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

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Why, I bet if we compared the views of posters here today to their views in, say, 2015, they would be EXACTLY the same.

I wouldn’t say exactly but I bet on social views, political views, ethical views, etc they would be more or less the same.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for a lot of people’s views on Disney. I was a 100% duster in 2015, now I’m one of the grumpy old timers complaining about all Disney’s bad decisions.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

P.S. “Flight Risk” is already streaming.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Has anyone claimed that “the ‘anti Disney conspiracy’ is bred here”? I honestly can’t recall a single person saying that our discussions in the forum have an impact on the wider world, much less that they’re responsible for Disney’s box-office troubles. Can you?

Not bred here but the influence of influencers has been discussed a lot here.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I wouldn’t say exactly but I bet on social views, political views, ethical views, etc they would be more or less the same.

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for a lot of people’s views on Disney. I was a 100% duster in 2015, now I’m one of the grumpy old timers complaining about all Disney’s bad decisions.

I think a lot depends on the age of the poster in 2015. If they were 18 to 28, they’re still forming opinions more so than if they were 48.

With that said, certain things have shifted culturally in the last 10 years. People who might not have reacted as much to things like minority involvement have been trained to shout “woke” or “DEI” every time they see a black or gay person.

 

[Agent H]

That’s your second reference to Birdman, sounds like he has influenced your choices.

I’ve never heard of him but you’re starting to make me question how much influence influencers actually have.

If by influenced my choices you mean showed me the truth first about cinemasins then about certain people on the internet then yes yes he did in all seriousness I’m not sure what choices you are talking about if you mean me being interested in marvel that is probably my mom’s “fault” I guess the only opinion of mine he’s influenced is that comic book movies should be accurate to the comics I guess you are right than my apologies to both you and Sony

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think a lot depends on the age of the poster in 2015. If they were 18 to 28, they’re still forming opinions more so than if they were 48.

With that said, certain things have shifted culturally in the last 10 years. People who might not have reacted as much to things like minority involvement have been trained to shout “woke” or “DEI” every time they see a black or gay person.

That’s a fair statement, I also think Hollywood has changed a lot over the last 10 years and brought a lot of the backlash on themselves.

I grew up watching the Fresh Prince, the Cosby Show, the Jefferson’s, Family Matters, Martin, and countless other black lead shows, never once had a problem with the casting on the shows, it wasn’t until they started race swapping some of my childhood memories I started getting upset about casting decisions. Same is true with female hero’s, I still think Princess Leah is one of the strongest female characters ever written, loved the Black Widow, thought Ripley from Aliens was the baddest of the bad, loved Sarah Connor’s from Terminator, loved all the Angelina Jolie “badass” movies like Taken, Mr and Mrs Smith, Salt, etc… the animosity towards the boss girls trope wasn’t a thing until Hollywood decided to take all the male superheroes we grew up with and make them female versions.

I don’t understand the LGBT backlash so I can’t really explain that one, maybe just that it’s a new thing so people are still uncomfortable with it. I found the backlash to gay characters in shows like Lightyear laughable because it was so subtle to begin with. Much ado about nothing.

Hollywood used to write great black and female characters, now they just race and gender swap the characters we grew up with and then wonder why it bothers us and we scream about it. I think Hollywood got lazy and changed more than the audiance did.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Hollywood decided to take all the male superheroes we grew up with and make them female versions.

This statement is the product of propaganda, not reality.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

If by influenced my choices you mean showed me the truth first about cinemasins then about certain people on the internet then yes yes he did in all seriousness I’m not sure what choices you are talking about if you mean me being interested in marvel that is probably my mom’s “fault” I guess the only opinion of mine he’s influenced is that comic book movies should be accurate to the comics I guess you are right than my apologies to both you and Sony

Nothing to apologize about, I watch a ridiculous swath of stuff on YouTube, I love my views being challenged, sometimes shows show me a different perspective, nothing wrong with that, in fact it should be celebrated. Critical Drinker isn’t one of those channels I watch to be challenged though, I watch it for cheap laughs.

 

[LittleBuford]

Not bred here but the influence of influencers has been discussed a lot here.

