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

[Animaniac93-98]

That seems to be the case with a lot of other people, but I don't know why. I was born in the 90s and I LOVED Snow White as a child. It completely captivated me and I enjoyed it much more than Cinderella and the majority of Walt-era Disney films.

Snow White's original VHS release in 1994 was a huge success. It outsold Jurassic Park. It remained one of the best selling VHS tapes ever (Disney or otherwise) by the end of the decade.

Many children of that time were exposed to it that way, or during the prior 1993 theatrical re-release (first ever movie to get a frame-by-frame digital restoration).

You could dismiss that by saying parents would just buy any Disney tape for their kids in those days, but other movies didn't come close to those sales. People wanted this movie more than others.

Maybe it helps that it was one of the first full-length movies I saw? I found all of the scenes with Snow White and the animals cleaning and the silly antics of the dwarves to be very funny, charming and entertaining as a kid. Maybe older audiences would see a lot of those sequences as pointless filler?

It's always played well to adults and kids. Times change, the movie ages in more ways than one, but people still like it.

This was written nearly 50 years ago, but Snow White itself was already 40 years old by then:

"In my earlier book, I stated that Pinocchio was probably Disney's greatest film, but I have since revised my opinion and now believe that - while Pinocchio is still a marvelous achievement - Snow White deserves to take top honors. My reason for this change of opinion is quite simple. While researching the first book, I spent many hours in screening rooms viewing all of Disney's animated features and many of the shorts and live-action films. Under those conditions, with no audience to distract me, I was dazzled by the technical brilliance of Pinocchio, which has never been surpassed, and on the strength of that rated it slightly higher than Snow White.

Later, however, I has the opportunity to see both pictures again in a packaged theater surrounded by 1,500 other people. The audience loved Pinocchio and was as impressed by its brilliance as I had been, but there were moments (very few) when everyone's attention seemed to flag, however briefly. Each scene is magnificent, but occasionally the momentum is lost as the story moves from one scene to the next. When Snow White was shown, on the other hand, the audience was enthralled from beginning to end. For the entire running time of eighty-three minutes, everyone was gripped by the story. The audience's concentration was never broken. People shivered as the huntsman stood poised to plunge his knife into Snow White's back; they cheered as the wicked Queen fell to her death. (And this was not an audience of children. It was composed of presumably sophisticated adults at New York's Lincoln Center.)

- Christopher Finch, "Walt Disney's America" (1978)

I also still think the Evil Queen is the scariest Disney villain. I hid behind the couch during all the scenes where she was in her hag form.

Evil Queen/Witch has been scaring kids since day 1.

Disney has even leaned into that in the past when advertising the movie saying it was both their "merriest" and "scariest"

 

[Agent H]

Snow White's original VHS release in 1994 was a huge success. It outsold Jurassic Park. It remained one of the best selling VHS tapes ever (Disney or otherwise) by the end of the decade.

Many children of that time were exposed to it that way, or during the prior 1993 theatrical re-release (first ever movie to get a frame-by-frame digital restoration).

You could dismiss that by saying parents would just buy any Disney tape for their kids in those days, but other movies didn't come close to those sales. People wanted this movie more than others.



It's always played well to adults and kids. Times change, the movie ages in more ways than one, but people still like it.

This was written nearly 50 years ago, but Snow White itself was already 40 years old by then:

"In my earlier book, I stated that Pinocchio was probably Disney's greatest film, but I have since revised my opinion and now believe that - while Pinocchio is still a marvelous achievement - Snow White deserves to take top honors. My reason for this change of opinion is quite simple. While researching the first book, I spent many hours in screening rooms viewing all of Disney's animated features and many of the shorts and live-action films. Under those conditions, with no audience to distract me, I was dazzled by the technical brilliance of Pinocchio, which has never been surpassed, and on the strength of that rated it slightly higher than Snow White.

Later, however, I has the opportunity to see both pictures again in a packaged theater surrounded by 1,500 other people. The audience loved Pinocchio and was as impressed by its brilliance as I had been, but there were moments (very few) when everyone's attention seemed to flag, however briefly. Each scene is magnificent, but occasionally the momentum is lost as the story moves from one scene to the next. When Snow White was shown, on the other hand, the audience was enthralled from beginning to end. For the entire running time of eighty-three minutes, everyone was gripped by the story. The audience's concentration was never broken. People shivered as the huntsman stood poised to plunge his knife into Snow White's back; they cheered as the wicked Queen fell to her death. (And this was not an audience of children. It was composed of presumably sophisticated adults at New York's Lincoln Center.)

- Christopher Finch, "Walt Disney's America" (1978)



Evil Queen/Witch has been scaring kids since day 1.

Disney has even leaned into that in the past when advertising the movie saying it was both their "merriest" and "scariest"

Pinocchio is my favorite Walt Disney animation movie. But your point stands.

 

[BrianLo]

No it’s it’s not… I’ll stand by it and double down. Something is seriously wrong if a Snow White live action doesn’t do 600 million global.

