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Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs
- Thread starter Disney Analyst
- Start date
I honestly just am shocked to say that the top three movies are all well under 200 million in budget and none had a previous film installment to their canon.
flynnibus
Premium Member
And yet some people believe disney budgets are ‘just keeping up with inflation’ and ‘how can they reduce budgets without reducing appeal’
Well just look folks
Yeah it is a tired argument isn't it?
What is funny is clearly they are not keeping up because they are refusing to pay the people who are paid the least for their time are striking and the most paid are supporting them. The people at the top just want to cushion those deep pockets with everything costing millions more than it probably should.
Angel Ariel
Well-Known Member
Where then do you consider the upcoming captain America movie? It’s not a spin-off any more (falcon and winter soldier is a spin-off, sure, a movie headlining “captain America” is not the same). It’s also not a continuation of Steve Rogers’ story (so not just a recasting). Same mantle, different character, new origin story and new antagonists moving forward.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Its a continuation of the Sam Wilson story who has taken up the Captain America mantle. "Captain America" is not a "character" its more a title or role that can be passed from person to person, hence the term mantle. In the MCU Steve Rogers was the character who had the Captain America mantle, and was passed to John Walker during Falcon/Winter Solider by the government before being taken up by Sam Wilson.
So its not a reboot as they are not rebooting Steve Rogers or even Sam Wilson's story. Its not a remake as they aren't retelling Steve Rogers' or even Sam Wilson's story they already told.
Its a continuation of the same continuity within the MCU.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
“Look everybody! Barbie and Super Mario are huge hits! Films don’t need to be based on pre-existing IPs anymore!”
My husband already said social media managed to turn Oppenheimer into the "minion moms".
Actually can't wait to watch it it as I'm sure it's excellent.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
What this shows is that the consumer is now very picky about what they spend their money on at the theater. Something we've been talking about previously in this thread.
What this means for Disney at this point, who knows. My personal opinion is they will be fine, bad summer yes, but they will be fine overall. We'll see how they respond to this in the coming months and years.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
My hope is Disney will wake up and realize there’s a benefit to allowing talented directors/writers to pursue their vision with studio backing. I don’t love the idea of Barbie 2: Back to Barbieland (felt Barbie 1 was enough of a mixed bag) and I’m over the insistence on franchises, but if Disney would hire talented filmmakers and let them do their thing it would be a vast improvement over the anonymous corporate slop they’ve poured in the troughs these last few years.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
I agree, the "BarbenHeimer" meme aspect has taken this summer by storm. Something that just a couple weeks ago wasn't thought possible.My husband already said social media managed to turn Oppenheimer into the "minion moms".
Actually can't wait to watch it it as I'm sure it's excellent.
Oppenheimer is VERY adult, with its subject matter and other adult themes I won't get into here. I watched it, it was good. So it obviously isn't going to get a 1-for-1 same crowd, but I'm sure Nolan is happy for the bump from "BarbenHeimer".
Now the only question will be if this is a long term thing or opening weekend only......
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I am pretty much on this page.
Hats off on all fronts to Barbie. Once the buzz for that film started building it seemed inevitable it was going to be a rare cinematic event and, while I haven't seen it yet, I am pleased to see it doing so well!
I'm not sure what lessons to take from that more broadly, though. "Just make better films" doesn't seem it, as presumably the studios all think they're making great films and there's not exactly a science to knowing what will hit with the public. I saw the new Mission: Impossible film this past weekend and, while I don't really follow the series closely, I have no idea why that has underperformed as it seems to be entirely the kind of thrill-ride summer blockbuster that should do well.
Best I can tell, the lesson from the past few years are that mega hits are still possible but will likely be fewer and further between, so studios have to adjust budgets and/or expectations to fit this new reality. In a case like TLM, for example, should its results going forward be seen as more reasonable than disappointing if it ends up falling short of profitability at the box office but ultimately makes a tidy profit once it receives a hunk of streaming revenue? In other words, are we going to start considering streaming revenue more when looking at the financial performance of films?
Excuse me to be impatient, but I wish those Hollywood executives just hurry up to make a fair and better deal to the actors and writers soon to end the strike! No doom and gloom required, but it’s still killing me! Before you all say that I need to chill or wait, like I said, I can’t help myself, okay?
