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

[TP2000]

Garfield really just performed opening weekend superior to any family film Disney has had in recent years including Wish and Elemental.

Here's how the box office panned out for Garfield through Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. What is most shocking is that Garfield had a production budget of $60 Million, less than a third the production budget for Wish or Elemental.

Barring a complete collapse of its global box office, Garfield will be very profitable, unlike Wish or Elemental.

Movie Comparison: The Garfield Movie (2024) vs. Wish (2023) vs. Elemental (2023)

Domestic box office comparison between The Garfield Movie (2024) and Wish (2023) and Elemental (2023)

www.the-numbers.com

 

[brideck]

What is most shocking is that Garfield had a production budget of $60 Million, less than a third the production budget for Wish or Elemental.

So... you want Disney to save a bunch of money on their production budgets by including "several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement" in their animated features? [Source: Variety] Because that's at least part of how Garfield kept its budget to something you find reasonable.

 

[Miss Rori]

So... you want Disney to save a bunch of money on their production budgets by including "several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement" in their animated features? [Source: Variety] Because that's at least part of how Garfield kept its budget to something you find reasonable.

I don't think Disney could make that work anyway, all the product placement for other Disney movies in Wish didn't work.

 

[brideck]

I don't think Disney could make that work anyway, all the product placement for other Disney movies in Wish didn't work.

With how it was described here, I don't think Sony et al made it work either. This got a B+ Cinemascore, which is below pretty much all of the animated movies that people like to rag on here.

 

[TP2000]

So... you want Disney to save a bunch of money on their production budgets by including "several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement" in their animated features? [Source: Variety] Because that's at least part of how Garfield kept its budget to something you find reasonable.

No, I don't even have any idea what that means.

Does Garfield have a bunch of commercials in it, or sponsor tie-ins? Like when the Stevens' on Bewitched drove nothing but Chevrolets for 9 years and their first commercial break always went into a Chevy ad? Or when Sly Stallone in Demolition Man drove swanky futuristic Oldsmobiles (RIP) and ate at Taco Bell while singing the Jolly Green Giant jingle?

My point is just that it's a heckuva lot easier to make a profit from the box office receipts when your modestly successful family film only has a $60 Million budget, compared to a modestly successful family film that has a $200 Million budget.

 

[brideck]

No, I don't even have any idea what that means.

Does Garfield have a bunch of commercials in it, or sponsor tie-ins? Like when the Stevens' on Bewitched drove nothing but Chevrolets for 9 years and their first commercial break always went into a Chevy ad? Or when Sly Stallone in Demolition Man drove swanky futuristic Oldsmobiles (RIP) and ate at Taco Bell while singing the Jolly Green Giant jingle?

It seems that you do understand what that means. Garfield contains paid nods to at least Olive Garden, Walmart, and FedEx, and name drops a whole host of other specific brands, like Tinder, Bumble, Shark Tank, Netflix, Roomba, and PopChips.

 

[TP2000]

It seems that you do understand what that means. Garfield contains paid nods to at least Olive Garden, Walmart, and FedEx, and name drops a whole host of other specific brands, like Tinder, Bumble, Shark Tank, Netflix, Roomba, and PopChips.

Oh. Is it as blatant as when Blade Runner got Pan Am and AT&T and Coca-Cola to put billboards in the shots?

Or is it subtle? I imagine it isn't subtle.

Just for fun late at night, here's the list of products you noted above that I actually know about; Olive Garden (never dined there, but driven past it), Walmart, Federal Express, Shark Tank (never watched it, but am aware), Netflix (love it!), Roomba (the robot vaccuum thing).

I have no earthly idea what Tinder, Bumble (assuming you left out the Bee and didn't mean the tuna?) or PopChips are.

But I have a feeling that PopChips aren't good, or else they'd just be called Chips.

 

[brideck]

Oh. Is it as blatant as when Blade Runner got Pan Am and AT&T and Coca-Cola to put billboards in the shots?

Or is it subtle? I imagine it isn't subtle.

Blatant enough that every single review I've looked at (including the one I linked to) goes to great pains to mention it. I have not seen Garfield myself and have no desire to -- the trailer looked like hot garbage, or at best, a movie starring an orange cat that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the comic strip of the same name.

 

[TP2000]

Blatant enough that every single review I've looked at (including the one I linked to) goes to great pains to mention it. I have not seen Garfield myself and have no desire to -- the trailer looked like hot garbage, or at best, a movie starring an orange cat that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the comic strip of the same name.

