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

[BrianLo]

I really wish this place weren't full of people stuck on repeat. A request for data was made, and I answered it. End of line.

It’s not really a conversation, it’s just a few posters monologuing over one another. Sometimes they even make up talking points. Arguing with the voices in their heads…

Wish didn’t make money in the box office window, it completely missed the mark domestically. That’s not a discussion, it’s a point of fact. One no one is even debating other than the posters who keep telling us this every 48-72 hours.

Migration and more so Trolls 3 were also theatrical ‘misses’. Buried by significantly underestimated marketing spends. Long falls from their franchise highs or Illuminations’ prior billion dollar franchise starters. May they also benefit from the post theatrical window that people so eagerly don’t want to exist. Which I’m sure they will.

 

[LittleBuford]

The title of the thread is BOX OFFICE. That is the financial success or failure of the releases.

You’d think people in such a thread would find it interesting that Wish is doing appreciably better overseas than domestically. Before you accuse me of saying something I’m not, that doesn’t mean it’s a success overall, or that it’s going to make a profit, or anything like that. But it is a noteworthy development that participants in such a thread should want to ponder and talk about. Instead we get the same points—“It was an unmitigated flop!”; “Its budget was too high!”—repeated again and again, without the slightest acknowledgement of the more complicated picture that’s emerging internationally.

It’s almost as if discussion isn’t what some posters are actually here for.

 

[erasure fan1]

Not sure why people still think movies only make money at the box office after the analysis from Deadline I posted earlier.

I don't think anyone has really said that. We all know movies make money post theatrical. Box office is a tangible number that we we can see and measure against other films. For the most part we know the budgets and marketing spend. We also know the approximate take the studio gets from the box office. There are no good sources to show post theatrical revenue. At least no one here has shown one.

The argument seems to come down to either, you think Disney is ok with their films loosing at the box office, because they're playing "the long game". Or Disney is expecting these huge budget films to make some money at the box office so it's a problem when they don't. Personally I just don't see Disney being ok with movies that are costing $275mil plus, missing the mark as bad as so many have. When you approve a tent pole blockbuster budget, you expect blockbuster tent pole returns in my opinion.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You’d think people in such a thread would find it interesting that Wish is doing appreciably better overseas than domestically. Before you accuse me of saying something I’m not, that doesn’t mean it’s a success overall, or that it’s going to make a profit, or anything like that. But it is a noteworthy development that participants in such a thread should want to ponder and talk about. Instead we get the same points—“It was an unmitigated flop!”; “Its budget was too high!”—repeated again and again, without the slightest acknowledgement of the more complicated picture that’s emerging internationally.

It’s almost as if discussion isn’t what some posters are actually here for.

Discussion is fine

Buts it’s been almost a year of excuses. Really pathetic ones at that.

Whatever wish is “doing”…it’s not doing it anywhere on the scale of “well” by today’s standards. Nor will Disney pay itself to stream it to no one…so that nonsense can go too.

There is a lot of merch in the clearance bins at Walmart…if anyone is into that?

Disney was lauded for things like the lion king and frozen…well deserved. They deserve to be beaten over the head for things like little mermaid, marvels and wish.
Fair is fair…thy Holy company

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think anyone has really said that. We all know movies make money post theatrical. Box office is a tangible number that we we can see and measure against other films. For the most part we know the budgets and marketing spend. We also know the approximate take the studio gets from the box office. There are no good sources to show post theatrical revenue. At least no one here has shown one.

The argument seems to come down to either, you think Disney is ok with their films loosing at the box office, because they're playing "the long game". Or Disney is expecting these huge budget films to make some money at the box office so it's a problem when they don't. Personally I just don't see Disney being ok with movies that are costing $275mil plus, missing the mark as bad as so many have. When you approve a tent pole blockbuster budget, you expect blockbuster tent pole returns in my opinion.

There’s an easy…almost 1:1 correlation between box office success and longterm revenue potential with movies.

But not everyone has learned that…it’s only been going that way for about 50 years

 

[LittleBuford]

Discussion is fine

Buts it’s been almost a year of excuses. Really pathetic ones at that.

Whatever wish is “doing”…it’s not doing it anywhere on the scale of “well” by today’s standards. Nor will Disney pay itself to stream it to no one…so that nonsense can go too.

There is a lot of merch in the clearance bins at Walmart…if anyone is into that?

Disney was lauded for things like the lion king and frozen…well deserved. They deserve to be beaten over the head for things like little mermaid, marvels and wish.
Fair is fair…thy Holy company

No-one is lauding Disney for how Wish is doing. You’re not responding to what is actually being said.

 

[erasure fan1]

You’d think people in such a thread would find it interesting that Wish is doing appreciably better overseas than domestically.

Better? Sure. But who cares when the bar is so low. Even if domestic was equal to overseas, it's still bad.

But it is a noteworthy development that participants in such a thread should want to ponder and talk about. Instead we get the same points—“It was an unmitigated flop!”; “Its budget was too high!”—repeated again and again, without the slightest acknowledgement of the more complicated picture that’s emerging internationally.

So what's this more complicated picture people aren't seeing? The movie didn't do great anywhere.

 

[LittleBuford]

Better? Sure. But who cares when the bar is so low. Even if domestic was equal to overseas, it's still bad.

So what's this more complicated picture people aren't seeing? The movie didn't do great anywhere.

