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

[Disney Irish]

Outdated IP. Like Happily Ever After, Snow White and the Huntsman, Cinderella, Into the Woods etc….

Of those you listed, only Cinderella did well comparatively.

That’s good? But I don’t think TWDC is interested in sorta breaking even while tying up 300m over 3-5 years.

Based on where it started, yeah that is pretty good that is the point. Which would give Disney a sigh of relief even if no one is cheering over it.

 

[Chi84]

Outdated IP. Like Happily Ever After, Snow White and the Huntsman, Cinderella, Into the Woods etc….

why do you think this?

That’s good? But I don’t think TWDC is interested in sorta breaking even while tying up 300m over 3-5 years.

This wasn’t that.

But yes, times are different.

 

[Agent H]

Right, that’s it—I’m blocking you! “Go the Distance” absolutely deserves the airtime it gets! The entire Hercules soundtrack is awesome (except, perhaps, Phil’s song).

Don’t worry, even if you didn’t love the song, you’re safe from my wrath!

There was…blood in the pram.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Snow White has a 1.5 on IMDB. That makes it one of the worst rated movies of all time.

But there’s no hate campaign.

 

[Agent H]

Because it's no worse than some of the remakes that made more than a billion. I prefer it to Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, and it's far, far better than The Lion King.

Anything would be better than the lion king.

 

[Chi84]

Snow White has a 1.5 on IMDB. That makes it one of the worst rated movies of all time.

But there’s no hate campaign.

I feel sorry for people who don’t give it a chance.

 

[LittleBuford]

I feel sorry for people who don’t give it a chance.

It's fine if people don't want to give it a chance, but I'll never understand what leads to behaviours like review-bombing.

 

[Agent H]

It's fine if people don't want to give it a chance, but I'll never understand what leads to behaviours like review-bombing.

Unfortunately I know exactly what leads to behaviors like review bombing. And it isn’t pretty.

 

[DKampy]

It's fine if people don't want to give it a chance, but I'll never understand what leads to behaviours like review-bombing.

It is very bizarre behavior…. Why someone wastes so much time and energy on something that gives them no joy

 

[Agent H]

It is very bizarre behavior…. Why someone wastes so much time and energy on something that given them no joy

The people who do that sort of thing have no true joy in their lives. If they weren’t the worst of humanity I’d feel bad for them.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I struggle to be convinced by the idea that this stuff gained traction in all the international markets where the film is performing just as badly. I'm sure the controversies and issues haven't helped matters (the leaked production photos in particular seem to have painted the project in an unflattering light), but I don't its chances of being a blockbuster would have been much better had others been cast in the role(s) played by Zegler and/or Gadot.

The comments about Rachel (not about her words) come from all over the world - to the point I’m suspicious of some of the profiles being real - but the reason she and Hailey were targeted is not unique to America. I’m even surprised to see people from Latin countries with what seem to be Latino surnames complaining she isn’t white.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

To say it would have been less is something that is unprovable. We don't know how people we have reacted. There could have been even more blow-back for all we know. Dinklage might have been able to garner enough support for this cause that it started a whole storm of blow-back against Disney. Them trying to be respectful even if the outcome wasn't ideal for everyone in the community is probably the best they could have hoped for. Basically they were damned if they do and damned if they don't.

But you're right it doesn't matter at this point. I think this mental exercise of trying to say xyz would have cause this film to be less of a bomb is not fruitful. Any number of things done "right" or an approximation of "right" and it still could have been the same outcome.

For as critical of a property as this is for the Studio, this is probably just one remake they didn't need to do. And I say that as someone who actually thought it was ok, not great, just ok.

I’d say it was more bad timing than a bad idea.

 

[erasure fan1]

Yes, 50/50 is two halves.

Look, this has to be faux outrage. There's no way I'm going to believe that normal adults care this much whether a twenty-something actor hates them or not. I just don't buy it.

That's just it, it's not outrage. You frame it as if everyone is running around with pitchforks and torches. It's a lot simpler than that. It's indifference. Example, I thought what will Smiths slap was disgusting. I won't ever see a Smith movie in a theater again. It's simple, it doesn't mesh with my values so I just ignore what he does. And to think that's not happened with Zegler, is a bit naive in my opinion. It's easy to not support people you don't like. And you don't even need to be outraged.

I just dislike when people frame it as half the country being insulted when its really less than a quarter.

