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

[FrontierSpirit]

Was just at wilderness…better than I remembered

Haven’t been in a long time but was always one of my favorites. Splurged and staying in the cabins for a couple of nights. Excited!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Characterising your posts as confusing (which I believe they frequently are) is not the same as accusing you of having multiple accounts (which I don’t believe you do).

Right…but what if the posts right before and after did exactly that? No nuance

And believe it or not…in prior stops I was a lot more direct…less metaphors and general shenanigans…

But something flipped that switch…I can’t figure out exactly what it was?

 

[Chi84]

Right…but what if the posts right before and after did exactly that? No nuance

Please don’t get multiple accounts

 

[DKampy]

Are we going to continue to argue that this is still a Business?

I love “art”…much more than the next guy…but Disney is not into art…they’re into free money and audience massaging…

That is sad…but it’s not changing this year or any other. Blame “market forces”…and I certainly didn’t start the fire

When did I even mention Disney? I am discussing theater business owners…. I doubt they loss money on Minecraft…. They have the film playing all day on their 2 biggest theaters…. Plus a couple of 3d showings showing in another…which seems to be sharing with captain America as that is also down to 2 screenings…. I would think that would be enough….I have seen blockbusters when that theater had 6 screens for that film… and the theater was not even half filled

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Please don’t get multiple accounts

Since I’ve never had one…I don’t feel inclined to change now

I’m nuts…and I throw a lot out there…but I’ll stand on it…right or wrong…agree or disagree…I don’t feel the need to create multiple accounts to “back myself up”…or care to “be right all the time” and change names to try and clear the slate

 

[BrianLo]

Was there really a lecture on leadership and empowerment in the movie?

Not really, no.

It’s now abundantly clear how few people saw this movie.

 

[TP2000]

Why “of all people”? As he himself has told us repeatedly, except for one or two exceptions, he doesn’t watch new releases, much less go to the cinema to see them. In terms of firsthand experience of any of this stuff, he is probably the least qualified poster here.

If one movie (Minecraft) is making $36,829+ per theater over a weekend, and another movie (Snow White) is making $1,623 it doesn't take someone with Mayer or Warner as your last name to figure out struggling theater chains would love to be able to move Minecraft into some of the theaters (screens) playing Snow White to almost no one.

There appears to be a contractual obligation why theaters have to keep Snow White around at elevated theater counts.

All I'm saying is that in the 2020's, there should be a more efficient and flexible way for theater owners to respond dynamically and instantly to the free market. They shouldn't be so bound to studio contracts, as if it was still 1995.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I want that classic fairy-tale magic, the romance, the “Someday My Prince Will Come” fantasy where a strong, heroic prince sweeps in.

Cool, but it’s been done to death to the point it’s a cliché. How about trying something new that others might enjoy?

women (me) can be a badass and romantic— Disney flattened Snow White into a one-note powerhouse.

I don’t know what film you saw, but she was most definitely both, and there was much more romance than the original.

Give us the magic we’re paying for.. maybe too strong. The magic we hope for, we wish for.

You are not necessarily “we.”

Was there really a lecture on leadership and empowerment in the movie?

Not at all.

For Snow White?
I wanted to sing “some day my prince will come” my mom used to have this wind up Snow White figurine that would play that melody.
I wanted to be swept off my feet by Prince Charming and sing that song in a dark theater.

Swept into Fantasy, just didn’t get it this time and was a major let down for me.

OK, so maybe this version isn’t for you, and that’s fine. Others have enjoyed it (myself included, though I may have enjoyed the dwarfs better if done differently.)

So you want a lecture?
I think you are upset I didn’t enjoy Snow White.
It’s my fault, I gave my opinion. It was heart felt and honest but it was negative.

I shouldn’t have said anything.
So , I’m sorry for not liking Snow White.

Before I go further, am I speaking with an adult?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Please don’t get multiple accounts

I think he should reserve “Sirwordsalad” before someone else does.

 

[BrianLo]

If one movie (Minecraft) is making $36,829+ per theater over a weekend, and another movie (Snow White) is making $1,623 it doesn't take someone with Mayer or Warner as your last name to figure out struggling theater chains would love to be able to move Minecraft into some of the theaters (screens) playing Snow White to almost no one.

There appears to be a contractual obligation why theaters have to keep Snow White around at elevated theater counts.

All I'm saying is that in the 2020's, there should be a more efficient and flexible way for theater owners to respond dynamically and instantly to the free market. They shouldn't be so bound to studio contracts, as if it was still 1995.

I still highly suspect you don’t actually get it. Minecraft likely is showing 5-10x more frequently at most of the theatres it’s at.

The multiplex doesn’t need Minecraft on all 20 screens, that doesn’t meaningfully improve buisness.

There’s a huge dearth of product right now. Theatres are built for 8-10 blockbusters in various stages of decline. Not one film.

 

[TP2000]

You're confusing theaters and screens here, ie theater is the physical place usually with multiple screens not the actual screen playing the movie. All of those theaters playing Snow White are also playing Minecraft. Its not like there is a theater out there only playing Snow White and not playing Minecraft I pretty much can guarantee it, where as the reverse isn't true.

The North American market has something like 40k screens across something like 4500 theaters.

No, I got that.

