LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
On a visually impressive film that has garnered appreciably more positive critical responses and higher audience scores than Kung Fu Panda 4.
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Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs
- Thread starter Disney Analyst
- Start date
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Box office isn’t helped by the service fees created by reserved seating. To see a movie at a multiplex here is $14.00, but to get the ticket in advance to avoid an undesirable seat means a $2.20 service fee, plus tax, so the total for one ticket is $17.11. That’s a lot to risk on a movie if you’re on the fence about seeing it. Not to mention PLF up-charges which are even more ridiculous. $23 for a ticket to see Challengers in Dolby? Most people are gonna shake their heads and say get real.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Sure.
But as this is the box office thread, how much are "positive critical responses" and "audience scores" worth at the corporate deposit window at the Burbank branch of Bank of America?
And going forward, how can Disney monetize those two rather ethereal things into actual box office profit?
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Not to mention that inflation for groceries, gas, electricity, clothing, etc. is all up by double digits the past few years.
I can easily see how the average American family would pause and wait for a movie that is really worth it. Like a Barbie or a Super Mario Bros. or something.
What's interesting is how Disney and Pixar family films are often not making the cut in those kitchen table budget decisions.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I really don’t care. Given that I actually watch the films you keep posting about (a radical concept, I know!), my main concern is how well made they are and how enjoyable they are to view.But as this is the box office thread, how much are "positive critical responses" and "audience scores" worth at the corporate deposit window at the Burbank branch of Bank of America?
I am not sure which theater chain you visit…. But my local Marcus theaters have never utilize such practices… and I go to the theater weekly
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm not much of a movie person. Never have been, I usually go just to be sociable or because I was forced by family. Although I do have a small and highly curated batch of favorites I watch every year or two on BluRay.
But as a lifelong Disney fan, especially their theme parks, my main concern is how profitable their movies are. Especially when they cost hundreds of millions of dollar apiece, then fall flat on their faces at the box office. Meanwhile, there's still no night parade at any American Disney theme park, there is no new ride under construction at any American Disney theme park, and they keep cutting showmanship and little extras at all American Disney theme parks.
That's my main concern; how much longer can Disney keep dumping hundreds of millions down the drain on these movies? And how much longer can the parks keep propping the entire company up without any real investment?
Most of those movies that have opened that big over the last decade have been apart of a proven franchise… sure The Fall Guy is loosely based on an old 80’s tv show… but I would guess most people under 40(maybe under 50) have not even heard of it.,. It has not really held up in the pop culture zeitgeist
For all intense and purposes it is an original property…and most original films don’t open higher than 30 million… even the first John Wick only opened to 14 million… I am still waiting on what kind of legs it has…as the A- cinema score suggest it could have good legs
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LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
And as a lifelong Disney fan, you should know that Walt very rarely skimped on quality in order to ensure a higher profit margin. I’m very happy that Pixar isn’t churning out Kung Fu Panda-level films, even if they would be more profitable.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Really? AMC, Regal, Cinepolis, Epic, CMX, all the chains in Florida do service fees if you order tickets in advance without visiting the box office kiosks on site.
Well I guess I am glad the chain in my state exists here
TP2000
Well-Known Member
I can confirm the same thing happens at the Del Mar Cinepolis, 3,000 miles away from Florida.
It's a $2.20 service charge on top of the $20+ movie ticket price. I bought seven tickets for Barbie there last summer, and it was almost $200 for the seven of us. Before we even got to the snack bar.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
That's a valid point. But here's the thing... when Walt was churning out quality films, he was still expanding and lavishing money on Disneyland. Nearly every single year that Walt was alive, Disneyland got new rides and shows and lands. It continued after he died too.
And it wasn't a Walt thing, or even a Card Walker or Ron Miller thing. Eisner lavished new rides and shows and lands and entirely new theme parks while movies came and went, some bombed and some were hits. Iger had a few good years too, notably his DCA 2.0 rethink on that failed park.
But now? The parks are stagnant and woefully under-capacity and under-invested in. No new park capacity is under construction on either coast. There isn't a single night parade in the entire USA. Hyperion Theatre is abandoned, Tomorrowland is abandoned, Wonders of Life is abandoned, DAK, DHS, Magic Kingdom, DCA, etc., etc.
But they still dump $200 Million on movies that can barely break even if they don't outright bomb?!?
Something isn't right there. And it's not at all sustainable. Either the whole thing collapses, or it undergoes massive change and a complete rethink of their business model.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
It’s not like they were building ride after ride a few years ago when their films were routinely bringing in a billion each. Your understanding of the company’s finances, and how each division impacts the other, doesn’t seem very sound to me.That's a valid point. But here's the thing... when Walt was churning out quality films, he was still expanding and lavishing money on Disneyland. Nearly every single year that Walt was alive, Disneyland got new rides and shows and lands. It continued after he died too.
