sleeping Beauty in 70mm where locations are equipped to do so. Disney is releasing at least some merch for the film's 65th anniversary this month and it would have been a chance to play to the old fashioned cinema enthusiast or film school student market that likes seeing the old classics on large format stock. Have an intro from the Disney archives or something too.

 

[Disney Irish]

Disney did well with re-issues of Hocus Pocus and Nightmare Before Christmas this past October, so re-releases can do well if the title selected and timing of the release is done correctly.

Both of the above movies were celebrating their 30th anniversaries, were released in time for Halloween (the holiday they are closely associated with) and have a cult following that has shown a sustained interest over time.

Soul was a straight to streaming title from 3 years ago that has no cultural cache, seasonal significance or anything to make it stand out more than other recent Disney+ movies that have not been in wide theatrical release yet. There was also no clear call to action or urgency to see this movie now and pay extra to do so. As @TalkingHead suggested, there needed to be something to sweeten the deal, or IMO they just should have picked a different movie.

My choice for January 2024? Sleeping Beauty in 70mm where locations are equipped to do so. Disney is releasing at least some merch for the film's 65th anniversary this month and it would have been a chance to play to the old fashioned cinema enthusiast or film school student market that likes seeing the old classics on large format stock. Have an intro from the Disney archives or something too.

I agree it could have done better had there been some lead-in such a new short or a double feature or something.

 

[brideck]

Soul was a straight to streaming title from 3 years ago that has no cultural cachet, seasonal significance or anything to make it stand out more than other recent Disney+ movies that have not been in wide theatrical release yet. There was also no clear call to action or urgency to see this movie now and pay extra to do so. As @TalkingHead suggested, there needed to be something to sweeten the deal, or IMO they just should have picked a different movie.

Yeah, I thought this was an odd choice for them to lead the series off with, and then I realized that some cynic in marketing probably thought, "Let's put out the one with the black lead for MLK weekend. That's the ticket."

It's a shame because with Wish and Trolls basically gone and Migration starting to really taper down (will it even crack $100 million? -- new IPs remain hard), there should be some business to be had right now... but they put out a movie that doesn't skew particularly young.

 

[Tha Realest]

If Soul made $512K I wonder what Turning Red will pull…