OK, but there’s a very different thing from what was being mockingly claimed here. What’s the point in discussion if we’re not going to respond to what people actually post?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Has anyone claimed that “the ‘anti Disney conspiracy’ is bred here”? I honestly can’t recall a single person saying that our discussions in the forum have an impact on the wider world, much less that they’re responsible for Disney’s box-office troubles. Can you?

Man, it’s insane that PR is a billion dollar business, since influencing people is impossible. And all those history books showing concrete examples of the overwhelming power of propaganda must be fake. And both US parties were probably trying to ban Tik Tok just because they were bored. Oh, and the attacks on information sources that have defined US politics for almost a decade are probably just a coincidence.

Or maybe this board is just full of exceptional people whose opinions are completely immune to outside influence - gods among humanity. Basic human qualities like Tribalism are just alien to the posters here. Why, I bet if we compared the views of posters here today to their views in, say, 2015, they would be EXACTLY the same.

I think it’s done well considering it has The Little Mermaid Syndrome. “Not my cap” is all over social media, for…reasons.

Someone suggested it might hit $700m. The not my cappers could easily be the “missing” $300m.

Just so much to choke on…I mean…”digest” here

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

OK, but there’s a very different thing from what was being mockingly claimed here. What’s the point in discussion if we’re not going to respond to what people actually post?

I agree but we often read a dozen posts and then go back to respond to the general idea rather than a very specific post or word.

 

[LittleBuford]

I agree but we often read a dozen posts and then go back to respond to the general idea rather than a very specific post or word.

That’s fair, but I also think it’s something we have to watch out for and avoid, because it’s how the discussions here descend into misinformation, snideness, and name-calling.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Every single human is susceptible to media influence and propaganda, the line between the two being blurred and often controversial. I am susceptible. You are susceptible. The only (imperfect) defenses are self-awareness, humility, and a knowledge of the history and patterns of media influence. When someone claims they can’t be influenced, it’s a sign they lack all three and are thus particularly susceptible.

 

[DisneyWarrior27]

My pure guesses about Disney movies in 2025 having no idea how much the real (actual) costs to make and market.

Captain America: Brave New World
Break even, make some money

Snow White
Loss

Thunderbolts
Break even, make some money

Lilo & Stitch
Blockbuster

Elio
Winner, short of blockbuster

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Winner, short of blockbuster

Freakier Friday
Winner, short of blockbuster

Tron: Ares
Break even, make some money

Zootopia 2
Blockbuster

Avatar: Fire and Ash
Blockbuster

I actually think Elio will be a hit, Thunderbolts will be an hit with $450M WW against a $150M budget, and Fantastic 4 (after its trailer debut was the 10th biggest global launch for a trailer in 24 hours with 202 million views) is a billion dollar blockbuster.

 

[DisneyWarrior27]

If I were Disney, here’s what I’d do in the wake of Cap 4’s opening weekend and in the event its second weekend drops like a stone, if the B-CinemaScore is any indication, to not let the “MCU is dead” rhetoric spread:

1. Show their confidence in Thunderbolts* being a Guardians of the Gakaxy-type hit by having the world premiere at the El Capitan on the week before its release on Monday, April 21, and then have it get free, early, first-come, first-serve IMAX screenings a week before release, like they did with Shang-Chi and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, to help save that movie’s box office and boost its chances of being a hit.

2. Keep Daredevil: Born Again’s weekly release schedule as-is when it kicks off with a 2-episode premiere on March 4th, but have it end with a 2-episode finale on April 15th, so it can end before Andor Season 2 begins a week later on April 22nd, and so there can be more breathing room between Daredevil and Thunderbolts*.

3. Have IronHeart (the final story of Phase 5 of the MCU), which I heard is decent (meaning most likely better than Brave New World), drop all its 6 episodes at once on Tuesday, June 24th at 9PM to soften the blow and prevent any weekly discourse of this show being “woke” like they did with Echo and to give The Fantastic 4: First Steps a month of breathing room from IronHeart so people will still be hyped and focused on that movie.

