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

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It’s interesting how PT Barnums “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” is being proven simultaneously true and false right now, box office is arguably being hurt by controversy while the WNBA is arguably thriving on it.

I don’t watch basketball, men or women, but the Clark, Reese, others drama has been showing up on my feeds non stop for months now and has me intrigued… none of it has been very positive but it’s sure caught my attention and will likely get me to check out a couple games to see what all the fuss is about. Meanwhile nothing about any of the movie controversies has made me want to watch any of them.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

There is not enough story in it to support a full-length film. I can't say it better than this:

In your opinion what made the original magical and one of the top grossing movies of all time. How can they catch lighting in a bottle a second time.
Disney succeeded with the coaster in fantasyland.

 

[Farerb]

So how about the box office for the loony tunes movie?View attachment 848529

Very sad. It's a great movie.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Stitch will do well.

If I had to guess I would say Jurassic World and How to Train Your Dragon will also be fine.

Who knows what’s gonna happen.

I don't go to many movies in the theatre, but I would go to How to Train your Dragon and Jurassic World, possibly Superman too.

 

[Trauma]

It’s interesting how PT Barnums “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” is being proven simultaneously true and false right now, box office is arguably being hurt by controversy while the WNBA is arguably thriving on it.

I don’t watch basketball, men or women, but the Clark, Reese, others drama has been showing up on my feeds non stop for months now and has me intrigued… none of it has been very positive but it’s sure caught my attention and will likely get me to check out a couple games to see what all the fuss is about. Meanwhile nothing about any of the movie controversies has made me want to watch any of them.

Movies and sports are really different worlds.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I think some things are being blown out of proportion by one side and other things are being seriously downplayed by the other.

The backlash against her calling the original outdated is probably a good example of something being blown out of proportion, calling the Prince a stalker is a good example (imho) of appropriate backlash, ignoring the fact she wished “no peace” to half the county is a good example of something being downplayed, picking a side in a war was also sure to elicit a massive response, it’s not like she said one controversial thing that people ran with, she willingly jumped into the middle of some of the most controversial issues in the entire world that you can get involved in right now.

While I’m at peace with “no peace,” that’s a fair assessment.

It’s interesting how PT Barnums “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” is being proven simultaneously true and false right now, box office is arguably being hurt by controversy while the WNBA is arguably thriving on it.

I don’t watch basketball, men or women, but the Clark, Reese, others drama has been showing up on my feeds non stop for months now and has me intrigued… none of it has been very positive but it’s sure caught my attention and will likely get me to check out a couple games to see what all the fuss is about. Meanwhile nothing about any of the movie controversies has made me want to watch any of them.

I know nothing of any basketball, but the movie controversies have gotten me to watch TLM on D+, Cap 4 in the theater (though I could have waited for D+) and will absolutely see Snow White in theaters, which I normally wouldn’t notice.

Nope, I just have no respect for grown men who are bashing girls barely out of their teens for daring to have opinions that might not match their own.

This plays into my position a lot. As someone with a little sister, my default position is to stand up for young women being bullied.

 

[Chi84]

In your opinion what made the original magical and one of the top grossing movies of all time. How can they catch lighting in a bottle a second time.
Disney succeeded with the coaster in fantasyland.

The first one was magical because it was released in 1937, in much different times. To put that in perspective, it was released 18 years before I was born and I'm 70 this year. Since the movie was released, I was born, my children were born and my grandchildren were born.

It was a magical movie for its age, when men dressed in suits to go to the theater and there were no televisions in homes.

Now, as for the story and the characters -as opposed to the movie itself- they are delightful and people of all ages love them. That's why the rides in Disney do so well. I had not seen Snow White until recently, but I became familiar with the story through Disney books. That's the way the characters were introduced to my kids and grandkids. I suspect many people watch the original on Disney+ to see Disney's film version of the story.

But we are talking about getting people into theaters now, something that is much more difficult since the pandemic, the dramatic cost increases and the unlimited media competition. When I watched Snow White, I tried to imagine how each scene would appear if it were real people saying the lines and performing the actions. There's not enough material there for a frame for frame reproduction and people don't talk that way anymore.

I have nothing against the original Snow White. I'm sure many people still rent it after going on the rides or reading the books. As others have stated, it was a marvel of animation for its time.

 

[MagicMouseFan]

Nope, I just have no respect for grown men who are bashing girls barely out of their teens for daring to have opinions that might not match their own.

What example are you referring to for context?

 

[MagicMouseFan]

The first one was magical because it was released in 1937, in much different times. To put that in perspective, it was released 18 years before I was born and I'm 70 this year. Since the movie was released, I was born, my children were born and my grandchildren were born.

It was a magical movie for its age, when men dressed in suits to go to the theater and there were no televisions in homes.

Now, as for the story and the characters -as opposed to the movie itself- they are delightful and people of all ages love them. That's why the rides in Disney do so well. I had not seen Snow White until recently, but I became familiar with the story through Disney books. That's the way the characters were introduced to my kids and grandkids. I suspect many people watch the original on Disney+ to see Disney's film version of the story.

But we are talking about getting people into theaters now, something that is much more difficult since the pandemic, the dramatic cost increases and the unlimited media competition. When I watched Snow White, I tried to imagine how each scene would appear if it were real people saying the lines and performing the actions. There's not enough material there for a frame for frame reproduction and people don't talk that way anymore.

I have nothing against the original Snow White. I'm sure many people still rent it after going on the rides or reading the books. As others have stated, it was a marvel of animation for its time.

