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

[erasure fan1]

Its not a remake its a sequel, the prevailing theory is that one of the leads is the son or daughter of the Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt characters from the first one. So it would make sense why they have Dorothy ("trashcan" as you call it) from the first one.

It would also make sense from the standpoint that, in the first movie they succeeded making Dorothy fly. So why would it not be standard storm chasing equipment? In the words of a famous storm chaser, you ain't cool unless you're using a Dorothy!

 

[Phroobar]

Its not a remake its a sequel, the prevailing theory is that one of the leads is the son or daughter of the Bill Paxton/Helen Hunt characters from the first one. So it would make sense why they have Dorothy ("trashcan" as you call it) from the first one.

Oh and BTW, I'm sure its a typo, but the first one is called Twister not Twisters which is the name of this new one.

It's a sequel because of the relationships with the previous characters. It a remake because they will do exactly the same thing they did in the previous movie. History repeats itself.

 

[Disney Irish]

It's a sequel because of the relationships with the previous characters. It a remake because they will do exactly the same thing they did in the previous movie. History repeats itself.

Its a sequel since its a continuation of the story from the same universe. And since its different characters than the first it can't be a remake, even if the plot is similar, ie they aren't retelling the same story.

 

[Phroobar]

Its a sequel since its a continuation of the story from the same universe. And since its different characters than the first it can't be a remake, even if the plot is similar, ie they aren't retelling the same story.

I think what would make Twisters better is sharks.
And more of Meg's steak and eggs.

 

[Disney Irish]

I think what would make Twisters better is sharks.

Then that would just be a remake of Sharknado, no thanks the 6 they made was quite enough.

 

[Phroobar]

Then that would just be a remake of Sharknado, no thanks the 6 they made was quite enough.

Not if one of the characters is related to one in Sharknado.

 

[Disney Irish]

Not if one of the characters is related to one in Sharknado.

No sharks, thanks.

 

[Miss Rori]

I’m very curious to see how it does on streaming. Not to make an argument that it’s salvageable but to see if the audience just is truly rejecting it in all formatted releases like Strange World (ie if there’s just general audience apathy regarding it). There was an actual big push from Disney for it and lots of merch was floating around the parks. If it has a robust response on streaming though then Disney has something clearly structurally wrong with its theatrical abilities.

Alternatively, perhaps the physical media release will sell well next month - although Wonka arrives February 27th and will probably be the first choice for kids' Easter baskets; I'm thinking Disney is hoping that holiday will encourage parents to buy Wish as a gift. But that's a big if. And I think the streaming release would do a lot better if they found a holiday to tie it into, so why not announce that it arrives the week before Easter to tie in to school breaks?

 

[Phroobar]

Alternatively, perhaps the physical media release will sell well next month - although Wonka arrives February 27th and will probably be the first choice for kids' Easter baskets; I'm thinking Disney is hoping that holiday will encourage parents to buy Wish as a gift. But that's a big if. And I think the streaming release would do a lot better if they found a holiday to tie it into, so why not announce that it arrives the week before Easter to tie in to school breaks?

Why would any kid buy the physical media release of Wish? Kids didn't buy the toys so why would they want the dvd? I'm expecting all of this to end of up a Kole's or Ross next month and then in a landfill with Wakanda Forever toys.

 

[Miss Rori]

Kids aren't going to buy/want the toys if they didn't see the movie, and it's not like they can get themselves to the multiplex, so it's weird to blame them for this. As I noted, I'm thinking of parents wanting an easy "special" Easter gift for their kids - they might pick up the DVD because it's a Disney film; perhaps their kids wanted to see it and they were putting it off because of the hassle/expense of going to a theater (and do not have Disney+ so thus can't wait for streaming).

 

[TP2000]

‘Wish’ Trailer is Most Watched For Disney Animation Studios Since ‘Frozen 2’ | THR News Video

Walt Disney Animation's upcoming movie, Wish, has become the studio's biggest trailer since the release of promotional spots for Frozen 2 in 2019.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Brilliant.

Wish was a mega-flop with global audiences, and yet had mega-merchandising and mega-marketing and mega-hype from the Hollywood industry. And now that we're reminded it had a series of trailers that were seen by a lot of people, it's confirmed how efficiently the free market can speak with their wallets.