I have no need or desire to see it myself either. I remember the cartoon in the Sunday funnies, but I don't need to relive it.

I'm more of a dog person, anyway.

Interestingly, the foreigners really seem to love this Garfield movie. It's doing strong overseas box office so far. Why?

Lemme guess.... it's mainly the French.

 

[Tha Realest]

So... you want Disney to save a bunch of money on their production budgets by including "several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement" in their animated features? [Source: Variety] Because that's at least part of how Garfield kept its budget to something you find reasonable.

Are you suggesting Disney doesn’t do shameless product placements in their films? How did such a practice work at keeping Haunted Mansion’s budget “reasonable”?

29 Product Placements In Disney’s Haunted Mansion

Disney deployed a wealth of product placement.

screenrant.com

 

[Casper Gutman]

Actually, The Little Mermaid did much better during its opening weekend (also a Memorial Day weekend) last year: $118.6 million as opposed to Garfield’s projected $32 million.

2024 box office so far should occasion a total reevaluation of 2023 box office.

 

[LittleBuford]

2024 box office so far should occasion a total reevaluation of 2023 box office.

Could you elaborate?

 

[DKampy]

the trailer looked like hot garbage, or at best, a movie starring an orange cat that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the comic strip of the same name.

this exactly…I was a huge Garfield fan as a kid…but I have no interest in watching this even on a streamer for nostalgic purposes…the trailer doesn’t resemble anything I remember about the comic strip….heck why is he even going on a road trip….he was a house cat who hated leaving the house….and from the reviews I have read it seems I am correct in those assumptions

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

So... you want Disney to save a bunch of money on their production budgets by including "several instances of shamelessly conspicuous product placement" in their animated features? [Source: Variety] Because that's at least part of how Garfield kept its budget to something you find reasonable.

In fairness, "Welcome to Rosa" in Wish is basically a song about Disneyland.

 

[erasure fan1]

Garfield contains paid nods to at least Olive Garden, Walmart, and FedEx, and name drops a whole host of other specific brands, like Tinder, Bumble, Shark Tank, Netflix, Roomba, and PopChips.

It's actually very fitting for Garfield. Jim Davis created Garfield to sell product. It wasn't from some grand vision. So it kinda works that the film is selling product.

 

[Disney Irish]

In fairness, "Welcome to Rosa" in Wish is basically a song about Disneyland.

Reference? I've never heard that, and the visuals in the movie and lyrics don't scream out Disneyland to me.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Reference? I've never heard that, and the visuals in the movie and lyrics don't scream out Disneyland to me.

Maybe not the whole song but the beginning gave me "this is a theme park" vibes for sure.

Granted, Disney references were a big part of the movie so it's perhaps more reference than advertising.

Welcome to Rosas
Come on, come this way
Where the greatest creations are all on display
There's no other place just as full of surprise
Where your dreams and your reality can collide
You wanna dance on beat?
Or to have hair touch down to your feet?
Go to outer space?
Well, hey, you've come to the right place

'Cause here in the city of Rosas
You can turn all your wanting to wishing
No what-ifs and no wonders
Oh, here in the city of Rosas
It's unlikely that you'll be unhappy
With so much to discover

 

[Disney Irish]

Maybe not the whole song but the beginning gave me "this is a theme park" vibes for sure.

Granted, Disney references were a big part of the movie so it's perhaps more reference than advertising.

Welcome to Rosas
Come on, come this way
Where the greatest creations are all on display
There's no other place just as full of surprise
Where your dreams and your reality can collide
You wanna dance on beat?
Or to have hair touch down to your feet?
Go to outer space?
Well, hey, you've come to the right place

'Cause here in the city of Rosas
You can turn all your wanting to wishing
No what-ifs and no wonders
Oh, here in the city of Rosas
It's unlikely that you'll be unhappy
With so much to discover

Ok got it, so this was just your own impression of the lyrics not something that someone on the cast or production team made known that was their intention.

I never picked up on any theme park or Disneyland specific vibes or references from those lyrics, but maybe its just me.

 

[brideck]

It's actually very fitting for Garfield. Jim Davis created Garfield to sell product. It wasn't from some grand vision. So it kinda works that the film is selling product.

To sell his own product, sure. But unless you think he made money from Big Lasagna and the Abu Dhabi tourism board over the years, that's not really what we're talking about.

 

[erasure fan1]

To sell his own product, sure. But unless you think he made money from Big Lasagna and the Abu Dhabi tourism board over the years, that's not really what we're talking about.

Tough crowd I guess. It's funny. An ip created only to hock product. Was then used to hock product in its movie.