Hah! Pot meet kettle. The guy who always has to interject when people use their own numbers, comes out with this Gem. Where's this data that says over 3/4 of people support the other side? Just like the analogy post, if you are going to lecture, please play by your own rules.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

When we use language it should mean things - how do we define “propaganda?” I’ll admit that it’s a hard term to pin down, since all films contain moral and ideological positions they try to pass on to the audience to one degree or another. Is the original Ghosbusters, which has a strong libertarian tone, propaganda? Is In the Heat of the Night? Boys Don’t Cry? Amistad? Based on where we draw the line, all can be classed as “propaganda.”

For this conversation to have merit, we also need to have a sense of history and the willingness and ability to compare the cultural product of this particular moment to the product of other eras. What about modern films makes it appropriate to label them “propaganda?” What characteristics do they have that earlier films don’t? Is the label identifying something within the film itself or is it the product of cultural, social, political, economic, etc changes effecting the viewers perception of the film? Does the fault lie with the film or with the “political garbage” shaping its reception?

Propaganda is a function of government, not private organizations, though government can use private organizations to disseminate propaganda.

 

[LittleBuford]

That's just it, it's not outrage. You frame it as if everyone is running around with pitchforks and torches. It's a lot simpler than that. It's indifference. Example, I thought what will Smiths slap was disgusting. I won't ever see a Smith movie in a theater again. It's simple, it doesn't mesh with my values so I just ignore what he does. And to think that's not happened with Zegler, is a bit naive in my opinion. It's easy to not support people you don't like. And you don't even need to be outraged.

Indifference is not caring, which is not what you’re describing at all. If you’re bothered enough by someone to avoid watching a film they star in, you are certainly not indifferent towards them, even if you’re not outraged by them. (This isn’t a criticism, but an observation. I too would probably avoid paying to see a Smith film after what he did.)

 

[Casper Gutman]

Hah! Pot meet kettle. The guy who always has to interject when people use their own numbers, comes out with this Gem. Where's this data that says over 3/4 of people support the other side? Just like the analogy post, if you are going to lecture, please play by your own rules.

I might have missed it, but where did Irish state that 75% of the country supports the “other side?” They stated that 3/4ths of potential viewers were not included in Zegler’s condemnation, which is verifiably true.

 

[Chi84]

That's just it, it's not outrage. You frame it as if everyone is running around with pitchforks and torches. It's a lot simpler than that. It's indifference. Example, I thought what will Smiths slap was disgusting. I won't ever see a Smith movie in a theater again. It's simple, it doesn't mesh with my values so I just ignore what he does. And to think that's not happened with Zegler, is a bit naive in my opinion. It's easy to not support people you don't like. And you don't even need to be outraged.

Hah! Pot meet kettle. The guy who always has to interject when people use their own numbers, comes out with this Gem. Where's this data that says over 3/4 of people support the other side? Just like the analogy post, if you are going to lecture, please play by your own rules.

People are desperate to validate their thinking. If necessities cost more in a few years the leadership will flip again.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The people who do that sort of thing have no true joy in their lives. If they weren’t the worst of humanity I’d feel bad for them.

I think society in general has become more nasty as we’ve become more isolated via technology, it’s ironic that we have more ways to communicate than ever before but that’s lead to more isolation and made it infinitely easier to be nasty since communication is rarely face to face anymore.

Online gaming is a great example of this, when I was a kid we played games side by side on the couch, we’d talk smack but you always knew if you pushed it too far there was a good chance you were getting punched, several years ago I played an online FPS game with my nephew and was absolutely shocked by what I heard, I’ve never heard people talk trash like that before, it was absolutely horrific and the level of abuse was relentless. My nephew said that’s normal and just part of the fun, I honestly don’t know how anyone could find that level of verbal abuse fun but to him it was just normal and just part of the game.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

From what I hear there was no interest in the outdated IP and the movie they chose to make wasn’t that good.

That is pretty much it

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I was talking about trusting Disney to always deliver on quality. As the poster I was responding to himself noted, Disney has had good runs and bad throughout its history. It’s not as if everything they produced was top-notch before 2020.

It’s cyclical.

There are highs and lows with any enterprise…particularly when it’s 100% unneeded product as Disney sells.

I think the overall point is right now they are at a “low trust” level…

They could sell ice to eskimos 10 years ago…but then they ran their core studios/properties aground…so there’s a lot of damage control to do. And that costs a lot of lost money.

I see some rumors that the weird “avengers” movie…the one where they paid Downey a blank check because they completely boned the franchise?…has the old fox xmen from 25 years ago?

Huh??? Is this serious or an onion article?