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
In the short run, this Summer is going to result in the studios cranking out a lot of films based on culturally relevant but previously unfilmed IPs, mainly video games and toys, which will be substantially worse then the flood of superhero cinema since superhero comics are at least an easily cinematically translatable, narrative form. Mattel has successfully established itself as a cross platform entertainment company - they are opening a theme park and we should expect Hot Wheels, He-Man (some studio will grab this despite the production problems), and other Mattel films. Not a particularly invigorating outlook.
I agree, the M:I films are absolutely perfectly crafted popcorn cinema. I’m not sure what audiences want if it’s not that.
Well, I’m sure everyone on these boards will be very excited for the next film written by Barbies Greta Gerwig - the Snow White remake.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Here's an interesting take on the Hollywood strikes...
Southern California's labor and financial problems are the fault of Northern California's failing tech gurus.
www.latimes.com
"But it's not, ultimately, technology that's at the root of the problem. It's that the studio executives both new and old have embraced the powerful — and ultimately disastrous — magical thinking pumped out by Silicon Valley for the last 10 years.
Studio heads are touting the disruptive properties of digital streaming, the transformative power of AI, a brave, unpredictable new world for entertainment writ large — and how writers and actors must adapt to this new future. But just as it did when it was issuing from the tech sector during the 2010s, this talk too often amounts to a smokescreen that lets executives and investors line their pockets and risks leaving workers holding the bag."
Etc., etc. plus a dig at Bob Iger personally, at the LA Times link.
Southern California's labor and financial problems are the fault of Northern California's failing tech gurus.
Column: Hollywood is on strike because CEOs fell for Silicon Valley's magical thinking
Inspired by the success of Netflix, Hollywood studios pursued Silicon Valley-style hypergrowth with tactics borrowed from the likes of Uber and Lyft.
www.latimes.com
"But it's not, ultimately, technology that's at the root of the problem. It's that the studio executives both new and old have embraced the powerful — and ultimately disastrous — magical thinking pumped out by Silicon Valley for the last 10 years.
Studio heads are touting the disruptive properties of digital streaming, the transformative power of AI, a brave, unpredictable new world for entertainment writ large — and how writers and actors must adapt to this new future. But just as it did when it was issuing from the tech sector during the 2010s, this talk too often amounts to a smokescreen that lets executives and investors line their pockets and risks leaving workers holding the bag."
Etc., etc. plus a dig at Bob Iger personally, at the LA Times link.
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Disney Irish
Premium Member
I agree, while I didn't think it would do well initially I'm happy overall that Barbie is doing well. I did see it on Thursday, and while I thought it was just ok may a 7 out of 10 in my book, I can see its appeal to others. Again the question will be if this is just a huge opening weekend and then fall off, or if it'll have legs through the summer, we'll see.
Agreed. Just saying "make better films" is too broad and very subjective. And what MI:7 shows is that "star power" is not a guarantee to box office success, second weekend is looking to have a huge drop off.
Overall this summer was too crowded and not spread out enough, and the box office show that. There wasn't enough time for many movies to really breathe and find an audience, and the ones that did were few and far between. So studios are going to have to find a way to spread out their movies more.
And yes streaming revenue is going to have to be included into financial performance of movies, its no longer just a box office make/break world. This is why the current strikes are important, because its going to end up legitimizing streaming in the larger conversation about its role in a movies financial performance.
Barbie is just a great, popcorn, summer movie. She's great, Ryan Gosling is just fantastic and you feel good when watching.
Not sure why you feel the need to diminish great acting, great writing and great directing. Is it Citizen Kane? No. It's fun and deserves the big numbers.
And Greta Gerwig is talented.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
Nowhere did I denigrate Barbie. You should read what I wrote.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
That's exactly what I got out of Barbie the first time I watched the trailer a month ago, and I was immediately all in on it.
I like my movies to be upbeat, funny, and if there's a message involved it should all end on a high note and with optimism. Barbie looks like the kind of sunny, happy optimism I love in my entertainment. Especially in the middle of summer.
I had no idea who she was a month ago, but with a name like that she's certainly memorable. And obviously very talented.