Let's remember that Wish Most Watched Trailer! issue the next time we get gushing media hype for Disney's next thing.

 

[TP2000]

Speaking of Wish, box office numbers have been released for Wednesday, February 14th and Disney Animation spent Valentine's Day getting beaten at the global box office by Migration.

The big mega-hyped 100th Anniversary Walt Disney Company Love Letter To Fans! got beat by a cheap, throwaway Christmas break movie about ducks. Let that sink in when considering how damaged Disney's brand and distribution strategy for major products now is.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Speaking of Wish, box office numbers have been released for Wednesday, February 14th and Disney Animation spent Valentine's Day getting beaten at the global box office by Migration.

The big mega-hyped 100th Anniversary Walt Disney Company Love Letter To Fans! got beat by a cheap, throwaway Christmas break movie about ducks. Let that sink in when considering how damaged Disney's brand and distribution strategy for major products now is.

View attachment 768662

How many times do you intend to post essentially the exact same thing? Also, Wish has made over 240 million at the box office and is the fourth highest grossing animated film of 2023, so you can continue your absolutely obnoxious gloating until the cows come home, but this is in no way the absolute failure that you were praying for.

 

[Miss Rori]

It's hard to see what Wish is if not an absolute failure, though. It had every promotional advantage going in to the holiday season, but three months on it's nowhere near profitability, the merchandise isn't moving (which likely compounds the losses), and it was shunned by all the major awards groups. Even some of Disney corporate's recent decisions seem to reflect how badly it performed - the announcement of the new 1900 Park Fare character meals' themes being "the power of a wish" yet not including Asha in the lineup in favor of Mirabel (since Encanto isn't about wishes but is popular), and the sudden choice to turn the Moana streaming series into a theatrical feature seem near-direct responses. I just don't see the silver lining in this particular cloud.

 

[BuddyThomas]

It's hard to see what Wish is if not an absolute failure, though. It had every promotional advantage going in to the holiday season, but three months on it's nowhere near profitability, the merchandise isn't moving (which likely compounds the losses), and it was shunned by all the major awards groups. Even some of Disney corporate's recent decisions seem to reflect how badly it performed - the announcement of the new 1900 Park Fare character meals' themes being "the power of a wish" yet not including Asha in the lineup in favor of Mirabel (since Encanto isn't about wishes but is popular), and the sudden choice to turn the Moana streaming series into a theatrical feature seem near-direct responses. I just don't see the silver lining in this particular cloud.

BUT with that much money earned globally, it is definitely going to make a profit eventually. We don’t need to get into all the films that didn’t initially recoup at the box office and then went on to recoup and profit later. That’s just a fact. And Wish is lined up to make more money in the future.

 

[BrianLo]

BUT with that much money earned globally, it is definitely going to make a profit eventually. We don’t need to get into all the films that didn’t initially recoup at the box office and then went on to recoup and profit later. That’s just a fact. And Wish is lined up to make more money in the future.

As a total supporter of the power of post theatrical haul… this isn’t really ‘factually’ a given for this movie. At least not yet. It still requires Disney to want to support it.

I guess the take wasn’t strange world levels of bad… and that’s why I said earlier, I’m very curious what exactly was driving such poor attachment to it. Domestically in particular, in its theatrical run. If there is poor interest in it on Disney+, then it is an inherent problem with the film itself. If it succeeds on D+, then it’s a structural problem Disney has created with theatres. One that seems to particularly impact their family animated films.

Disney has had success with some live action films since the pandemic and Disney plus. They haven’t really had any with animated though, Elemental being a sort of bubble case. It’s not for lack of successful films in general: Elemental and Encanto are massively successful for their respective studios, post-theatrically.

I mean, we can’t really have better “sure things” than Moana 2 and Inside Out 2 as canaries for their respective brands. So a lot of good data is still to come this year - about the full theatrical destruction they’ve potentially landed themselves in.

