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

[TP2000]

What's the cheapest movie Searchlight has made in the past 5 years?

It turns out the data online is very spotty for the production budgets for Searchlight Pictures. But here's what I could find for Searchlight in recent years. If someone has some other budget sources they've found, feel free to weigh in:

2023:
Poor Things = $35 Million
Chevalier = $46 Million

2022:
The Menu = $30 Million
Banshees of Inisherin = $20 Million
Fire Island = $10 Million

2021:
Nightmare Alley = $60 Million
The French Dispatch = $25 Million
See How They Run = $40 Million

The average Searchlight production budget seems to be around $25 Million, and the cheapest budget I could find was the $10 Million for Fire Island two years ago.

If we assume All Of Us Strangers had a very small production budget of $10 Million, and a practically nonexistent global marketing budget of only $2 Million, we get this box office result...

All Of Us Strangers: Production $10, Marketing $2, USA B.O. Take $2.4, Overseas B.O. Take $5.6 = $4 Million Loss

 

[DKampy]

I think if anything it'll end up being a little too heavy on bringing back the original cast. They've cast a bunch of delightful actors for all of the new characters, so I wish they didn't feel like they had to trot out way-past-their-primes Aykroyd & Murray for this.

Especially since they brought back the cast with the last film… I feel that was perfect… as kind of a passing of the torch for the new characters… the trailer is all nostalgic bait… the way forward is looking towards the future not always back at the past

 

[DKampy]

It turns out the data online is very spotty for the production budgets for Searchlight Pictures. But here's what I could find for Searchlight in recent years. If someone has some other budget sources they've found, feel free to weigh in:

2023:
Poor Things = $35 Million
Chevalier = $46 Million

2022:
The Menu = $30 Million
Banshees of Inisherin = $20 Million
Fire Island = $10 Million

2021:
Nightmare Alley = $60 Million
The French Dispatch = $25 Million
See How They Run = $40 Million

The average Searchlight production budget seems to be around $25 Million, and the cheapest budget I could find was the $10 Million for Fire Island two years ago.

If we assume All Of Us Strangers had a very small production budget of $10 Million, and a practically nonexistent global marketing budget of only $2 Million, we get this box office result...

All Of Us Strangers: Production $10, Marketing $2, USA B.O. Take $2.4, Overseas B.O. Take $5.6 = $4 Million Loss

View attachment 774011

So now we are playing guessing games to point out Disney’s failures?

 

[celluloid]

The two above back-to-back are hilarious.

 

[brideck]

So now we are playing guessing games to point out Disney’s failures?

I would posit (with just as little evidence as what was presented) that the movies where the budget information isn't public have considerably smaller budgets than the ones that end up public knowledge. If you watch enough movies, you get to know what sub-$10m movies look like.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Especially since they brought back the cast with the last film… I feel that was perfect… as kind of a passing of the torch for the new characters… the trailer is all nostalgic bait… the way forward is looking towards the future not always back at the past

Well, as someone pointed out online, the new movie seems to forget what the original movie was. It was a comedy about friends going into business together. It wasn't about ghosts. They could have been exterminators.

So many sequels miss the point of the original. Someone out there said, a Ghostbusters sequel needs more effects. It needs more ghosts. It needs a convoluted plot.

Ghosts were a tool to tell a comedic story. That should be the first priority.

Regardless, if Bill Murray is willing to make a Ghostbusters movie, I'm not going to suggest putting him aside for a new generation.

 

[TP2000]

So now we are playing guessing games to point out Disney’s failures?

In the big ball game of $200+ Million dollar losses for some of Disney's movies in 2023, I don't know that a loss of $5 Million or less is a "failure". The on set snack table budget for Indy 5 or the hairspray budget for The Marvels probably cost more than the entire production budget for All Of Us Strangers, after all.

It's just sort of an interesting aside relating to box office on how these tiny arthouse movies work from Searchlight.

Indy 5: $300 Production, $100 Marketing, USA B.O. Take $105, Overseas B.O. Take $83 = $212 Million Loss
The Marvels: $220 Production, $100 Marketing, USA B.O. Take $51, Overseas B.O. Take $46 = $223 Million Loss
All Of Us Strangers: Production $10?, Marketing $2?, USA B.O. Take $2.4, Overseas B.O. Take $5.6 = $4 Million Loss

 

[brideck]

Looking at some interest metrics on IMDb/TMDB and it looks like The First Omen is more or less keeping pace with both Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil despite still being two weeks away from release, so prospective audiences are at least starting to become aware that it exists. Whether that'll translate into butts in seats is another matter altogether.

Also in 20th Century news, the teaser to Alien: Romulus dropped today. It looks like a real throwback to classic claustrophobic horror in space. I think you can see why they opted to bring it to theaters.

 

[BuddyThomas]

View attachment 773990

Wow. Maybe it will grow virally to a wider release...;-)

It’s supposed to be fantastic.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Looking at some interest metrics on IMDb/TMDB and it looks like The First Omen is more or less keeping pace with both Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil despite still being two weeks away from release, so prospective audiences are at least starting to become aware that it exists. Whether that'll translate into butts in seats is another matter altogether.

Also in 20th Century news, the teaser to Alien: Romulus dropped today. It looks like a real throwback to classic claustrophobic horror in space. I think you can see why they opted to bring it to theaters.

I am so there.

