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

[Casper Gutman]

I’m glad this thread is here so that posters who have made hating everything modern Disney does the defining element of their personality can tell us they don’t intend to see Disney’s upcoming films - otherwise we would all be in such suspense.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’m glad this thread is here so that posters who have made hating everything modern Disney does the defining element of their personality can tell us they don’t intend to see Disney’s upcoming films - otherwise we would all be in such suspense.

Thanks for the superfluous exaggeration

Everyone knows their “role”…like a bad Disney Star Wars movie

 

[_caleb]

It is odd to me…The local theater I visit most does not feel like it is getting any less customers than it did before the pandemic… I go every week and most films seem to have at least a decent crowd… if not more so… granted I see most opening weekend and they closed the slower theater which may have seen less… so it’s possible it is evening out with the patrons that visited the other theater

Maybe it appears Box Office is becoming irrelevant to some… but Theaters still feel relevant to most studios… they now have data that point towards films doing better on streaming if they go to theaters first… the top 10 films on streaming for 2023 all went to theaters first…Saltburn is one of the buzziest movies right now… I don’t think that would of happened if it did not go to theaters first

Overall trends vs. anecdotal observations? Not sure, but I think it's pretty universally agreed upon that theater attendance is still on its 25-year decline. While it's up from COVID numbers, it's still back in line with the downward trend.

IMO straight to streaming is the new straight to DVD/Blu-Ray

I think this perception/memory is what Disney is trying to avoid. I know it doesn't always feel this way, but the model is more "Netflix Originals" than the old "straight to VHS."

If a movie was released theatrically it means it wasn't likely a low budget affair and had a certain amount of care put into it.

I think this is why Disney initially spent so much on D+ programming–to avoid the perception that streaming is just for lesser content. Not saying they've been successful in this, but I believe this was the thinking. (It also seems to be the thinking that got them crosswise with Scarlett Johansson).

Agreed, which is why it's a little curious that Disney has seemed pretty intent on using Searchlight in part as a direct-to-Hulu label. A growing amount of their stuff seems to be going that route. I would have seen pretty much all of them, had they hit theaters, but I haven't even thought about watching (checks notes) Rye Lane, Quasi, or the upcoming Suncoast. [Note: The Academy's obsession with mediocre Diane Warren songs means I'll be watching Flamin' Hot before too long.] They're actively telling me those movies are less than by not having even a small art-house release first.

That might be what their actions are telling you, but I'm pretty sure that's NOT the message they want to send. I also don't think this is how most people today are interpreting direct-to-streaming releases, like what we're seeing from Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV+, Prime, etc.

I guess I'm thinking it's sort of older-school thinking to see streaming releases as the modern version of "direct-to-home-video." Direct-to-Consumer is (well, could be) much more than that.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Just got out of All of Us Strangers. Wow. Not what I was expecting at all. I knew it was going to be good but it was pretty incredible. There are only four speaking roles in the entire film, but these actors are each fantastic. It’s really a film about loneliness and regret, which I had heard before seeing it, but I wasn’t expecting it to be such an ugly cry tearjerker. Very, very sad movie. Riding home on the subway now with very red eyes.

 

[DKampy]

I think this perception/memory is what Disney is trying to avoid. I know it doesn't always feel this way, but the model is more "Netflix Originals" than the old "straight to VHS."

I think this is why Disney initially spent so much on D+ programming–to avoid the perception that streaming is just for lesser content. Not saying they've been successful in this, but I believe this was the thinking. (It also seems to be the thinking that got them crosswise with Scarlett Johansson).

That might be what their actions are telling you, but I'm pretty sure that's NOT the message they want to send. I also don't think this is how most people today are interpreting direct-to-streaming releases, like what we're seeing from Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV+, Prime, etc.

I guess I'm thinking it's sort of older-school thinking to see streaming releases as the modern version of "direct-to-home-video." Direct-to-Consumer is (well, could be) much more than that.

The plan originally was going all in on streaming, but the studios seem to be pivoting now that they have real world data that is telling them that films do better on streaming when released in theaters.. HBO’s day and date release strategy during Covid is largely consider a failure…It has been said a big reason for Chapek’s firing was due to his sending all Pixar titles to Disney plus

Studios are now sending movies originally intended for streaming to the theaters… like the recent release of Mean Girls and the upcoming Alien film… even Apple and Amazon have now committed themselves to spending billions on theatrical yearly

I am not denying there are less people going to the theater…(although my own experiences don’t feel as dire as some mention), but I believe studios now realize they need theaters more than they originally thought

 

[brideck]

BOR is predicting that Poor Things brings in another $1.9 million domestically this coming weekend. If that holds true, it will have almost closed the gap between it and The Favourite caused by its later launch in the calendar year.