Here are the box office figures for Mufasa: The Lion King and The Little Mermaid:

Mufasa: The Lion King (Released December 20, 2024)

• Domestic Gross: $221.1 million
• International Gross: $405.6 million
• Worldwide Total: $626.7 million

The Little Mermaid (Released May 26, 2023)

• Domestic Gross: $298.2 million
• International Gross: $271.5 million
• Worldwide Total: $569.6 million

Snow White should land somewhere between.

I don’t mean to diminish Snow, she’s a very solid mid tier princess. But I think Little Mermaid and Lion King are both considerably larger modern franchises. Along with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Moana and certainly Frozen.

I agree with @Animaniac93-98 she exists in the similar level as Cinderella. Maybe even a tiny step below, but the secondary characters and villain of the movie both are above Cinderellas secondary cast. Not in terms of how the original movie holds up, but in terms of the princess status. I just think of when the company chooses to do a parade, I’d even expect Cindy slightly more than Snow.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Pinocchio is my favorite Walt Disney animation movie. But your point stands.

Neither Pinocchio or Snow White is my personal favorite Disney animated movie, but it's undeniable to me that people have enjoyed both for a long time now. It's why they got live-action remakes (and have passed on others). Disney wanted to capitalize on the public's familiarity and nostalgia of them.

 

[Chi84]

Snow White's original VHS release in 1994 was a huge success. It outsold Jurassic Park. It remained one of the best selling VHS tapes ever (Disney or otherwise) by the end of the decade.

Many children of that time were exposed to it that way, or during the prior 1993 theatrical re-release (first ever movie to get a frame-by-frame digital restoration).

You could dismiss that by saying parents would just buy any Disney tape for their kids in those days, but other movies didn't come close to those sales. People wanted this movie more than others.



It's always played well to adults and kids. Times change, the movie ages in more ways than one, but people still like it.

This was written nearly 50 years ago, but Snow White itself was already 40 years old by then:

"In my earlier book, I stated that Pinocchio was probably Disney's greatest film, but I have since revised my opinion and now believe that - while Pinocchio is still a marvelous achievement - Snow White deserves to take top honors. My reason for this change of opinion is quite simple. While researching the first book, I spent many hours in screening rooms viewing all of Disney's animated features and many of the shorts and live-action films. Under those conditions, with no audience to distract me, I was dazzled by the technical brilliance of Pinocchio, which has never been surpassed, and on the strength of that rated it slightly higher than Snow White.

Later, however, I has the opportunity to see both pictures again in a packaged theater surrounded by 1,500 other people. The audience loved Pinocchio and was as impressed by its brilliance as I had been, but there were moments (very few) when everyone's attention seemed to flag, however briefly. Each scene is magnificent, but occasionally the momentum is lost as the story moves from one scene to the next. When Snow White was shown, on the other hand, the audience was enthralled from beginning to end. For the entire running time of eighty-three minutes, everyone was gripped by the story. The audience's concentration was never broken. People shivered as the huntsman stood poised to plunge his knife into Snow White's back; they cheered as the wicked Queen fell to her death. (And this was not an audience of children. It was composed of presumably sophisticated adults at New York's Lincoln Center.)

- Christopher Finch, "Walt Disney's America" (1978)



Evil Queen/Witch has been scaring kids since day 1.

Disney has even leaned into that in the past when advertising the movie saying it was both their "merriest" and "scariest"

It's very clear that was written 50 years ago. There's absolutely nothing "gripping" about the story and the movie moves at a snail's pace. I invite people to watch it now with their kids - presumably the audience toward whom the remake is directed.

 

[Phroobar]

I saw The Day the Earth Blew Up A Looney Tunes Movie. This is the first feature length Looney Tunes movie that is not a compilation or include live action. The movie is hand drawn.

Porky and Daffy work at a bubble gum factory to pay for a new roof a meteorite crashed into. An alien has poisoned the bubble gum turning the world into bubble gum zombies. Porky and Daffy try to stop the alien.

The animation is very good and at times looks like Ren & Stimpy or classic Looney Tunes. Porky's voice is a little high at times sounding more like Bugs Bunny. Lots of references to the cartoons. If you love Loony Tunes go see it.

 

[Farerb]

My favorite Disney film is Beauty and the Beast, but neither it nor any Renaissance or "Revival" film comes close to the level of artistry and animation as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and other Walt Disney animated films. They almost look like Saturday morning cartoons in comparison.

If Disney had made the Snow White remake 10 years ago I'm sure it would have done well, but since then we've had that "culture war" nonsense and people started getting tired by these Disney live action remakes.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I saw The Day the Earth Blew Up A Loony Tunes Movie. This is the first feature length Loony Tunes movie that is not a compilation or include live action. The movie is hand drawn.

Porky and Daffy work at a bubble gum factory to pay for a new roof a meteorite crashed into. An alien has poisoned the bubble gum turning the world into bubble gum zombies. Porky and Daffy try to stop the alien.