4. Continue to market The Fantastic 4: First Steps like it will be Marvel Studios’ big event movie of 2025 that will make a billion worldwide after that trailer launch with 202 million views globally in its first 24 hours. That IMAX countdown spot was a good start and I hope they keep it up from there.

5. And finally, for the Wonder Man series hitting Disney+ in December, kickstart its marketing in a big way by dropping the trailer at Comic-Con, 5 months before release, to let people know this is a can’t-miss series and so more marketing for Wonder Man will help get more eyes on that series, especially if the rumors are true Wonder Man will be back in the next two Avengers movies.

 

[wtyy21]

Just reminder, in just a few hours, Ne Zha 2 might soon surpass Inside Out 2, which is currently the highest grossing animated film ($1.7B) and was previously held by 2019 The Lion King ($1.65B) five years ago before IO2's release, to become the highest grossing one.

The film has already became the first film to grossed $1 billion in a single market.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Just reminder, in just a few hours, Ne Zha 2 might soon surpass Inside Out 2, which is currently the highest grossing animated film ($1.7B) and was previously held by 2019 The Lion King ($1.65B) five years ago before IO2's release, to become the highest grossing one.

The film has already became the first film to grossed $1 billion in a single market.

Huh?? What is this?

 

[BrianLo]

Unfortunately the same can’t be said for a lot of people’s views on Disney. I was a 100% duster in 2015, now I’m one of the grumpy old timers complaining about all Disney’s bad decisions.

This is an interesting point that I’ve wanted to touch on but there’s never been a way to do so. I’ve noted there’s a little gaggle of you that have swung from one extreme to the other, probably too much so on both ends. Not you per se, but when duster is thrown around like an insult from the ‘enlightened’ who are actually just withdrawing former addicts themselves.

I don’t think I’m a contrarian… but I feel like a weirdo who was actually quite down on WDW in the timeframe you mention and felt very high on Universals prospects and Disneyland. My opinions actually have gone the opposite direction from what everyone else seems to have.

I felt WDW was incredibly crusty a little over a decade ago. Now I feel like we’ve seen the consequences of Universals poor investment choices and WDW is partially a refreshened experience compared to the declining rotting experience it was in the early 2010’s.

@TP2000 can back me up on this. I was dunking on WDW along with him.

I’m sort of left with why is that? Were people more in love with something that wasn’t actually there anymore? Do I like new good things almost pathologically more than nostalgia compared to everyone? Perhaps. Though good doesn’t apply to Universal. Is my opinion both ahead and simultaneously lagging? It’s at odds for sure. Now this is based on the hard product, I can’t obviously summarize the soft goods and pricing as better, but maybe I just weight those things less than average.

Also do you all have some accountability towards your own burnout? Not in an accusatory way, but I don’t seem to over consume the compound quite in the way a lot of people were last decade.

 

[Farerb]

Just reminder, in just a few hours, Ne Zha 2 might soon surpass Inside Out 2, which is currently the highest grossing animated film ($1.7B) and was previously held by 2019 The Lion King ($1.65B) five years ago before IO2's release, to become the highest grossing one.

The film has already became the first film to grossed $1 billion in a single market.

Huh?? What is this?

Money laundering.

 

[OzAn]

Money laundering.

Or maybe a real wake-up call to Disney and Pixar that they have been resting on their laurels for too long and other studios can now make genuinely just as good if not better animated movie ?

I had no idea what this Ne Zha 2 thing was two days ago having never watched the first one. But hear it was going viral, and it was playing at the local AMC, and I still had a Christmas giftcard I needed to use.

Came out of the movies completely wowed by the spectacular CGI and battle scenes that just kept on giving. Story was easy enough to follow even if some things get lost in translation due to cultural barrier, but it balanced comedy and tear jerking moments very well. Easily the best animated movie in the last decade, and more entertainmimg than anything Marvel put out recently. You can tell a lot of heart and efforts were put into the movie.

I know its easy to automatically dismiss anything that is not American success as fake from pure bias, but after actually watching it, I have no issue seeing why this movie is capable of 2 Billion based on WOM. But if Disney and Pixar react the same way as you then they are in deep trouble is all I can say.