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

[Sirwalterraleigh]

What needs to be realized by you and others is that the individual standalone films are hardly ever going to be huge $1B movies, just won't. They will be middle of the road box office performers. It'll be the big ensemble films that will be the huge $1B+ movie, but those are only going to happen once or twice ever 3-4 years. So if you can accept that, then we have common ground.

What standard are you quoting here?

Because it’s just conjecture. Franchise fatigue and Decline of established IP…or at a minimum ebb and flow…have been well
Established for decades.

The MCU has done really well…I’d argue based much more on the pre Disney produced films basis that the post…but to expect it to continue indefinitely based on a comic catalogue is just not what the history says.

All the top 5 plus comic book movies were part of franchises that declined and had to end and later be reset. It’s just how the genre is. The MCU will start to lower the volume of content to fight stagnation…and it may work. But not to the Avengers height. That’s in the past now. You can really only have one peak.

But we can watch it play and hopefully get some good stuff. I hope someone is really allowed to make a good X…neither comical like recent marvel nor too “genre” like the Batman.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I get what you mean. It is overall pretty forgettable. I think Dano really tried to do a creepy riddler and in another world in a Nolan film, that aspect of a terroism riddler would have worked.

It came off like a Nuevo anime take on Gotham if you ask me…the blasting organ/drum beats and flashes of action with frame skips. That 25 minute car chase was ridiculous…as was the weird flood finale that seemed to last 185 years.

I think nolan really balanced character quirk with wide appeal. Those movies get better each time you watch them.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Completely agree. I think it'll be a fun movie overall, but doesn't seem to have broad appeal.

If you’re talking about Barbie, it is expected to be huge. I tried to go see an early screening tonight but it was completely sold out. I scored a ticket for tomorrow night, barely. Almost every ticket for Barbie at prime hours are sold out tomorrow. As to what I watched tonight instead of Barbie, a rare theatre screening of the original Terrifier. LOL - not what I was in the mood for/

 

[jpinkc]

If you’re talking about Barbie, it is expected to be huge. I tried to go see an early screening tonight but it was completely sold out. I scored a ticket for tomorrow night, barely. Almost every ticket for Barbie at prime hours are sold out tomorrow. As to what I watched tonight instead of Barbie, a rare theatre screening of the original Terrifier. LOL - not what I was in the mood for/

Well I settled for Creature from the Black Lagoon so what can you do......

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Seems as though DP will tie into X-Men and X-Men/Fantastic Four will be the direction MCU will and probably should go after (or during) finishing those pesky Avengers movies in the works.

Angling for flop

Well the idea I think is post-Multiverse Saga (current Phases 4,5,6) will be the Mutant Saga (Phases 7,8,9?) which will explore the whole X-Men and that side of Marvel.

…you need to drink more

You dialed up another 20 or so movies of which there is zero current demand for…

So do own the comic book shop or just live above one?

 

[BrianLo]

Oh brother. I made the observation that most people rely on television for daily affordable entertainment which somehow gets twisted to, people are watching TV all day! No one wants to work!

There are lots of things the average person would no doubt love to do instead, but that takes money. People need entertainment in between vacations or activities they save up for.

The strikes mean a lot of reruns and reality TV. I don't think people will appreciate this long term.

And what are people watching on YouTube that somehow makes it a replacement for traditional network TV or streaming services?

View attachment 731070

This is quite fascinating. I think the writers strike is the final nail in the coffin for network scripted drama. I only see highly successful streaming content that appeals to the residual cable audience maybe making the reverse jump.

The expansion of Survivor, Amazing Race (both longer episodes for the first time in their histories) and Big Brother to the Fall sees the full circle at CBS that leaves reality TV basically the only thing profitable left, with a reasonable loyal audience. It's cheap, lean and produces reliable hours of content annually.

 

[Disney Irish]

What standard are you quoting here?

Because it’s just conjecture. Franchise fatigue and Decline of established IP…or at a minimum ebb and flow…have been well
Established for decades.

The MCU has done really well…I’d argue based much more on the pre Disney produced films basis that the post…but to expect it to continue indefinitely based on a comic catalogue is just not what the history says.

All the top 5 plus comic book movies were part of franchises that declined and had to end and later be reset. It’s just how the genre is. The MCU will start to lower the volume of content to fight stagnation…and it may work. But not to the Avengers height. That’s in the past now. You can really only have one peak.

But we can watch it play and hopefully get some good stuff. I hope someone is really allowed to make a good X…neither comical like recent marvel nor too “genre” like the Batman.

Except there has never been anything like the MCU, it has lasted longer than any other IP based franchise. I agree there is and will be ebb and flow, as the general audience will deep in and out based on the standalone films they want to see, but will show up for the major event films like the Avengers. This has been a pretty solid pattern for 32 films.

The question is will it continue to follow that same pattern as it gets deeper into Phase 5 and 6, we'll have to see. Slowing down the number of releases will help this quite a bit in my opinion.

As for peaks, I don't know if another MCU film will get beat $2.7B. But no one thought Titanic would be beaten until it was, then Avatar until End Game did before a rerelease by Disney to take over the top spot again. Point is that never say never as its possible it could happen again, meaning that peak might be yet to come.

 

[Disney Irish]

Angling for flop

…you need to drink more

You dialed up another 20 or so movies of which there is zero current demand for…

So do own the comic book shop or just live above one?

If you don't think that Feige/Disney has a 10 year plan especially to bring in Mutants (which is heavily demanded for in the fandom), I have the GW available for you to buy.....

Nope don't own a CB store, live above one, or even have one near me.

