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

[Tony the Tigger]

I know this isn't at me, but funnily enough I still haven't seen Inside Out 2 yet. We're nearing the end of our Death Race (only 5 movies to go!) and have decided to save this for last.

Looking forward to seeing how completely my disbelief will be shattered when we get there.

I haven’t seen the first one! Turned it off after 20 minutes. Meh.

If I’m not mistaken, he hasn’t watched a single one of the Disney, Pixar, or Marvel movies or shows under discussion in these threads. I think we should all bear that in mind and reflect on how surreal it is to be exchanging posts with him on this topic (and yes, I’m guilty of it too). Can you imagine how absurd it would be for someone who had never been to the parks and had no interest in any of the attractions to keep posting about them over in the main part of the forum? Would others really engage with such an individual?

I’m amazed some of you still engage. I’ve been at peace since hitting the magic “you don’t bring me joy” button.

Happy to report we both enjoyed the new Cap film! I have zero complaints. So glad we watched the D+ series right before; it was just like continuing the binge. I think the show gives you a better understanding of what Sam is thinking, and neutralizes (while predicting) any and all hateful comments based on race.

Fun flick, plus some deeper meaning via racial commentary. I have no reservations recommending it. P.S. I still don’t like CGI, but that’s life now.

The series also made us more receptive when we saw the Thunderbolts trailer.

Fantastic 4 - maybe 3rd time’s the charm? I haven’t seen a bad Pedro Pascal project yet - and he did one with Nicholas Cage.

 

[wtyy21]

Ne Zha 2 officially dethroned Inside Out 2 becoming the highest grossing animated film all-time. IO2 hold the record for the title for just six months, while 2019 version of The Lion King was the highest grossing animated film, a title that was unchanged for five years before IO2 release. https://english.news.cn/20250218/fecb5a003f3649bfabb46c23af8dcad2/c.html

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" has dethroned Disney's 2024 picture "Inside Out 2" to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time globally.

As of Tuesday evening, the film's worldwide earnings, including presales, surpassed 12.319 billion yuan (about 1.72 billion U.S. dollars), according to data from ticketing platform Maoyan.

This milestone comes just 20 days after its release on Jan. 29 during the Chinese New Year and one day after it reached the all-time global box office top 10.

 

[Phroobar]

Ne Zha 2 officially dethroned Inside Out 2 becoming the highest grossing animated film all-time. IO2 hold the record for the title for just six months, while 2019 version of The Lion King was the highest grossing animated film, a title that was unchanged for five years before IO2 release. https://english.news.cn/20250218/fecb5a003f3649bfabb46c23af8dcad2/c.html

Ne Zha is on Roku channel if you want to see it. If you love anime, this should be right up your alley.

 

[TP2000]

If I’m not mistaken, he hasn’t watched a single one of the Disney, Pixar, or Marvel movies or shows under discussion in these threads.

You aren't mistaken. I stopped seeing Disney/Pixar stuff for the most part once my nephews outgrew them 20 years ago.

That's why you will rarely find me in the various threads dedicated to the individual movies and discussion of their artistic merits, characters, songwriting, special effects, etc. I have no real interest in movies I haven't seen, so why would I discuss them at length?

But the good news is that I'm here in the... wait for it... Disney Box Office thread to discuss box office results.

I think we should all bear that in mind and reflect on how surreal it is to be exchanging posts with him on this topic (and yes, I’m guilty of it too). Can you imagine how absurd it would be for someone who had never been to the parks and had no interest in any of the attractions to keep posting about them over in the main part of the forum? Would others really engage with such an individual?

I agree, that would be bizarre. Which is why I'm here in the Box Office thread discussing (mostly) box office results for Disney's various studios.

It's a financial topic I find interesting as a lifelong Parks fan because the Parks are such a mess right now, and still going downhill, while across the campus in Burbank they seem to be shoveling money into the furnace to create way too many big-budget movie flops. That's not sustainable.