The animation is very good and at times looks like Ren & Stimpy or classic Loony Tunes. Porky's voice is a little high at times sounding more like Bugs Bunny. Lots of references to the cartoons. If you love Loony Tunes go see it.

I just learned the movie was not released by WB, but a third party who didn't have much to spend on advertising.

Another unfortunate blow to the Looney Tunes brand and 2D animation considering the mostly positive reviews.

 

[Phroobar]

It's very clear that was written 50 years ago. There's absolutely nothing "gripping" about the story and the movie moves at a snail's pace. I invite people to watch it now with their kids - presumably the audience toward whom the remake is directed.

Snow White's singing voice makes my dog's ears stand up.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If Disney had made the Snow White remake 10 years ago I'm sure it would have done well, but since then we've had that "culture war" nonsense and people started getting tired by these Disney live action remakes.

They could have done it back then in response to Cinderella's success, but I think they were eager to get to the heavy hitters like BatB, Lion King etc

 

[Phroobar]

I just learned the movie was not released by WB, but a third party who didn't have much to spend on advertising.

Another unfortunate blow to the Looney Tunes brand and 2D animation considering the mostly positive reviews.

There has been almost no advertising by that third party. The movie has a budget of $15million. WB is suppose to be sitting on another Loony Tunes movie called Coyote vs ACME. I hope that one gets a theatric run.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

WB is suppose to be sitting on another Loony Tunes movie called Coyote vs ACME. I hope that one gets a theatric run.

I thought there was some underlying reason it couldn't, but maybe it will find a way.

 

[Phroobar]

I thought there was some underlying reason it couldn't, but maybe it will find a way.

My son says it was tax write off. It might be a rights issue like the original Fantastic Four movie from the 90s.

 

[BrianLo]

My son says it was tax write off. It might be a rights issue like the original Fantastic Four movie from the 90s.

Yup, it got caught in the great purge with things like Batgirl.

Essentially WBD would have to pay theoretical tax money back now to pull it off a shelf, or even to sell it to another distributor. Presumably they feel that tax credit is worth more than what they could sell it for. Whatever product they had is essentially gone.

 

[Dranth]

It’s the main event ride in Disneyworld Fantasy land. Anyone who has gone to fantasyland in DW knows the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

I'd be willing to bet the rides with Snow White are infinitely more appealing to modern day audiences than the original movie.

I hope it does well because that means they likely made a good movie, but nothing about a Snow White movie sounds appealing.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

I don’t mean to diminish Snow, she’s a very solid mid tier princess. But I think Little Mermaid and Lion King are both considerably larger modern franchises. Along with Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Moana and certainly Frozen.

I agree with @Animaniac93-98 she exists in the similar level as Cinderella. Maybe even a tiny step below, but the secondary characters and villain of the movie both are above Cinderellas secondary cast. Not in terms of how the original movie holds up, but in terms of the princess status. I just think of when the company chooses to do a parade, I’d even expect Cindy slightly more than Snow.

At DisneyWorld, Cinderella castle illustrates your point, Ariel has an incredible attraction and so does the story of Snow White. Mine train is a highlight in fantasyland. The story of Snow White is alive and well… no reason it shouldn’t do 600 million. There should be a built in audience to see this movie.

Cinderella (2015) had a domestic gross of $201,151,353 and an international gross of $342,363,000, totaling $543,514,353 worldwide.

The Little Mermaid (2023) earned $298,172,056 domestically and $271,454,233 internationally, for a worldwide total of $569,626,289.

Mufasa (2024) grossed $251,200,000 in the United States and Canada and $462,000,000 in other territories, amounting to a global total of $713,200,000.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

I'd be willing to bet the rides with Snow White are infinitely more appealing to modern day audiences than the original movie.

I hope it does well because that means they likely made a good movie, but nothing about a Snow White movie sounds appealing.

Agree, it’s the ride that keeps the story alive in the minds of Disney fans. Who doesn’t enjoy seeing the shadows of the Seven Dwarfs singing “Heigh-Ho” as we exit the mine?

If it’s a good story and people love the leads then this movie should hit 600 million.
Sound track is solid and music brings people back.

 

[Chi84]

If it’s a good story and people love the leads then this movie should hit 600 million.
Sound track is solid and music brings people back.

It would have to be significantly different from the original to make it an interesting movie for current audiences.

It doesn’t look like Disney went that route so I doubt it will make that much.

 

[DKampy]

It would have to be significantly different from the original to make it an interesting movie for current audiences.

I agree… in fact it’s of my opinion all the live action movies should be different then the original… at least expand on the story a bit

 

[Casper Gutman]

I thought there was some underlying reason it couldn't, but maybe it will find a way.

The underlying reason is that Zaslav is a terrible person. The film is a pure tax write-off despite a star cast and phenomenal test screenings.

This is a terrible weekend for anyone who wants more original high-quality mid-budget theatrical content from top directors rather then more sporadic big budget franchise fare.