What's funny is that I remember almost typing the word "auditorium" this afternoon to describe the flexibility theaters need in the 2020's to respond more dynamically to the free market. A free market which is increasingly fickle, and is no longer behaving like it did in past decades when these types of studio contracts made more sense.

But we'll use the word screens. Almost all theaters in the USA today have multiple screens in them, which should be obvious when I referred to them this afternoon as "multiplexes".

Minecraft = $36,829 Per Theater
Snow White = $1,623 Per Theater

Minecraft needed more screens this weekend, that were being hogged for some bizarre reason by Snow White.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Not really, no.

It’s now abundantly clear how few people saw this movie.

The box office didn’t tip you off?

Luckily it only had that $180 mil budget…plus reshoots

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No, I got that.

What's funny is that I remember almost typing the word "auditorium" this afternoon to describe the flexibility theaters need in the 2020's to respond more dynamically to the free market. A free market which is increasingly fickle, and is no longer behaving like it did in past decades when these types of studio contracts made more sense.

But we'll use the word screens. Almost all theaters in the USA today have multiple screens in them, which should be obvious when I referred to them this afternoon as "multiplexes".

Minecraft = $36,829 Per Theater
Snow White = $1,623 Per Theater

Minecraft needed more screens this weekend, that were being hogged for some bizarre reason by Snow White.

Just bad contracts with a company who doesn’t quite have the mojo it did…no conspiracy

Occam’s razor

 

[LittleBuford]

Minecraft needed more screens this weekend, that were being hogged for some bizarre reason by Snow White.

@BrianLo just explained why this isn’t even true.

 

[Chi84]

Cool, but it’s been done to death to the point it’s a cliché. How about trying something new that others might enjoy?

I don’t know what film you saw, but she was most definitely both, and there was much more romance than the original.

You are not necessarily “we.”

Not at all.

OK, so maybe this version isn’t for you, and that’s fine. Others have enjoyed it (myself included, though I may have enjoyed the dwarfs better if done differently.)

Before I go further, am I speaking with an adult?

My guess is a male, either young or very old - probably not "new."

We girls l

women (me) can be a badass and romantic

We girls sometimes want to sing “Someday my Prince will come”

I don’t always want to be a girl boss

Do you feel different depending on what dress you wear or maybe just a different hair style for a date?

the complex standards we women navigate daily

You mansplaining do me sweeetie? Don’t do that.

Methinks . . .

I suppose I could be wrong but women (me) don't talk like this

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

@BrianLo just explained why this isn’t even true.

I think Minecraft would have benefited financially from more screens…this Weekend. Especially since these movies are buzz driven and flame out pretty fast.

Is that “need”? Guess that’s perspective?

But there is zero reason Snow White is on that many screens except contractual. It’s awful…people don’t want it…it’s not gonna “find its legs” or make money on the steam

What are we doing? When I’m weary of wasting time debating…you know it’s bad…

And the cardinals completely laid down tonight ️

 

[brideck]

Minecraft needed more screens this weekend, that were being hogged for some bizarre reason by Snow White.

This is only true if people were being turned away at the door because literally every screening of Minecraft were sold out, which is... well, it's not the case.

And again... Snow White (at one screen/theater now) isn't really hogging screens compared to its performance. You should really look at movies like Death of a Unicorn or Hell of a Summer if you want to take potshots at movies that unfortunately don't need an entire screen right now. They're at fewer theaters overall, but in the big markets they have just as many screens at those theaters as SW.

 

[Disney Irish]

No, I got that.

What's funny is that I remember almost typing the word "auditorium" this afternoon to describe the flexibility theaters need in the 2020's to respond more dynamically to the free market. A free market which is increasingly fickle, and is no longer behaving like it did in past decades when these types of studio contracts made more sense.

But we'll use the word screens. Almost all theaters in the USA today have multiple screens in them, which should be obvious when I referred to them this afternoon as "multiplexes".

Minecraft = $36,829 Per Theater
Snow White = $1,623 Per Theater

Minecraft needed more screens this weekend, that were being hogged for some bizarre reason by Snow White.

And how do you know how many screens Minecraft was playing on vs Snow White? That information isn’t available to us.

So I don’t think you can really extrapolate from the information available to us that Minecraft actually needs more screens. For example you can’t tell if every showing was sold out or not, which I doubt it was. All you have are the totals per theater and how many total theaters it’s playing in, but that could be across one screen or twenty per theater, you don’t know.

 

[LittleBuford]

But there is zero reason Snow White is on that many screens except contractual. It’s awful…people don’t want it…it’s not gonna “find its legs” or make money on the steam

It’s a flop—no-one is denying that. But do we have any evidence that anyone in the cinema industry itself is complaining about having a generally very lucrative contract with the world’s most successful studio?

 

[Disney Irish]

I think Minecraft would have benefited financially from more screens…this Weekend. Especially since these movies are buzz driven and flame out pretty fast.

And this may be true, but that doesn't mean Snow is the first causality of that. There are many other movies out right now that are doing far worse on a per theater basis that deserve to be axed first to give up their screens.

But there is zero reason Snow White is on that many screens except contractual. It’s awful…people don’t want it…it’s not gonna “find its legs” or make money on the steam

Again how many actual screens is it playing on? For all you know its playing in 3750 theaters and already down to one screen in each theater a couple times a day and that is it.