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

[Tony the Tigger]

They can remake TLM a dozen different ways but no matter what they do Ariel will always be the one I grew up with, same with SW, Cinderella, and the other classics

Yes, well, you’re all grown up. New little kids are growing up now, and they deserve their own memories, and especially memories that represent more of them - not just the white ones, who are no longer so dominant.

 

[TalkingHead]

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.

I’ve been curious if anyone here has seen it so thanks for sharing your impressions. Skimming letterboxd reviews, it sounds like a spectacle so may have to check it out.

There’s a good book waiting to be written about the China-Disney relationship. Not sure it would be flattering to Iger.

 

[Farerb]

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.

China cracks down on "Ip Man 3" distributor over fake ticket sales

China's film industry regulator has suspended the license of a company for fraudulently exaggerating box office sales for "Ip Man 3," which stars former boxer Mike Tyson and Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen.

money.cnn.com

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

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.

I think this is a big part of it, when something is new to you it’s easy to be so overwhelmed by all the wonder you overlook the flaws, as the newness fades you start to notice the cracks.

I think this is true of everything, I lived in Utah for 15 years and by the end couldn’t wait to move, now when I go back to visit my family I’m blown away by how beautiful it is, how friendly everyone is, and question why I ever moved. I’ve lived in Vegas for over 20 years and am in that place now, I still love Vegas but I’m so sick of brown and chaos, I want to live somewhere with trees and lakes and fewer people.

Grass is greener syndrome.

Yes, well, you’re all grown up. New little kids are growing up now, and they deserve their own memories, and especially memories that represent more of them - not just the white ones, who are no longer so dominant.

But why limit the new memories to the kids? Why not kill 2 birds with one stone and give us old timers new memories too?

If you’re going to spend $200 million making a movie why not make something original like Encanto that will be remembered for decades by everyone, wouldn’t that be a better use of money and talent than another slightly changed remake that will be important to a few but quickly forgotten by most?

 

[Agent H]

We were waiting for this to turn out to be fake. The take was way too good to be true.

How is it fake?

 

[MisterPenguin]

How is it fake?

3 posts up

 

[Farerb]

3 posts up

To be fair, it's about a movie from 8 years ago, but wouldn't surprise me if this Ne Zha is a similar case.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I think this is a big part of it, when something is new to you it’s easy to be so overwhelmed by all the wonder you overlook the flaws, as the newness fades you start to notice the cracks.

I think this is true of everything, I lived in Utah for 15 years and by the end couldn’t wait to move, now when I go back to visit my family I’m blown away by how beautiful it is, how friendly everyone is, and question why I ever moved. I’ve lived in Vegas for over 20 years and am in that place now, I still love Vegas but I’m

so sick of brown and chaos, I want to live somewhere with trees and lakes and fewer people.

Grass is greener syndrome.


But why limit the new memories to the kids? Why not kill 2 birds with one stone and give us old timers new memories too?

If you’re going to spend $200 million making a movie why not make something original like Encanto that will be remembered for decades by everyone, wouldn’t that be a better use of money and talent than another slightly changed remake that will be important to a few but quickly forgotten by most?

I feel like there aren’t enough words for proper responses to this, and I hate putting a lot into a well thought out post and then it gets deleted.

I think, as I said, they can do both new stuff and remakes - as Hollywood has always done.

A lot of their properties may end up as public domain, so rather than let the horror version of Winnie The Pooh take over, why not assert your brand by doing your own remakes, and make remakes by others pointless, or at least secondary?

As long as they’re doing remakes down the line, why repeat things that are no longer socially current?

I think they are playing the long game. The white majority is in decline, the various browns are ascendant.

The popularity of IMO improperly maligned, ignored, or boycotted projects such as TLM, SW, Ms. Marvel, etc. will be seen in retrospect as ahead of their time, and will be appreciated by what will then be a new majority.

I grew up in the 70’s with zero gay representation on TV or in movies unless it was bad.