 

[Disney Irish]

If you’re talking about Barbie, it is expected to be huge. I tried to go see an early screening tonight but it was completely sold out. I scored a ticket for tomorrow night, barely. Almost every ticket for Barbie at prime hours are sold out tomorrow. As to what I watched tonight instead of Barbie, a rare theatre screening of the original Terrifier. LOL - not what I was in the mood for/

I agree its expected to have huge opening, question is if it'll have broad enough appeal for it to have legs or will it drop off quickly. That I don't know. With the "messages" it has in it and current climate I just don't know how it'll do long term.

 

[Disney Irish]

We I better see a Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man movie made REAL soon! With Mario and Barbie being 2 of the biggest movies of the year, the time is right for some romantic ghost gobbling!

Didn't we basically get that with Pixals?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If you don't think that Feige/Disney has a 10 year plan especially to bring in Mutants (which is heavily demanded for in the fandom), I have the GW available for you to buy.....

Nope don't own a CB store, live above one, or even have one near me.

10 year plans don’t mean much at Disney…

You do understand they could shutdown feige…or fire him at any minute without notice, right?

It’s a business…a huge one that will demand more…not an arthouse.

 

[Disney Irish]

I agree, we're overdue for a good theatrical Muppets revival. No need to worry about recasts there.

I agree, its time, and use it to refresh all the Muppet attractions around the world and even add a few new ones. And enough time has passed, you might be able to convince Jason Segel to come back.....

 

[Disney Irish]

10 year plans don’t mean much at Disney…

You do understand they could shutdown feige…or fire him at any minute without notice, right?

It’s a business…a huge one that will demand more…not an arthouse.

Oh sure anything is possible, including a meteor falling in Anaheim, Burbank, and Orlando all at the same time.....

However if anyone is untouchable at the company, he is as close as it gets.

Point is he/they have a current plan, of course plans can change, but they have a plan for after the current announced films to bring in Mutants in a huge way.

 

[celluloid]

Except there has never been anything like the MCU, it has lasted longer than any other IP Franchise.

That gets touted a lot, and you can divide and split hairs until you find unique qualities, but really...

There have been others and the Universal Monsters did all this too. Arguably first.

MCU started in 2008.

Universal Monsters 1920s to present with plenty of ebb and flow.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I agree its expected to have huge opening, question is if it'll have broad enough appeal for it to have legs or will it drop off quickly. That I don't know. With the "messages" it has in it and current climate I just don't know how it'll do long term.

It's going to be quite the movie weekend.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig explains movieâs âmic dropâ ending â latest

Gerwig broke the domestic box office record for female director with ‘Barbie’ debut

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Disney Irish]

That gets touted a lot, and you can divide and split hairs until you find unique qualities, but really...

There have been others and the Universal Monsters did all this too. Arguably first.

Eh, I'm not discounting any other "universe" out there. But arguably the MCU has been the first to have a unified universe from the beginning that has tied all the movies together into one overarching continuous story. Universal Monsters for example didn't do that and wasn't conceived as that from the beginning.

So short of maybe Kevin Smith's ViewAskew Universe, which I'm a huge fan of, there really hasn't been another like the MCU. At least that I can remember, but I'm open to being corrected.

 

[Disney Irish]

It's going to be quite the movie weekend.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig explains movieâs âmic dropâ ending â latest

Gerwig broke the domestic box office record for female director with ‘Barbie’ debut

www.independent.co.uk

Yeah, $200M projected for the weekend. It'll be interesting to watch.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Barbie has all sorts of messages in it. It will do huge box office. It is not for you.

Everyone’s excited for Barbie!

But here’s the odd thing. I’ve read two positive reviews of the film in industry sources, and both make negative comments that the film sometimes feels like a freshman women’s study course and stops the satire dead several times to deliver Big Significant Speeches.

Oh no! It’s “woke!”

But where’s the rage? It’s muted or nonexistent, because Disney isn’t really being targeted primarily for the contents of its film. It’s being targeted as part of a larger moral panic about the fact that the ideology of the younger generation isn’t mirroring that of the older. That’s not unusual, of course. What IS unusual is that those younger folks aren’t changing their politics as they get older, and suddenly the generational divide becomes an existential crisis. Thus, the culture war has launched a frantic assault on everything associated with childhood, education, and character formation - schools, colleges, libraries… and Disney. That’s why the mouse is in the crosshairs while any number of seemingly more controversial films - like Barbie - come out from other studios.

 

[celluloid]

Eh, I'm not discounting any other "universe" out there. But arguably the MCU has been the first to have a unified universe from the beginning that has tied all the movies together into one overarching continuous story. Universal Monsters for example didn't do that and wasn't conceived as that from the beginning.

So short of maybe Kevin Smith's ViewAskew Universe, which I'm a huge fan of, there really hasn't been another like the MCU.

Nothing ties anything together from the beginning...as it has to be a hit first.
If Iron man was not a hit first, we would not have gotten Captain America and others rushing to tie in.
And clearly you have not watched the Universal classics that certainly do.

So the splitting hairs part.
Your other comment about it lasting longer than any other IP property is complete bunk because MCU did not start.as a film series until 2008 and it's 2023.
Even if you counted when Marvel movies were first seen as viable attempts in cinema, we go back to the 80s.

Monsters and Bond for example, have far outlasted that, with their own ebb and flow of course.

 

[TP2000]

I was driving all day today, did I miss anything?

No? Good. I drove 7 hours across the desert to get to San Diego. First 2 hours to Las Vegas I listened to the news on Sirius, then had a long lunch/layover at Caesars Palace, then the last 5 hours to the La Jolla Parkway offramp I listened to amateur travel and cooking podcasts.

Not a single Hollywood writer or actor was needed for that entertainment. It's no longer 1985 kids. The world has changed.