And it wasn't a Walt thing, or even a Card Walker or Ron Miller thing. Eisner lavished new rides and shows and lands and entirely new theme parks while movies came and went, some bombed and some were hits. Iger had a few good years too, notably his DCA 2.0 rethink on that failed park.
But now? The parks are stagnant and woefully under-capacity and under-invested in. No new park capacity is under construction on either coast. There isn't a single night parade in the entire USA. Hyperion Theatre is abandoned, Tomorrowland is abandoned, Wonders of Life is abandoned, DAK, DHS, Magic Kingdom, DCA, etc., etc.
But they still dump $200 Million on movies that can barely break even if they don't outright bomb?!?
Something isn't right there. And it's not at all sustainable. Either the whole thing collapses, or it undergoes massive change and a complete rethink of their business model.
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
Cineplex in Canada does this too
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Not to mention that most of his domestic Park "complaints" are about to be moot based on information from insiders on the changes coming to the domestic Parks starting later this year.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
So does Cinemark here in the US, almost all chains do. Its really only the local regional theaters that may not charge service fees.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Even if Sidekick Tightpants announces 2 new E Tickets for each coast to begin construction this October, they won't open until 2027 or 2028.
And the DisneylandForward plan is a 40 year plan. Four Oh years. That's 2064, for those who can't scroll that fast on their phone's calendar.
They should have been building rides on both coasts 5 years ago solely based on 2019 attendance levels, to open in quick succession every year from 2022 to 2026. Just re-opening all of their existing yet closed pavilions and 2,000 seat theaters and entire buildings and complexes in forgotten lands should have been happening years ago.
If your expectations are so low that you can look forward to yet another hazy Blue Sky Proposal! on the big screen at the next D23 Expo, then so be it. My expectations for Disney theme parks were honed in the 20th century, so my expectations are far higher than yours apparently are. I feel badly that you think they're doing something nice for you, when they clearly aren't. They're laughing at you, while they drop another $200 Million on Inside Out 2.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
I tend to temper my expectations based on reality when it comes to the Parks. I don't expect Disney to build a new attraction every year at the domestic Parks, something they haven't done like ever. So you don't have to feel badly or sorry or any other feeling for anyone especially me, and no one at Disney is laughing at me as they don't even know who I am or that I even exist.Even if Sidekick Tightpants announces 2 new E Tickets for each coast to begin construction this October, they won't open until 2027 or 2028.
And the DisneylandForward plan is a 40 year plan. Four Oh years. That's 2064, for those who can't scroll that fast on their phone's calendar.
They should have been building rides on both coasts 5 years ago solely based on 2019 attendance levels, to open in quick succession every year from 2022 to 2026. Just re-opening all of their existing yet closed pavilions and 2,000 seat theaters and entire buildings and complexes in forgotten lands should have been happening years ago.
If your expectations are so low that you can look forward to yet another hazy Blue Sky Proposal! on the big screen at the next D23 Expo, then so be it. My expectations for Disney theme parks were honed in the 20th century, so my expectations are far higher than yours apparently are. I feel badly that you think they're doing something nice for you, when they clearly aren't. They're laughing at you, while they drop another $200 Million on Inside Out 2.
Also have you even stepped foot on a Disney Park property anytime in the last couple years, or even this decade? We know that you don't go to the movies especially Disney movies, but you appear to be very invested (and I don't mean monetarily as we know you sold all your Disney stock) in this company for someone that clearly doesn't partake in anything this company offers. The question then remains, why are you even a Disney Fan at this point if its clear you don't enjoy anything this company is doing, especially since you know they aren't going to change in the way you want.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Yup. I was at Opening Day for Star Wars: Rise Before Dawn, remember?
I don't live in SoCal any longer, so I don't have a Magic Key. Last summer no one in my family wanted to drive up to Disneyland, so we didn't go. I may go this summer with some friends, but not sure yet. There's nothing new, so....
Over in the Disneyland thread, we just did a comparison of the Pixar Fest Better Together Parade vs. the old Pixar Play Parade. Better Together has 66% of the human performers and 70% of the floats that Pixar Play Parade had (92 performers and 10 floats in 2008-2018 vs. 61 performers and 7 floats in 2024). So not only aren't they investing in the Parks, they are slashing the payroll and downsizing even their premiere summer entertainment offerings that they do have.
That is bad. And I think your standards for this expensive entertainment should be far higher than they appear to be.
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