Do you realize how much less confused I may have been with simple representation per usual? I may not have wasted my teen years trying to force myself to do things. I might not have wasted my early 20’s when it came to starting my romantic life (I came out at 25.) I certainly wouldn’t have attempted suicide at 19.

I think that’s worth making some old farts uncomfortable or mad.

So I think a Latina seeing herself as the de facto #1 princess, and not just an ancillary one, can affect many lives in positive ways - and white people don’t lose anything in the process unless they decide to be upset. I decide not to be upset. I’m happy to give others a turn.

 

[MisterPenguin]

To be fair, it's about a movie from 8 years ago, but wouldn't surprise me if this Ne Zha is a similar case.

Oh, I didn't read the movie title. My bad.

 

[Disstevefan1]

3 posts up

Darn, missed it,post got deleted.

Could this be how the mods keep us engaged; must stay on the site, and read all posts in real time or else miss the good posts?

 

[brideck]

China cracks down on "Ip Man 3" distributor over fake ticket sales

China's film industry regulator has suspended the license of a company for fraudulently exaggerating box office sales for "Ip Man 3," which stars former boxer Mike Tyson and Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen.

money.cnn.com

From reading around, it sounds like China's BO reporting structure was revamped significantly 4-5 years ago, such that current numbers are much more likely to be true.

I think we often forget just how many people live in China and just how nationalistic they are, so it makes sense to me that a well-done franchise movie centered around well-known legendary figures could break the bank when released over Chinese New Year.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Do you realize how much less confused I may have been with simple representation per usual? I may not have wasted my teen years trying to force myself to do things. I might not have wasted my early 20’s when it came to starting my romantic life (I came out at 25.) I certainly wouldn’t have attempted suicide at 19.

I think that’s worth making some old farts uncomfortable or mad.

So I think a Latina seeing herself as the de facto #1 princess, and not just an ancillary one, can affect many lives in positive ways - and white people don’t lose anything in the process unless they decide to be upset. I decide not to be upset. I’m happy to give others a turn.

This kind of reinforces my point though, when they finally do make a movie centered around a gay character I hope it’s not a simple character swap and is something similar to Turning Red that explores the confusion, struggles, supportive friends, and is a coming of age story that will speak to gay kids rather than just a retelling of Aladdin where Aladdin happens to be gay.

Would a gay Aladdin have made you less confused as a kid or would you rather see a new, purpose written, story like Turning Red that actually addresses the struggles and inner questions of gay kids and shows how the character comes to accept it?

I’d argue the same with the Latina Princess, do you think little Latina girls will relate more with Elena and Maribel, purpose written Latina characters, or Zeglers Snow White?

ETA… these are genuine questions, maybe as a straight white man I simply don’t get the power of simple representation and maybe all it does take is a gay Aladdin, that seems lazy to me but I’m not the intended audience so maybe I just can’t comprehend it.

 

[brideck]

If you’re going to spend $200 million making a movie why not make something original like Encanto that will be remembered for decades by everyone, wouldn’t that be a better use of money and talent than another slightly changed remake that will be important to a few but quickly forgotten by most?

If the movie-going public didn't reward franchises/remakes, then you wouldn't see them get made. Though you and I may not see much of a point to them, the masses seem to disagree. And they're never wrong, right?

 

[TP2000]

I grew up in the 70’s with zero gay representation on TV or in movies unless it was bad.

I am older than you and was out on the town boogeying my way through the 70's, and I don't remember it being quite as bleak as that.

Off the top of my head, I can think of several major network prime-time TV shows that had very positive and normalized gay representation starting around 1973 or so.... The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, Soap, and I'm sure there were some others.

The references stick in my mind 50 years later because it was done so well then, and presented us as normal and routine parts of society. Sure, there were still a lot of gay jokes and gay double entendre going around in some adult-themed shows, but the early and mid 70's were also when gay folks could be on prime time networks and be shown as just average, normal Americans. It was a huge change, and we were thrilled. After all, you can't go from segregated drinking fountains to President Obama in only two years time; big societal change requires individual steps and subtle progression.