 

[Disney Irish]

It turns out the data online is very spotty for the production budgets for Searchlight Pictures. But here's what I could find for Searchlight in recent years. If someone has some other budget sources they've found, feel free to weigh in:

2023:
Poor Things = $35 Million
Chevalier = $46 Million

2022:
The Menu = $30 Million
Banshees of Inisherin = $20 Million
Fire Island = $10 Million

2021:
Nightmare Alley = $60 Million
The French Dispatch = $25 Million
See How They Run = $40 Million

The average Searchlight production budget seems to be around $25 Million, and the cheapest budget I could find was the $10 Million for Fire Island two years ago.

If we assume All Of Us Strangers had a very small production budget of $10 Million, and a practically nonexistent global marketing budget of only $2 Million, we get this box office result...

All Of Us Strangers: Production $10, Marketing $2, USA B.O. Take $2.4, Overseas B.O. Take $5.6 = $4 Million Loss

View attachment 774011

If the budget isn't public its likely its not $10M, it could be less. For example in 2019 Searchlight put out Ready or Not on a budget of only $6M. And that one had a much larger cast.

Basically stop trying to guess, they are low budget films. It did exactly what Disney/Searchlight wanted it to do, it got nominated for a bunch of awards.

 

[Dranth]

Looking at some interest metrics on IMDb/TMDB and it looks like The First Omen is more or less keeping pace with both Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil despite still being two weeks away from release, so prospective audiences are at least starting to become aware that it exists. Whether that'll translate into butts in seats is another matter altogether.

Also in 20th Century news, the teaser to Alien: Romulus dropped today. It looks like a real throwback to classic claustrophobic horror in space. I think you can see why they opted to bring it to theaters.

Boy do I hope this is good. The franchise needs some new life and leaning more into the original in terms of feel would be ideal.

 

[brideck]

If the budget isn't public its likely its not $10M, it could be less. For example in 2019 Searchlight put out Ready or Not on a budget of only $6M. And that one had a much larger cast.

Man, what a great movie that is. Not Searchlight, but I'm looking forward to Abigail from the same team.

 

[Disney Irish]

Man, what a great movie that is. Not Searchlight, but I'm looking forward to Abigail from the same team.

I saw the trailer it looks pretty good.

 

[DKampy]

The two above back-to-back are hilarious.

I don’t know what this means… but if you are referring to me guessing if the new Ghostbusters will be good or not… I have not seen it… I hope it is good… I do plan on seeing the film at some point.., I did like the last one well enough… The 46 percent on Rotten Tomatoes is not instilling confidence

If you liked the trailer I am happy for you…IMO… I did not care for the trailer… it all felt like Nostalgic bait to me…oh here’s slimmer again… oh remember the State Puff Marshmallow… how about we bring the old cast back again… I like Bill Murray as much as the next person but as someone said earlier they have never matched the charm of the original… I feel like the nostalgia is all from the first movie… I would have more confidence if Jason Reitman was back in the directors chair.

 

[DKampy]

Looking at some interest metrics on IMDb/TMDB and it looks like The First Omen is more or less keeping pace with both Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil despite still being two weeks away from release, so prospective audiences are at least starting to become aware that it exists. Whether that'll translate into butts in seats is another matter altogether.

Also in 20th Century news, the teaser to Alien: Romulus dropped today. It looks like a real throwback to classic claustrophobic horror in space. I think you can see why they opted to bring it to theaters.

The first teaser looks great… I think people forget Alien started off as a horror movie not Science Fiction

 

[brideck]

I don’t know what this means…

I was wondering that, too, although I think (and celluloid can correct me if I'm wrong) that it's because you said "the way forward is looking towards the future not always back at the past" and then immediately addressed yet another post that was looking at past performance.

 

[celluloid]

I was wondering that, too, although I think (and celluloid can correct me if I'm wrong) that it's because you said "the way forward is looking towards the future not always back at the past" and then immediately addressed yet another post that was looking at past performance.

A bit of that and the. Talking about past performances from a company that is 90 percent sequels and remakes including the disappointment that starred an old guy in a fedora who was done treading fifteen years before that. There are nostalgia bait critiques and that is fine but hard to compare and slam Sony for putting those guys and gals as supporting cast. They are not leads.
but hey, Moana 2 before live action Moana that is canceled(?) and hooray new alien that is trying to be the Original. That is why it was funny considering.

 

[brideck]

A bit of that and the. Talking about past performances from a company that is 90 percent sequels and remakes including the disappointment that starred an old guy in a fedora who was done treading fifteen years before that. There are nostalgia bait critiques and that is fine but hard to compare and slam Sony for putting those guys and gals as supporting cast. They are not leads.

Every significant recent success save Oppenheimer has been a sequel/franchise or nostalgia play, and that trend has only continued with Wonka, Kung Fu Panda, and Dune. To single anyone out for it is wrongheaded, as it's unfortunately all too clear that it's the only thing people will show up in theaters for anymore en masse. For my money, though, it stinks to high heaven to pull someone like Dan Aykroyd out of mothballs for these -- he's literally not been in any other movies over the last 10 years. The concept of the Ghostbusters, if it actually has any value, should be able to stand on its own without these excessive links to the past. And I say this as a member of the generation that they're pandering to with this.

 

[TP2000]

Every significant recent success save Oppenheimer has been a sequel/franchise or nostalgia play, and that trend has only continued with Wonka, Kung Fu Panda, and Dune. To single anyone out for it is wrongheaded, as it's unfortunately all too clear that it's the only thing people will show up in theaters for anymore en masse.

Okay.

If only franchises sell now, I look forward to tracking the box office data for Planet Of The Apes 9 and Inside Out 2.