I agree with your views.
I would say Snow White is not a spectacularly inappropriate subject for a live-action remake based on your comments above. Just needs a little fleshing out. Of course easier said than done.

 

[TP2000]

Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve, gang! What the heck happened to this thread over the weekend, it blew up!

I had to skim for the past half dozen pages, so someone tell me if I missed something really good, please. Here's the Box Office for this weekend, a slow and sleepy one even with two new movies out.

Onward now to Rachel Zegler's Snow White next weekend!

The Numbers - Weekend Box Office Chart for March 14, 2025

Weekend Domestic Box Office Chart for the weekend of March 14, 2025

thenumbers.com

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I had to skim for the past half dozen pages, so someone tell me if I missed something really good, please.

 

[Chi84]

I agree with your views.
I would say Snow White is not a spectacularly inappropriate subject for a live-action remake based on your comments above. Just needs a little fleshing out. Of course easier said than done.

I think most of my previous comments were in response to people who said the original should not be changed in any way or who took issue with Zegler saying that the movie was going to be updated. I watched the interview and I had no issue with what she said, but then again I don't accord much weight to what celebrities say about anything.

I do agree with @Dranth's comments about bullying. Agree or don't agree, but why go to such lengths to dislike someone who has no impact on your life?

 

[Dranth]

Let’s put it this way so we don’t go too far against forum rules. She voiced some rather charged political opinions.

I think we can agree that on BOTH sides there has been a complete lack of tolerance for opposing viewpoints.

It’s her right to have these views but she is the face of a franchise. She should have training on what not to say.

It’s almost like she cares more about expressing her feelings then what’s best for her employer, who is paying her millions.

I don't entirely disagree; I just don't think it is that odd for people that age to be VERY opinionated and say things before thinking about what they are saying or more importantly, how they are saying it. Combine that with the relatively recent inability to accept nuance these days and the desire to pile on and you get the situation she is in.

 

[TP2000]

The comp for live-action Snow White would be live-action Cinderella, which made $542 million a decade ago.

That's probably around what Disney was expecting when this was first green lit.

Here's how that looks accounting for a decade's worth of inflation. Interestingly, Cinderella had just a $95 Million budget in 2015, adjusted to $127 Million in today's money.

Also interesting is that The Numbers has the budget for Snow White pegged at an oddly specific $269,400,000. We'll have to dig into that number more to figure out if that's pre or post the hefty tax rebate check from the British government.

Regardless, the budget for Cinderella was less than half that of Snow White.

While you’re buying a round I’ll take a Bud Light….. Much prefer that then to a Miller Light…. Which seems to be a religion here in Wisconsin

I'm rarely a beer drinker, but I can't stand the domestic "lights". They're just too watery for me.

But sometimes in summer, usually at a late lunch with a beach burger, I will indulge in a cold beer. But when I do that, it's almost always something called Barrio Baja by San Diego brewer Thorn. Barrio Baja is the house "light" beer always stocked by the beach club I hang out at, and it's great when the beer itch hits me from July through September. It's delicious!

That said, I can't imagine the Marketing VP of Thorn ever going on record as saying the Barrio Baja customers are "fratty and out of touch" and the Barrio Baja customer base needs to be "elevated" and made more "inclusive" like the Bud Light Marketing VP did on a taped podcast, just before she permanently torpedoed both her brand and her career.

 

[Dranth]

To be fair I can see some people being upset with this quote by Rachel Zegler.

“May T… supporters and T… voters and T… himself never know peace.”

She later apologized.

So can I, but she did have a subset of those supporters threatening her so is it all that surprising she was upset? Either way, she did apologize.

 

[TP2000]

So can I, but she did have a subset of those supporters threatening her so is it all that surprising she was upset? Either way, she did apologize.

Now step back and think....

What if Annette Funicello, in the 1960 lead up to her starring role in the release of 1961's Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying;

"May Kennedy supporters and Kennedy voters and John F. Kennedy himself never know peace."

Walt Disney was a notable supporter of Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential campaign, but even after Annette was forced to "apologize" for her purposeful remarks to the media, I can't imagine that Walt would have allowed Annette Funicello to work for his studio and company ever again. Can you?

 

[MagicMouseFan]

So can I, but she did have a subset of those supporters threatening her so is it all that surprising she was upset? Either way, she did apologize.

Yeah it was definitely a missed opportunity for a better approach.

 

[Disney Irish]

I don't entirely disagree; I just don't think it is that odd for people that age to be VERY opinionated and say things before thinking about what they are saying or more importantly, how they are saying it. Combine that with the relatively recent inability to accept nuance these days and the desire to pile on and you get the situation she is in.

People many many decades older than her are just as if not more so as opinionated and also say things without thinking.

 

[Disney Irish]

Now step back and think....

What if Annette Funicello, in the 1960 lead up to her starring role in the release of 1961's Walt Disney's Babes in Toyland was quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying;

"May Kennedy supporters and Kennedy voters and John F. Kennedy himself never know peace."

Walt Disney was a notable supporter of Richard Nixon in the 1960 Presidential campaign, but even after Annette was forced to "apologize", I can't imagine that Walt would have ever allowed Annette Funicello to work for his studio and company ever again. Can you?

Different time and place in history.

We really have to stop comparing Hollywood of yesterday to the Hollywood of today. It’s a much different landscape today than it was even 10-20 years ago let alone 65-70 years ago.

 

[DisneyWarrior27]

Least TDTEBUALTM opened to #5 but with only $3.2M