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

[bwr827]

I was indeed surprised when Inside Out 2 broke the pattern as suddenly and completely as it did. To me at least, it’s not all that easy to make sense of.

Others have already offered helpful insights that help explain how Inside Out 2 did not accomplish this pattern-break out of the blue, nor all by itself.

Setting aside my overly rude approach, the isolated and simplistic view is why it was so obvious where you were taking your line of thinking.

 

[LittleBuford]

Fair enough, my apologies.

Thanks, I appreciate that.

 

[LittleBuford]

Others have already offered helpful insights that help explain how Inside Out 2 did not accomplish this pattern-break out of the blue, nor all by itself.

Setting aside my overly rude approach, the isolated and simplistic view is why it was so obvious where you were taking your line of thinking.

I’m not sure I understand you here. To clarify what I’m saying:

• I thought we would see at least another year of iffy box-office performances from Disney based on my (apparently mistaken) belief that the company had suffered long-term damage to its reputation.
• I wouldn’t have been overly surprised had a Frozen-style blockbuster broken the pattern sooner than my imagined timeframe. Before it was released, I even wondered if Wish might be that blockbuster (it obviously wasn’t).
• It would never have occurred to me that Inside Out 2 would end up being that film. Its level of success would have been surprising to me even before 2020.

I’m not sure if that makes sense. I admit my thinking on this is quite muddled.

 

[CinematicFusion]

The fact is, some films did not do well for a myriad of reasons. Yet one side decided to use those flops as fodder for their “anti-woke” messaging, when the truth is that made a negligible difference.

Plenty of presumably “woke” films have been smash hits (cough Barbie cough). But they refuse to see the idiocy of their argument, and double down.

Disney is successful again at the box office, and not a peep from them.

Or…
The success of “woke” narratives in films varies with the target market. The Barbie movie resonates well with its core audience of young girls and women, aligning with themes of empowerment and diversity.
In contrast, franchises like Marvel and Star Wars have historically male-dominated fanbases, making it more challenging to integrate progressive themes without facing resistance from a wide part of their audience.

Ultimately, understanding and appealing to the target market, managing audience expectations, and authentically weaving themes into the story are key factors in the success of any film narrative.

Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, and the entire Deadpool movie provided a warm, loving embrace for the Marvel male target audience. Similarly, Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom will also excite and engage that target market.

Deadpool's Audience Under The Microscope

Movio’s data scientists have analyzed the evolution of the audience of one of 2016’s biggest hits, Deadpool.

vistagroup.co.nz

 

[easyrowrdw]

What surprised me the most last year was MI 7. Despite great reviews from audiences and critics, and with Cruise coming off the mega-hit Maverick, I thought the movie was a great action film… but it bombed. Still scratching my head at that one.

Maybe everyone went to watch Glen Powell in Maverick.

I think a lot of it was timing. Oppenheimer and Barbie opened right after MI7. Oppenheimer took most of the IMAX screens and both movies seemed to suck up all the attention from a larger cultural perspective.

 

[Ghost93]

oI’m so confused. After initially resisting the idea, I really became convinced that Disney’s box-office slump was due in part to ideological opposition to the company, and then Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine (which I just saw) came along. Whatever the explanation, I’m glad we can (begin to) move on from some of the notions that have dominated these threads during the last two years.

Well, to be fair, Ron DeSantis has largely backed off attacking Disney in the past few months since he's no longer running for president. Whereas in 2022 and 2023, Disney was the political punching bag he needed and it was in his interest to keep the culture raging against Disney.

 

[LittleBuford]

Well, to be fair, Ron DeSantis has largely backed off attacking Disney in the past few months since he's no longer running for president. Whereas in 2022 and 2023, Disney was the political punching bag he needed and it was in his interest to keep the culture raging against Disney.

I suppose I find it difficult to wrap my head around the idea that the DeSantis feud can have had such an impact, particularly given that the trends under discussion happened at an international level. Anyway, I’m happy to accept that there are no simple explanations.