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

[brideck]

Kung Fu Panda 4 has now made more than Migration and will soon surpass Elemental too at the domestic box office.

They'll see that and think sequels, sequels, sequels. Doubly so if Inside Out 2 is an unqualified success.

And those people would be wrong in thinking that... how? The masses have spoken and continue to speak.

ETA: There doesn't appear to be any sort of qualitative difference between Migration and Kung Fu Panda 4. They have virtually identical scores on Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes (critic & audience), IMDb, and Letterboxd. If anything, Migration has scored ever so slightly higher, and yet here we are in just week 3 and it's already eating KFP 4's dust.

 

[TP2000]

Kung Fu Panda 4 has now made more than Migration and will soon surpass Elemental too at the domestic box office.

They'll see that and think sequels, sequels, sequels. Doubly so if Inside Out 2 is an unqualified success.

And the other studios made those box office hits with budgets that were less than half, sometimes only one third, what Disney or Pixar spend to make their movies that struggle to break even at the box office (Elemental, Mermaid) or outright flop (Wish).

Kung Fu Panda 4 budget = $85 Million
Migration budget = $72 Million
Wonka budget = $125 Million
Little Mermaid '23 budget = $250 Million
Wish budget = $200 Million
Elemental budget = $200 Million

 

[TalkingHead]

Kung Fu Panda 4 has now made more than Migration and will soon surpass Elemental too at the domestic box office.

They'll see that and think sequels, sequels, sequels. Doubly so if Inside Out 2 is an unqualified success.

Wouldn’t be shocked if Elio is the last original from Pixar for the foreseeable future, especially in the event that it does poorly.

 

[TalkingHead]

And those people would be wrong in thinking that... how? The masses have spoken and continue to speak.

Don’t you think “the masses” is overselling it? It’s done well for the budget but it hasn’t done the kind of business Disney expects for its animated releases.

 

[brideck]

Don’t you think “the masses” is overselling it? It’s done well for the budget but it hasn’t done the kind of business Disney expects for its animated releases.

By the masses, I mean the general box office trend that I documented last week (where ~85% of "hits" and ~95% of "megahits" are franchise movies). This is just the most recent example. This performance will almost certainly make it a Top 20 movie for 2024, a.k.a. a "hit."

If it manages to leg out to $175m domestically, it'll have even managed to sell more tickets here than its predecessor, which feels like exceeding expectations for a movie like this.

 

[Disney Irish]

This entire failed re-release strategy from Pixar is just weird. I've convinced myself, with absolutely no evidence or any real knowledge of how studio tax law works, that this is part of a tax write-off of some sort. That's the only thing that makes sense at this point why they are doing this to themselves.

Not sure what the write-off would be since its distribution. The only way to get a write-off in this case would be if they had shelved the films before distribution.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I hate to admit it but I really didn’t like Late Night with the Devil. I went in wanting to love it, and while it was happening, it was good enough. But that ending. If anyone wants to explain the ending of that film to me, I’d be happy to hear it.

 

[celluloid]

And those people would be wrong in thinking that... how? The masses have spoken and continue to speak.

ETA: There doesn't appear to be any sort of qualitative difference between Migration and Kung Fu Panda 4. They have virtually identical scores on Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes (critic & audience), IMDb, and Letterboxd. If anything, Migration has scored ever so slightly higher, and yet here we are in just week 3 and it's already eating KFP 4's dust.

Statistics are funny when the numbers are up. Having seen both, and not being a fan of any of the other Kung Fu Panda films, Kung Fu Panda 4 was definitely the better film. More specifically, both make Universal with Dreamworks and Illumination the king of animation box office right now.

Also, here is Ghostbusters likely coming in higher than the Afterlife first weekend by a smidge. That being said, it also has a a holiday weekend to help it this coming weekend and is deemed a success enough for Sony to launch the animated series that has been in the early works to get the greenlight for those who do not know.

I imagine the first episodes will come towards Halloween time.

 

[Disney Irish]

Statistics are funny when the numbers are up. Having seen both, and not being a fan of any of the other Kung Fu Panda films, Kung Fu Panda 4 was definitely the better film. More specifically, both make Universal with Dreamworks and Illumination the king of animation box office right now.

Also, here is Ghostbusters likely coming in higher than the Afterlife first weekend by a smidge. That being said, it also has a a holiday weekend to help it this coming weekend and is deemed a success enough for Sony to launch the animated series that has been in the early works to get the greenlight for those who do not know.

I imagine the first episodes will come towards Halloween time.
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FYI, that Ghostbusters animated show on Netflix has been in production since 2022 and has nothing to do with Sony as they don't own the characters.

Who You Gonna Call? How About a New 'Ghostbusters' Animated Series?

The team behind ‘Afterlife is bringing us more paranormal laughs.

www.netflix.com

 

[celluloid]

FYI, that Ghostbusters animated show on Netflix has been in production since 2022 and has nothing to do with Sony as they don't own the characters.

Who You Gonna Call? How About a New 'Ghostbusters' Animated Series?

The team behind ‘Afterlife is bringing us more paranormal laughs.

www.netflix.com

Yes, I am aware it has been in the works that long but Gil Kenan updating people with news on it shows confidence in it.

Yes, the partnership of Ghost Corps does play a part with Netflix coming projects as Sony Pictures Animation has things in the works. (Ecto-Force working title of the first attempt but has since changed) That is also a Sony Animation project.

Who told you Sony has nothing to do with this or does not own the characters?

 

[Disney Irish]

Yes, I am aware it has been in the works that long but Gil Kenan updating people with news on it shows confidence in it.

Yes, the partnership of Ghost Corps does play a part with Netflix coming projects as Sony Pictures Animation has things in the works. (Ecto-Force working title) That is a Sony Animation project.