 

[LittleBuford]

I have no real interest in movies I haven't seen, so why would I discuss them at length?

And yet here you are opining repeatedly (and dishonestly) about a character you’ve never seen in a film you’ve never watched.

As I said, it’s surreal and absurd. The rest of us should know better than to feed it. I for one am determined to stop.

 

[brideck]

And yet here you are opining repeatedly (and dishonestly) about a character you’ve never seen in a film you’ve never watched.

Don't you understand? It's because of the intense and egregious impact on the box office that this reality-defying ice hockey coach had. It damaged the movie so much and ruined so many people's experiences that it only made (checks notes) nearly $1.7b at the box office.

 

[LittleBuford]

Don't you understand? It's because of the intense and egregious impact on the box office that this reality-defying ice hockey coach had. It damaged the movie so much and ruined so many people's experiences that it only made (checks notes) nearly $1.7b at the box office.

Thank you for picking up on the utter untenability of the “I only talk about plot points that bear on the box office” defence. That really puts into perspective how nonsensical this all this.

 

[TP2000]

And here you are still doing it. Bringing up a manufactured example to then rail against is ridiculous.

It was a throwaway line I came up with out of thin air meant to be an outlandish example of how woke virtue signaling often reads as cringey and fake to an audience. Nothing more, and I apologize if it wasn't clear that's all it was.

I could have just as easily typed Cambodian Transgender Welder and it would have been the same point, although not as closely related to a recent Pixar product.

I'm sorry that you don't think black people have a place in ice hockey,

Wha???? Talk about reading comprehension skills! Who said that? All I said was that the vast majority of hockey fans, players and coaches are white. It's a thing. Really. Do some Black folks attend hockey games? Of course they do. Has a Black man ever played in the NHL? There's something to Google! Are they in a small racial minority when they do attend games or play in that sport? Yes. For example...

As someone who has actually attended a hockey game in THIS century, I can tell you that your experience is quite outdated and wrong. We are in the 21st century now, things have changed since the 1990s. So your "assurance" here is just wrong.

Portland has changed a bit demographically in the past 30 years. But it's still known as the "Whitest Big City in America" for a reason. It's WHYYYYTE! But to bring things into the 21st century and because this is a Disney Parks website...

Here's a recent and random photo of the crowd at an Anaheim Ducks game, two miles east of Disneyland.

It's not exactly Showtime At The Apollo, is it?

 

[Chi84]

And yet here you are opining repeatedly (and dishonestly) about a character you’ve never seen in a film you’ve never watched.

As I said, it’s surreal and absurd. The rest of us should know better than to feed it. I for one am determined to stop.

Oh you all know better! There’s a sure fire way to stop the nonsense.

 

[TP2000]

And yet here you are opining repeatedly (and dishonestly) about a character you’ve never seen in a film you’ve never watched.

As I said, it’s surreal and absurd. The rest of us should know better than to feed it. I for one am determined to stop.

Don't worry, in just a couple hours the box office data will be out for the full 4 day Presidents Day Weekend, and we can get back on topic!

Captain America.... what's its trajectory from its very modest for Marvel opening weekend?

 

[LittleBuford]

Oh you all know better! There’s a sure fire way to stop the nonsense.

I know, I know. You are absolutely right and have been right this whole time. I’m not capable of pushing the button (I never use it), but I am capable of exercising more self-control, and I promise to do so.

 

[TP2000]

Fun Fact from the Google:

There have been 26 Black players in the NHL since the first Black pro hockey player in 1958; a man by the name of Willie O'Ree who played for the Boston Bruins.

Currently, 97% of NHL players are white, and 3% are from all other races.

Use that info to impress your party guests at your next shindig!

 

[Disstevefan1]

As long as Disney keeps its strangle hold on the 4105 theaters for as long as possible, Cap will do fine.

 

[Disney Irish]

You aren't mistaken. I stopped seeing Disney/Pixar stuff for the most part once my nephews outgrew them 20 years ago.