I don’t think the Marvel brand is irrevocably broken though, just needed to be reeled back in. They’ve had various levels of successes still with Marvel. Way of Water makes theatrical live action moot for the company. People will still come for those, if they want to see the movies and they are ‘good’. No one seems to turn up for the Disney animated films though - and I worry that’s a Chapek side effect of devaluing the brand to prop up the early content needs of D+.

 

[TP2000]

How many times do you intend to post essentially the exact same thing? Also, Wish has made over 240 million at the box office and is the fourth highest grossing animated film of 2023, so you can continue your absolutely obnoxious gloating until the cows come home, but this is in no way the absolute failure that you were praying for.

4th Place! We got 4th Place (of animated films in 2023)!

5th Place, yeah that's the loser slot where "absolute failure" kicks in.

But 4th Place with a $200 Million production budget and endless global mega-marketing? That's a win in anyone's book. I think.

It's hard to see what Wish is if not an absolute failure, though. It had every promotional advantage going in to the holiday season, but three months on it's nowhere near profitability, the merchandise isn't moving (which likely compounds the losses), and it was shunned by all the major awards groups. Even some of Disney corporate's recent decisions seem to reflect how badly it performed - ...

Stop with the facts and data and rational assessments about a company you care for, or we'll have to call you a "hater".

BUT with that much money earned globally, it is definitely going to make a profit eventually. We don’t need to get into all the films that didn’t initially recoup at the box office and then went on to recoup and profit later. That’s just a fact. And Wish is lined up to make more money in the future.

With a production budget of $200 Million and an assumed global marketing budget of $100 Million, Wish lost $192 Million at the global box office.

Knowing that, by what revenue mechanism does Wish now make a net profit of at least $192 Million after it has left theaters with minimal pop-culture impact?

Wish: Production $200, Marketing $100, Domestic B.O. Take $38, Overseas B.O. Take $70 = $192 Million Loss

 

[Phroobar]

Kids aren't going to buy/want the toys if they didn't see the movie, and it's not like they can get themselves to the multiplex, so it's weird to blame them for this. As I noted, I'm thinking of parents wanting an easy "special" Easter gift for their kids - they might pick up the DVD because it's a Disney film; perhaps their kids wanted to see it and they were putting it off because of the hassle/expense of going to a theater (and do not have Disney+ so thus can't wait for streaming).

That is pretty specific. I think that is highly unlikely outside of a one off grandma buying the dvd for their grandkids. Wish is old news and kids really don't buy toys based on movie ip anymore.

 

[Phroobar]

4th Place! We got 4th Place (of animated films in 2023)!

5th Place, yeah that's the loser slot where "absolute failure" kicks in.

But 4th Place with a $200 Million production budget and endless global mega-marketing? That's a win in anyone's book. I think.



Stop with the facts and data and rational assessments about a company you care for, or we'll have to call you a "hater".



With a production budget of $200 Million and an assumed global marketing budget of $100 Million, Wish lost $192 Million at the global box office.

Knowing that, by what revenue mechanism does Wish now make a net profit of at least $192 Million after it has left theaters with minimal pop-culture impact?

Wish: Production $200, Marketing $100, Domestic B.O. Take $38, Overseas B.O. Take $70 = $192 Million Loss

View attachment 768724

If only it could have barely broken even like Princess and the Frog, it could have had replaced Pinocchio's Daring Journey at Disneyland.
Princess & the Frog: Production$106, Marketing $50, Domestic B.O take $104, Overseas BO take $271 = $63 million profit

 

[Miss Rori]

Thing with Princess and the Frog is that even if it underperformed theatrically, something that was partially on Disney's scheduling choices (I like the Robert Zemeckis Christmas Carol but punting Princess to right before Christmas to space them out probably did the latter a disservice in the end - they should have switched places), people did catch up with it on DVD and all along the merchandise was and is quite successful as part of the Disney Princess brand, and the parks love their princesses, so Tiana's stuck around. Wish doesn't have the backing of the Princess IP to support it, and 15 years on from Princess streaming doesn't mint hits after the fact the way that VHS and later DVD did. Encanto is the only film I can think of offhand, Disney or otherwise, that disappointed theatrically and blew up on streaming to the point that the merchandise sold. So I don't see where Wish's financial redemption is going to come from.