Will it do it? I don't know, but either way I won't be around to talk about it. I'm headed to WDW for a week starting early Saturday morning.

 

[Communicora]

Agreed, which is why it's a little curious that Disney has seemed pretty intent on using Searchlight in part as a direct-to-Hulu label. A growing amount of their stuff seems to be going that route. I would have seen pretty much all of them, had they hit theaters, but I haven't even thought about watching (checks notes) Rye Lane, Quasi, or the upcoming Suncoast. [Note: The Academy's obsession with mediocre Diane Warren songs means I'll be watching Flamin' Hot before too long.] They're actively telling me those movies are less than by not having even a small art-house release first.

They really should have released Rye Lane to theaters. People are hungry for rom-coms. I guess I will have to subscribe to hulu for a month to watch it.

 

[pigglewiggle]

They really should have released Rye Lane to theaters. People are hungry for rom-coms. I guess I will have to subscribe to hulu for a month to watch it.

Hulu is great. It's actually our favorite out of all the streaming services. It has some great television series also and some pretty decent original movies.

 

[_caleb]

Jesus…

Can you talk about anything without bringing up their very unimpressive streaming format?

I’ll stop talking about Disney’s major new initiative to position itself for the future of the entertainment industry when you stop complaining about Bob Iger in every other post!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’ll stop talking about Disney’s major new initiative to position itself for the future of the entertainment industry when you stop complaining about Bob Iger in every other post!

As soon as he’s gone…
…there’s almost nil even around here who DON’T want that at this point.

Hate the game…not the player

 

[Disney Irish]

Wall St isn't expecting a prepandemic Box Office of $10B or more until at least 2026, but if its going to get there they are expecting Disney to drive it -

Wall Street is watching for a $10 billion domestic box office in 2026. Disney could get it there

While franchise-rich movies slates are on the docket for 2024 and 2025, Wall Street doesn't foresee ticket sales exceeding $10 billion domestically until 2026.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Wall St isn't expecting a prepandemic Box Office of $10B or more until at least 2026, but if its going to get there they are expecting Disney to drive it -

Wall Street is watching for a $10 billion domestic box office in 2026. Disney could get it there

While franchise-rich movies slates are on the docket for 2024 and 2025, Wall Street doesn't foresee ticket sales exceeding $10 billion domestically until 2026.

www.cnbc.com

Well…that doesn’t mean they have anything decent coming

Help us, James Cameron?

 

[Disney Irish]

Well…that doesn’t mean they have anything decent coming

Help us, James Cameron?

"Decent" is relative, but they are expecting Avatar 3, Marvel, and the SW movies to do well.

 

[TP2000]

Box Office is out for Thursday, February 1st, previewing how things look to pan out for this weekend! Disney has one film in the Top Ten with Poor Things, and then Wish still hanging on to some theaters down in 30th place.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

"Decent" is relative, but they are expecting Avatar 3, Marvel, and the SW movies to do well.

Avatar will make its haul…but I’m guess it will be lower…maybe 25%

Marvel needs serious rejuvenation

There is no Star Wars. That should only be updated when a film is actually, written, shot and the theaters are booked.
They earned it.

 

[Disney Irish]

Avatar will make its haul…but I’m guess it will be lower…maybe 25%

Marvel needs serious rejuvenation

There is no Star Wars. That should only be updated when a film is actually, written, shot and the theaters are booked.
They earned it.

We'll see what happens after Deadpool, but I think Marvel will be ok.

I think there will be a SW movie, its just a matter of which one.

 

[erasure fan1]

I think there will be a SW movie, its just a matter of which one.

That's kind of the problem with star wars in my opinion. They've had a lot of time to figure it out, yet it keeps changing and they have no clear plan.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

We'll see what happens after Deadpool, but I think Marvel will be ok.

I think there will be a SW movie, its just a matter of which one.

Haven’t they already announced the next Rey movie?

Sounds like the intention is to give us more of the same and hope for different results. Diminishing returns seems to be the future for Star Wars until they replace those in charge.

 

[brideck]

Box Office is out for Thursday, February 1st, previewing how things look to pan out for this weekend! Disney has one film in the Top Ten with Poor Things, and then Wish still hanging on to some theaters down in 30th place.

View attachment 766553

View attachment 766555

Well, now I just want to see Hundreds of Beavers. The trailer for that is... really something else.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Haven’t they already announced the next Rey movie?

Sounds like the intention is to give us more of the same and hope for different results. Diminishing returns seems to be the future for Star Wars until they replace those in charge.

That's just it! The new Rey movie WILL BE DIFFERENT, a 100 PERCENT FEMALE Star Wars movie and Bob and KK says is a guaranteed WIN!