That's why you will rarely find me in the various threads dedicated to the individual movies and discussion of their artistic merits, characters, songwriting, special effects, etc. I have no real interest in movies I haven't seen, so why would I discuss them at length?

But the good news is that I'm here in the... wait for it... Disney Box Office thread to discuss box office results.



I agree, that would be bizarre. Which is why I'm here in the Box Office thread discussing (mostly) box office results for Disney's various studios.

It's a financial topic I find interesting as a lifelong Parks fan because the Parks are such a mess right now, and still going downhill, while across the campus in Burbank they seem to be shoveling money into the furnace to create way too many big-budget movie flops. That's not sustainable.

Checking notes, Disney at one bad year but otherwise wasn't having a huge number of flops. But has course corrected and is either bringing down budgets or is having huge successes at the box office. So what is your gripe about now? Also "not sustainable"? For who? Disney has huge amounts of cash on the books, if they want to spend hundreds of Millions on a budget for a movie they can do so with very little impact. If they want to fund the Parks, they can do so. The box office is not stopping that. As I like to remind people, its not like the Parks were getting huge infusions of cash in the pre-pandemic days when Disney was ruling the box office and having what seemed like a new $Billion movie every month. So lets not fool ourselves into thinking that somehow that is going to change if Disney just does better at the box office than they did in 2023.

 

[brideck]

Wha???? Talk about reading comprehension skills! Who said that? All I said was that the vast majority of hockey fans, players and coaches are white. It's a thing. Really. Do some Black folks attend hockey games? Of course they do. Has a Black man ever played in the NHL? There's something to Google! Are they in a small racial minority when they do attend games or play in that sport? Yes. For example...

Yeah, man. It's almost like different sports have their own cultural histories and the baggage that goes along with that (not to mention vastly different price points for participation that serve as barriers to entry). But that doesn't mean that something that goes against that cultural history is unrealistic or should "pull you out of a story", it's just a reflection of change, either real or desired. In this case, it's probably a little bit of both.

Also, why would I need to Google black players in the NHL? I can name multiple black Hall of Famers.

 

[brideck]

There have been 26 Black players in the NHL

That is incorrect. That might be a count of players on active rosters today, though obviously that would fluctuate based on in-season player movement.

 

[TP2000]

Checking notes, Disney at one bad year but otherwise wasn't having a huge number of flops. But has course corrected and is either bringing down budgets or is having huge successes at the box office. So what is your gripe about now?

I just want to make sure that Disney and its stable of flagship studios can get back on track. WDAS, Pixar, Marvel, Lucas, etc.

Bob Iger has indicated publicly he is implementing a course correction within his studios, and I'm sure that's angered a lot of the executives who spent 2019-2023 crowing about how woke they can make children's cartoons and stuff. So it will be interesting to see how long it takes to truly flush those original ideas and concepts out of the system.

The damage done to the Star Wars franchise is nearly criminal. And Marvel seems to be coasting on fumes now.

We've still got to get through Snow White next month and the horrendous PR its star created for herself repeatedly, and Captain America's box office is not at all promising so far. But I think by Christmas, 2025 and onward into 2026 we'll start seeing the fruits of Bob's course correction at the box office.

Things aren't totally bleak. I mean, my gosh, I lived through the Herbie Goes Bananas era from Ron Miller!

 

[Disney Irish]

As long as Disney keeps its strangle hold on the 4105 theaters for as long as possible, Cap will do fine.

As there are no real major releases until almost the end of March I don't see that as much of a problem.

 

[LittleBuford]

That is incorrect. That might be a count of players on active rosters today, though obviously that would fluctuate based on in-season player movement.

The demographics of the NHL are in any case irrelevant to a fictional children’s hockey team in an animated film.

 

[brideck]

As there are no real major releases until almost the end of March I don't see that as much of a problem.

Yeah, the next things shooting for broad audiences are what... Snow White followed by Minecraft?