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

[jrice]

People now are very selective on what they see in the theater. In my opinion here are my reasons why theaters or movies in the theaters are tanking.

1. People lost TRUST in Disney.
2. Remakes, remakes and remakes (including sequals) - we are tired of them.
3. No originality (see #2…and Disney’s future
4. Movies are now an event. We are very selective on what to see. Word of mouth is more important than critic reviews (like forever).
5. Push an agenda = lose money (see #1)
6. People still want to go to theater but what studios are delivering is utterly garbage (there are exceptions…Barbie, Avatar, Top Gun Maverick, Mario, etc.)
7. The studios need to create movies where people want to spend the money (see #4 and 6)
8. Movie production costs do not matter to us. Make a good movie and people will pay (see #6 & 7).
9. There is NOT super hero fatigue…Disney and Warner Bros. created movies do not want to see (see #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7)
10. Disney is in serious trouble and will not make a profit until Deadpool is released. Yikes!

P.S. I love Disney and the parks (Disneyland). It is one of my escapes and it bothers me that they are on the state they are in (self-inflicted).

 

[_caleb]

People now are very selective on what they see in the theater. In my opinion here are my reasons why theaters or movies in the theaters are tanking.

1. People lost TRUST in Disney.
2. Remakes, remakes and remakes (including sequals) - we are tired of them.
3. No originality (see #2…and Disney’s future
4. Movies are now an event. We are very selective on what to see. Word of mouth is more important than critic reviews (like forever).
5. Push an agenda = lose money (see #1)
6. People still want to go to theater but what studios are delivering is utterly garbage (there are exceptions…Barbie, Avatar, Top Gun Maverick, Mario, etc.)
7. The studios need to create movies where people want to spend the money (see #4 and 6)
8. Movie production costs do not matter to us. Make a good movie and people will pay (see #6 & 7).
9. There is NOT super hero fatigue…Disney and Warner Bros. created movies do not want to see (see #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7)
10. Disney is in serious trouble and will not make a profit until Deadpool is released. Yikes!

Thanks for sharing your perspective, @jrice. I see you're new here. Welcome to the forums!

 

[BrianLo]

What if it's not just one movie that bombs, but a dozen movies all in a row in a single year from all of Disney's studios; Pixar, Lucas, Marvel, Walt Disney Animation, Walt Disney Pictures, Searchlight, and 20th Century?

If box office is the only metric that matters, the answer is pretty clear based on this past year. Although the former box office king can always bounce back. That doesn’t provide much nuance beyond a single snapshot in time though.

If it’s about the broader health of these companies, the answer is clearly you want to be Disney. You want to be the company least dependent on box office and the only two media majors are Dis and Comcast in that regard, Sony to an extent. Paramount is very unfortunately roadkill and Warner-Discovery is not far behind.

If Disney never produced a movie again they are still sitting on the veritable treasure trove of products. Things that people don’t even have top of mind like Winnie the Pooh. Something that continue to generate billions in revenue for the company. They are the only classic media company whose DTC is generally expected to survive the coming bloodbath. They are still the king of Resorts, travel and products. We are still many Epic Universes away from that gap being closed revenue wise. Though they are being squeezed from Comcast and Royal Caribbean in Florida, their literal kingdom doesn’t suddenly disappear, regardless of perceived stagnancy.

If I had to actually pick a single ‘media’ company that has the surest go, my answer would be Nintendo. Riding high, quality focused, currently perceived as being on top of their game, about to launch their next product, outside of the current culture wars ire, second only to Dis in terms of family IP. Which is important to remember Universal is merely partnered with. Though it’s already proven to be a fruitful partnership, we see clear evidence they don’t own the company in terms of how quickly Zelda was shopped to another studio.

 

[LSLS]

People now are very selective on what they see in the theater. In my opinion here are my reasons why theaters or movies in the theaters are tanking.