As I recall Ecto-Force was a completely different project from Sony Animation rumored back in 2016 that never went anywhere. This Netflix show is a completely different thing, or maybe a spiritual successor to that.

Ecto-Force was rumored to be set 50 years in the future with a completely different set of characters. This Netflix show is suppose to be within canon of the movies, even using the same characters as reports suggest.

 

[celluloid]

As I recall Ecto-Force was a completely different project from Sony Animation rumored back in 2016 that never went anywhere. This Netflix show is a completely different thing, or maybe a spiritual successor to that.

Ecto-Force was rumored to be set 50 years in the future with a completely different set of characters. This Netflix show is suppose to be within canon of the movies, even using the same characters as reports suggest.

Somehow you got things completely backwards.

Ecto Force was a Sony Animation Film that was completely scrapped and never got far past concept.

The new series that is a partnership with Sony Pictures animation takes place in the future and although canon will be different characters we have never seen before. T

Gil Kenan literally confirmed two days ago that it takes place in a decade we have never seen before.
Both fall into play under Sony Animation which has had a deal with Netflix for awhile now.

As I said, now it is in full production with the release and confidence of the new movie not bombing.

“I just watched an entire art presentation for the show. I’ve seen the sets and the environments, and I just saw my first glimpse at a world of supernatural characters as realized by our brilliant creative team. All I can say is the work is being done as we speak. It’s in what we call full development. Scripts are being written, art is being created, and it’s a great time to be a Ghostbuster.
-Gil Kenan
Sony Columbia most certainly owns the rights to the Ghostbusters.

 

[Disney Irish]

Somehow you got things completely backwards.

Ecto Force was a Sony Animation Film that was completely scrapped and never got far past concept.

The new series that is a partnership with Sony Pictures animation takes place in the future and although canon will be different characters we have never seen before. T

Gil Kenan literally confirmed two days ago that it takes place in a decade we have never seen before.
Both fall into play under Sony Animation which has had a deal with Netflix for awhile now.

Sony Columbia most certainly owns the rights to the Ghostbusters.

Looks like my response was from your original post before you edited it to clarify things.

I hadn't seen any Kenan update so I'll check that out.

As for ownership, I just checked, I was incorrect in that my bad, as I had been under the impression that the characters were owned by Aykroyd and Reitman themselves.

 

[celluloid]

Looks like I was responding from your original post before you edited it to clarify things.

I hadn't seen any Kenan update so I'll check that out.

As for ownership, I just checked, I was incorrect in that my bad, as I had been under the impression that the characters were owned by Aykroyd and Reitman themselves.

They have creative credit under Ghost Corps. Which is anything related to Ghostbusters which is ultimately owned by Sony Pictures. Just another correction, this series project is directly connected to Sony as well.

The Blues Brothers in business ventures is possibly what you were confusing as Dan Aykroyd owned the rights to those characters to an extent and why he has made money from, and why they can use those characters at The House of Blues, which is a dining establishment and live music venue chain he co-founded.

 

[Disney Irish]

They have creative credit under Ghost Corps. Which is anything related to Ghostbusters which is ultimately owned by Sony Pictures. Just another correction, this series project is directly connected to Sony as well.

The Blues Brothers in business ventures is possibly what you were confusing as Dan Aykroyd owned the rights to those characters to an extent and why he has made money from, and why they can use those characters at The House of Blues, which is a dining establishment and live music venue chain he co-founded.

Thanks, but no I wasn't confusing it with the Blue Brothers characters or the House of Blues venture lol. I had been under the impression that he owned both (along with many of his other characters he helped create), but I was incorrect. Its cool, it happens.

 

[celluloid]

Thanks, but no I wasn't confusing it with the Blue Brothers characters or the House of Blues venture lol. I had been under the impression that he owned both (along with many of his other characters he helped create), but I was incorrect. Its cool, it happens.

House of Blues was the first and really only one that came to mind.

What other characters of his fame does he own?

 

[Disney Irish]

House of Blues was the first and really only one that came to mind.

What other characters of his fame does he own?

Dunno, maybe he doesn't but ones like Coneheads and others from his SNL days similar to the Blues Brothers.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

This entire failed re-release strategy from Pixar is just weird. I've convinced myself, with absolutely no evidence or any real knowledge of how studio tax law works, that this is part of a tax write-off of some sort. That's the only thing that makes sense at this point why they are doing this to themselves.

Theatrical rereleases seem to do well for 1) films that were popular once already in theaters, or 2) films that developed a cult following and larger audience since they were originally released and gives its fans a chance to finally see the film on a big screen.

What this suggests is the widespread popularity of these recent Pixar films is pretty overstated (particularly Turning Red, which was held out as supposedly very popular in terms of merch).

 

[DKampy]

I was going to wait till next week, but I ended up seeing Ghostbusters yesterday… I did not hate the movie but for me it was the definition of just ok… I definitely felt that Afterlife had more heart and care put into it… I think they tried to do too much… too many characters that the film kept shuffling between… with some scenes not really needed… I will not spoil which scenes… It was cool seeing the OG characters, but I still feel they should of concentrated on the characters from the last film… as I found the family more annoying this time around where as Afterlife they were likable… I think it comes down to the writing being spread to thin in covering so much

The plot also seemed overly convoluted…which is a problem with a lot of franchises these days… they tend to want to expand deep into the lore… when sometimes it is best to keep things simple

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Do any of you have this nearby?

I was thinking about giving it a shot tonight; then again there are so few movies that interest me…what are the chances it will be worth the trip?

I’ve seen this advertised once before, but I don’t remember it being called “scream,” so I wonder if that’s a hint that it’s a horror flick.