And then of course there's every single damn episode of The Hollywood Squares in the 1970's with Paul Lynde in the center square. That was always a good time!

 

[DKampy]

Off the top of my head, I can think of several major network prime-time TV shows that had very positive and normalized gay representation starting around 1973 or so.... The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, Soap, and I'm sure there were some others.

Which why it feels like we are regressing backwards… series like Maude and All in the Family would be deemed “woke” by today’s standards

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The only “gay” shows I watched regularly were Will and Grace, Queer eye for the straight guy, and Modern family and I don’t recall any of them being called woke. The first 2 may have been before woke became a commonly used term though.

 

[Agent H]

This kind of reinforces my point though, when they finally do make a movie centered around a gay character I hope it’s not a simple character swap and is something similar to Turning Red that explores the confusion, struggles, supportive friends, and is a coming of age story that will speak to gay kids rather than just a retelling of Aladdin where Aladdin happens to be gay.

Would a gay Aladdin have made you less confused as a kid or would you rather see a new, purpose written, story like Turning Red that actually addresses the struggles and inner questions of gay kids and shows how the character comes to accept it?

I’d argue the same with the Latina Princess, do you think little Latina girls will relate more with Elena and Maribel, purpose written Latina characters, or Zeglers Snow White?

ETA… these are genuine questions, maybe as a straight white man I simply don’t get the power of simple representation and maybe all it does take is a gay Aladdin, that seems lazy to me but I’m not the intended audience so maybe I just can’t comprehend it.

You do make a good point I don’t feel the way I normally do about a statement like this whenever I see it in YouTube comment sections I go

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

You do make a good point I don’t feel the way I normally do about a statement like this whenever I see it in YouTube comment sections I go

I mostly agree but there are a few good ones, I’m a huge hockey fan and sites like the Hockey Guy have good discussions in the comments, same is true of most “car” sites like Vice Grip Garage, you get a few Ford vs Dodge comments but for the most part it’s just people talking about cars.

I don’t even bother with the comment sections on sites involving politics or social issues though because they are bound to be troll central.

 

[Agent H]

I mostly agree but there are a few good ones, I’m a huge hockey fan and sites like the Hockey Guy have good discussions in the comments, same is true of most “car” sites like Vice Grip Garage, you get a few Ford vs Dodge comments but for the most part it’s just people talking about cars.

I don’t even bother with the comment sections on sites involving politics or social issues though because they are bound to be troll central.

I was referring to YouTube specifically as a platform it’s really going downhill

 

[TP2000]

Which why it feels like we are regressing backwards… series like Maude and All in the Family would be deemed “woke” by today’s standards

I don't know about that, as they were certainly unapologetically liberal shows created by a liberal team. But I don't think they crossed the line into "woke" as we know and use that word today. (Or at least how many people use the word "woke" as a put down or criticism) Tellingly, those 70's shows often had huge weekly audiences and were in the Top 10 in the ratings.

The stuff on TV that is "woke" today is often watched by almost no one, or at best has a very limited pop culture reach. I was a huge fan of Schitt's Creek the moment it first aired due to my longtime love of anything Catherine O'Hara is in; that show had multiple gay characters and plotlines, but it was such an overwhelmingly fun and funny show that no one seemed to care. That's as it should be. Schitt's Creek wasn't woke, it was just damn funny.

All that said, in the 1970's for every gay character or plotline who showed up quietly on Mary Tyler Moore or Maude, there were 10 other shows that were shlocky and horrible in the 70's. The list of utter crap that was found on the 3 networks in that decade is a mile long.

I don't think young people realize how great TV is now that we have Netflix and Apple+ and so many niche cable networks for programming our evenings. If they went back in time and spent one Tuesday night in 1977 trying to entertain themselves with the 3 networks, they'd die.