1. People lost TRUST in Disney.
2. Remakes, remakes and remakes (including sequals) - we are tired of them.
3. No originality (see #2…and Disney’s future
4. Movies are now an event. We are very selective on what to see. Word of mouth is more important than critic reviews (like forever).
5. Push an agenda = lose money (see #1)
6. People still want to go to theater but what studios are delivering is utterly garbage (there are exceptions…Barbie, Avatar, Top Gun Maverick, Mario, etc.)
7. The studios need to create movies where people want to spend the money (see #4 and 6)
8. Movie production costs do not matter to us. Make a good movie and people will pay (see #6 & 7).
9. There is NOT super hero fatigue…Disney and Warner Bros. created movies do not want to see (see #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7)
10. Disney is in serious trouble and will not make a profit until Deadpool is released. Yikes!

P.S. I love Disney and the parks (Disneyland). It is one of my escapes and it bothers me that they are on the state they are in (self-inflicted).

I'd somewhat agree with a lot of these, except your #5. That goes WAY out the window with how Barbie did. That had a lot more of an agenda than anything I have seen come out in years. You can't say TLM or the Marvels pushed some agenda but Barbie was just good wholesome entertainment. That agenda stuff is just way overblown.

 

[LittleBuford]

I'd somewhat agree with a lot of these, except your #5. That goes WAY out the window with how Barbie did. That had a lot more of an agenda than anything I have seen come out in years. You can't say TLM or the Marvels pushed some agenda but Barbie was just good wholesome entertainment. That agenda stuff is just way overblown.

According to some here, Barbie's message is that girls should lighten up, make themselves prettier, and wear more pink (I kid you not).

 

[jrice]

I'd somewhat agree with a lot of these, except your #5. That goes WAY out the window with how Barbie did. That had a lot more of an agenda than anything I have seen come out in years. You can't say TLM or the Marvels pushed some agenda but Barbie was just good wholesome entertainment. That agenda stuff is just way overblown.

I agree with you BUT the marketing, interviews with the actors (including directors) and headlines discuss the agenda. TLM and the Marvels are two movies that no one wanted. People are done with remakes and the Marvels were three characters either people did not know or again did not want. They are D level characters.

 

[LSLS]

I agree with you BUT the marketing, interviews with the actors (including directors) and headlines discuss the agenda. TLM and the Marvels are two movies that no one wanted. People are done with remakes and the Marvels were three characters either people did not know or again did not want. They are D level characters.

So what movies had the agendas then? I don't remember anything being said by actors for any of the movies that were released this year. Legit it's GotG, TLM, Elemental, Indiana Jones, Haunted Mansion, the Marvels, Wish, then a bunch of smaller movies I don't know. Which one had the agenda that caused people to not go?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

While I make no predictions on their performance, but you'd be surprised how successful re-releases can be (or in this case first release). Halloween, Avatar, Titanic, Godfather, Grease, Wizard of Oz, all saw success in recent years being re-released in theaters.

Return of the Jedi and Nightmare Before Christmas actually had decent numbers, too.

 

[DKampy]

We saw The Color Purple on Christmas Day and it was fantastic.

I am looking forward to it…have to wait till New Years day….as we are vacationing in Key West with my parents this week

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I love the irony of a new member joining and one of their first things to do is repeat the tired talking point that Disney is "pushing an agenda".

It's as if they only joined so they could push their agenda.

 

[Ghost93]

I'd somewhat agree with a lot of these, except your #5. That goes WAY out the window with how Barbie did. That had a lot more of an agenda than anything I have seen come out in years. You can't say TLM or the Marvels pushed some agenda but Barbie was just good wholesome entertainment. That agenda stuff is just way overblown.

Mostly agree. However, one smart thing Barbie did is that it didn't advertise itself as a progressive feminist movie with a message. The marketing just emphasized the fun, and so people didn't have a chance to form preconceived notions about the film. This likely made audiences more open minded for the film's messaging. It also meant that by the time the anti-woke YouTube army finally realized what the film actually was, it was too late to poison the well and prevent the film from being a success.

I don't think Disney's recent movies are all that woke (not that there would be anything wrong if they were), but I think people have the perception that Disney movies are because so much of the marketing and fluffy pre-release articles focus on the importance of representation. This creates the perception that these films are "good for you" homework rather than just fun films in their own right.

 

[Prince-1]

I agree with you BUT the marketing, interviews with the actors (including directors) and headlines discuss the agenda. TLM and the Marvels are two movies that no one wanted. People are done with remakes and the Marvels were three characters either people did not know or again did not want. They are D level characters.