Discussion usually doesn’t consist of simple either/or binaries. If one is actually trying to ponder and understand a topic, inconsistencies and abberations are noteworthy. Based on its US box-office performance, I did not expect Wish to do as well as it has in the UK, for example. Why wouldn’t that be interesting in a thread that is supposedly devoted to analysing Disney’s box-office performance?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Better? Sure. But who cares when the bar is so low. Even if domestic was equal to overseas, it's still bad.

So what's this more complicated picture people aren't seeing? The movie didn't do great anywhere.

The movie flopped…with a dud

Lost around $200 mil…and grossed in the area of $800 mil less than what Disney EXPECTS from these tentpoles.

And before we get some stupid “how do you know what they want?”

Because they aren’t that hard to figure out. Don’t. Save it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Discussion usually doesn’t consist of simple either/or binaries. If one is actually trying to ponder and understand a topic, inconsistencies and abberations are noteworthy. Based on its US box-office performance, I did not expect Wish to do as well as it has in the UK, for example. Why wouldn’t that be interesting in a thread that is supposedly devoted to analysing Disney’s box-office performance?

That’s basically the equivalent of “we thought we failed…but got a D instead”

Does it matter?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No-one is lauding Disney for how Wish is doing. You’re not responding to what is actually being said.

What’s being said is mostly nitpicking at the background noise at this point.

It think it was 2 months since the last time I even looked at this thread…and after the two pages it became clear it’s the same play all over again.

Not much to hash out as it stands.

Though the opinions on poor things are interesting…thanks for that

 

[LittleBuford]

There basically the equivalent of “we thought we failed…but got a D instead”

Does it matter?

In a thread entitled “Hit or Flop: Simplistic Positions Only!”, no, it wouldn’t matter. But this isn’t that thread.

No-one here is denying that Wish has done much, much worse than Disney would have hoped. An acknowledgment of that reality should not preclude discussion of the particular ways in which its box-office performance has played out.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

In a thread entitled “Hit or Flop: Simplistic Positions Only!”, no, it wouldn’t matter. But this isn’t that thread.

No-one here is denying that Wish has done much, much worse than Disney would have hoped. An acknowledgment of that reality should not preclude discussion of the particular ways in which its box-office performance has played out.

…I’ll be over on that thread

 

[Communicora]

I saw All of Us Strangers the other night. In my opinion, they are doing the film a disservice by focusing so much of the promo on the two male leads. Yes, they are attractive and an important of the story, but the tone in the promo is so jokey for what is quite a serious and beautifully moving film.

 

[TalkingHead]

I saw All of Us Strangers the other night. In my opinion, they are doing the film a disservice by focusing so much of the promo on the two male leads. Yes, they are attractive and an important of the story, but the tone in the promo is so jokey for what is quite a serious and beautifully moving film.

Andrew Scott is the snub that should’ve been getting attention, not Greta and Margot (who still got nominated in other categories).

Something went awry with this movie’s campaign. Not sure if Dis/Searchlight decided Poor Things was the easier title to push or what.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Andrew Scott is the snub that should’ve been getting attention, not Greta and Margot (who still got nominated in other categories).

Something went awry with this movie’s campaign. Not sure if Dis/Searchlight decided Poor Things was the easier title to push or what.

Hollywood LOVES Emma stone

She’s the new swank

Disney always pushes for the superficial obvious

 

[brideck]

Also, Migration still hasn't released in a couple of big international markets. It still has a few weeks to go in the theaters.

I hadn't even looked -- the UK, Hong Kong, Japan? Yeah, I would expect Migration to come out on top in the end.

Whatever wish is “doing”…it’s not doing it anywhere on the scale of “well” by today’s standards. Nor will Disney pay itself to stream it to no one…so that nonsense can go too.

I should know better than to respond to any of this, but by sheer number of tickets sold world-wide Wish is doing just as well as all of the other mid animated offerings that were presented over the holiday season. The fact that none of them was a house afire should tell the entire industry that they've got to get this figured out. Disney's sin here isn't in making movies that were less well-received by the market, it's on the budget/expectations side. They either need to figure out how to make new IPs into must-see blockbusters again or they need to understand that such a concept has become rare as hens' teeth in the post-pandemic streaming-saturated landscape and adjust strategy.

 

[brideck]

Hollywood LOVES Emma stone

She’s the new swank

Disney always pushes for the superficial obvious

Tell me you haven't seen Poor Things without saying you haven't seen Poor Things. There is absolutely nothing superficial or obvious about that performance.

I just want to reiterate how absolutely fantastic Poor Things is. It deserves every nomination that it received. Obviously, Oppenheimer is a lock for Best Picture, but wow, Poor Things is so amazing. Lily Gladstone is expected to win for Best Actress but Emma Stone actually deserves it.

I'm still rooting for Lily Gladstone, but that might be because I like Kelly Reichardt's movies and already thought she was great coming into Flower Moon.

 

[DKampy]

Tell me you haven't seen Poor Things without saying you haven't seen Poor Things. There is absolutely nothing superficial or obvious about that performance.



I'm still rooting for Lily Gladstone, but that might be because I like Kelly Reichardt's movies and already thought she was great coming into Flower Moon.

I thought Lily Gladstone was great in Killers of the Flower Moon and deserves the nomination But Emma Stone was the performance of the year for me

 

[DKampy]

And here I thought all we'd have to talk about in February is Turning Red doing $600,000 per weekend.

Hmmm… I don’t know I think Poor Things is an interesting box office to watch leading up to the Oscars… or is that film to successful for you