Your argument is very weak because the Guardians of the Galaxy are all D list characters that no one knew or wanted and those movies did pretty good.

 

[LSLS]

Mostly agree. However, one smart thing Barbie did is that it didn't advertise itself as a progressive feminist movie with a message. The marketing just emphasized the fun, and so people didn't have a chance to form preconceived notions about the film. This likely made audiences more open minded for the film's messaging. It also meant that by the time the anti-woke YouTube army finally realized what the film actually was, it was too late to poison the well and prevent the film from being a success.

I don't think Disney's recent movies are all that woke (not that there would be anything wrong if they were), but I think people have the perception that Disney movies are because so much of the marketing and fluffy pre-release articles focus on the importance of representation. This creates the perception that these films are "good for you" homework rather than just fun films in their own right.

Again though, I'm not seeing it. Which movie this year had a trailer pushing that agenda? Marvels just looked like a super hero movie (one that didn't seemed flushed out well, and that didn't connect to GotG or any other movies that came before it, but a super hero movie with explosions and stuff). TLM, while I can't stand the remakes, didn't push some agenda in the news or trailers. I don't think GotG did either. It could be Disney has burned a lot of good will with people between certain places pushing some made up agenda they only have and people disillusioned in general with how everything is going there, but I don't think there is some actual agenda being pushed that is causing the issues. My guess is they have not made a must-see movie, and there are no longer even a small group of people who can just go to the movies because it might be worth it. If you are on the fence, you can wait for a few months to see at your home.

 

[jrice]

Your argument is very weak because the Guardians of the Galaxy are all D list characters that no one knew or wanted and those movies did pretty good.

No, it is not weak. Guardians was an excellent movie because of the character development, a great story and well executed. Yes, they were not popular but James Gunn had a fantastic vision.

 

[Phroobar]

So we are just suppose to go see a movie by a certain company regardless of critical review and if it is interesting to us?
I saw GOTG3 because I liked the franchise. I don't think I've ever cried over Frankenstein-animals before.

 

[jrice]

Again though, I'm not seeing it. Which movie this year had a trailer pushing that agenda? Marvels just looked like a super hero movie (one that didn't seemed flushed out well, and that didn't connect to GotG or any other movies that came before it, but a super hero movie with explosions and stuff). TLM, while I can't stand the remakes, didn't push some agenda in the news or trailers. I don't think GotG did either. It could be Disney has burned a lot of good will with people between certain places pushing some made up agenda they only have and people disillusioned in general with how everything is going there, but I don't think there is some actual agenda being pushed that is causing the issues. My guess is they have not made a must-see movie, and there are no longer even a small group of people who can just go to the movies because it might be worth it. If you are on the fence, you can wait for a few months to see at your home.

Let’s break this down…Disney used to be a fantastic marketing masters. I do not know what happened (maybe laid off the good employees). The Marvels had two characters that very few knew about and one that no one cared for which caused this movie to fail.

TLM - unfortunately people are waking up and noticing that Disney is disingenuous when comes to DEI. Why not create a new story with Halle? She is a a great singer and could have created a new story. Nope, Disney cheaped out and the audience did not attend.

It takes time to shift our culture and Disney pushed too hard and forget about story telling.

 

[jrice]

I love the irony of a new member joining and one of their first things to do is repeat the tired talking point that Disney is "pushing an agenda".

It's as if they only joined so they could push their agenda.

Not true at all. I read these boards all the time! I love Disney and attend the parks quite a bit. I want Disney to succeed and create new stories and experience at the parks. These last two years from them is killing their bottom line, park development and theaters.

 

[LSLS]

Let’s break this down…Disney used to be a fantastic marketing masters. I do not know what happened (maybe laid off the good employees). The Marvels had two characters that very few knew about and one that no one cared for which caused this movie to fail.

TLM - unfortunately people are waking up and noticing that Disney is disingenuous when comes to DEI. Why not create a new story with Halle? She is a a great singer and could have created a new story. Nope, Disney cheaped out and the audience did not attend.

It takes time to shift our culture and Disney pushed too hard and forget about story telling.

So what was the agenda?

 

[Phroobar]

So what was the agenda?

 

[jrice]

So what was the agenda?

I think you can figure it out by searching online and what the CEO stated during a couple of interviews.