Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
If this was all a gambit to improve the brand and morale at Pixar, this grand experiment seems to be self-defeating
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Disney (and others) at the Box Office - Current State of Affairs
- Thread starter Disney Analyst
- Start date
TP2000
Well-Known Member
No kidding.
You just have to wonder what they were expecting from this, what the goal was? Especially with 1,350 theaters.
And then you have to ask where they go from here. Another 1,350 theaters and 25th place for Turning Red?
Who is making these decisions?
And will they course correct or adjust at all after the box office response (or rather, non-response) to Soul?
ABQ
Well-Known Member
Then after doing nothing in the theaters, they went and put it on broadcast TV last night as well. Confusing.
Hawkeye_2018
Well-Known Member
I know Soul was liked by critics, but I'm confident in saying the general audience did not care much for it.
BuddyThomas
Well-Known Member
You’re confident in speaking for “the general audience”? Everyone I know liked it, so I don’t know what “audience” you are speaking for. Usually it is best to simply speak for one’s self.
Well I am someone who saw Soul and I thought it was great… it is in fact my favorite of the pandemic Pixar films
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I think the problem was that this was already seen on Disney+ by all the Disney fans and all the Pixar fans and its a relativity new movie, still fresh in memory. There was no one left to see it.
As for the decision to put it in theaters, I presume there was a room full of Disney executives who OKed this and they were confident in their decision, it just failed badly.
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I do not think there are a room full of yes people who are making decisions that “look good”. I think they are looking at some sort of data, some sort of intelligence that leads to a decision. Perhaps the data is flawed or the intelligence is flawed?
The Disney executives are sincerely trying to make the right decisions but they continue to fail badly
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Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
I think if we all divvy up the few dozen or so paying customers that saw it this weekend we can knock out interviews with each of them by midweek and get some finality to this issue.
Hawkeye_2018
Well-Known Member
I didn't mean to say nobody liked Soul. Just that it feels forgotten and had little cultural impact.
I think, in general, what are effectively re-releases are always going to be a hard sell. The constant stream of new, shiny releases both in the theater and on streaming more or less make sure that we (at least adults) live in the cult of the new. So if someone has seen a thing once, they've consumed it, and don't have a reason to see it again. (Cue TP2000 and how he just watched The Miracle Worker again last night and thoroughly enjoyed it 
) This only tends to differ when it comes to massive cultural phenomena, well-timed seasonal releases, and kids stuff. I have a massive BD/DVD collection at home, but it's often hard to pull something out and watch it (unless I'm specifically showing a movie to someone who hasn't seen it before) because so much time is spent on new things instead. Likewise, I wouldn't mind seeing Soul in theaters or the Dolby re-release of Across the Spider-Verse, but there's just too much that I haven't seen yet. Which is too bad really, I think we get a lot more understanding out of a second exposure to most things.
The other two upcoming Pixar releases skew a little more kid-friendly, so maybe more people might show up for those. Maybe. But I don't know how much kids express a desire to go to the movies these days just for the experience of being at the movies.
) This only tends to differ when it comes to massive cultural phenomena, well-timed seasonal releases, and kids stuff. I have a massive BD/DVD collection at home, but it's often hard to pull something out and watch it (unless I'm specifically showing a movie to someone who hasn't seen it before) because so much time is spent on new things instead. Likewise, I wouldn't mind seeing Soul in theaters or the Dolby re-release of Across the Spider-Verse, but there's just too much that I haven't seen yet. Which is too bad really, I think we get a lot more understanding out of a second exposure to most things.The other two upcoming Pixar releases skew a little more kid-friendly, so maybe more people might show up for those. Maybe. But I don't know how much kids express a desire to go to the movies these days just for the experience of being at the movies.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I think, in general, what are effectively re-releases are always going to be a hard sell. The constant stream of new, shiny releases both in the theater and on streaming more or less make sure that we (at least adults) live in the cult of the new. So if someone has seen a thing once, they've consumed it, and don't have a reason to see it again. (Cue TP2000 and how he just watched The Miracle Worker again last night and thoroughly enjoyed it
The other two upcoming Pixar releases skew a little more kid-friendly, so maybe more people might show up for those. Maybe. But I don't know how much kids express a desire to go to the movies these days just for the experience of being at the movies.
Wendy Pleakley
Well-Known Member
I think, in general, what are effectively re-releases are always going to be a hard sell. The constant stream of new, shiny releases both in the theater and on streaming more or less make sure that we (at least adults) live in the cult of the new. So if someone has seen a thing once, they've consumed it, and don't have a reason to see it again. (Cue TP2000 and how he just watched The Miracle Worker again last night and thoroughly enjoyed it
The other two upcoming Pixar releases skew a little more kid-friendly, so maybe more people might show up for those. Maybe. But I don't know how much kids express a desire to go to the movies these days just for the experience of being at the movies.
Not just the backlog of new stuff, but the home video scene has simply improved to the point where going to the theater is better, but not necessary.
Back in the olden days a re-release had appeal because the only way to watch a movie otherwise was via a VHS copy.
Today, we can watch movies in high quality and proper widescreen formats at home. A 42" TV was once considered a luxury. Today, that would be seen as a small TV for most. 60" or more is financially accessible to most.
There are very few movies that would be worth the hassle and expense of seeing a theatrical re-release, for me.
PiratesMansion
Well-Known Member
That, and many people have gotten a little too comfortable with whipping out their phones in the theater.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
I didn't like it. It needed more blues music and less cloud people antics.
crispy
Well-Known Member
Soul just wasn't that much of kid movie. It was obviously well-liked by those who saw it, but Pixar is usually targeted for family audiences (adults and kids) so it missed the mark on it's intended audience.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
So then what do you think was Burbank and Emeryville's strategy for this re-release concept of Soul in 1,350 theaters? Surely this wasn't what they expected, and I'd bet extra butter on my popcorn that the theater chains weren't expecting this when they signed up to give Soul 1,350 theaters for the past two weeks.
What did they expect from 1,350 theaters? It can't be spending yesterday in 25th place with less than 50 bucks per theater.
Domestic Box Office for Sunday, January 21st
(Cue TP2000 and how he just watched The Miracle Worker again last night and thoroughly enjoyed it
Geez, I haven't seen that movie since I was a kid. Is it even available on DVD? Was it ever on VHS? I'm not a particular fan of that old movie, I just have those images of Patty Duke throwing food at Anne Bancroft seared into my memory banks.
Especially after they've been watching them for free on Disney+ for the past two years.
I'm looking forward to seeing how many theaters Turning Red debuts in next month. Their strategy here is just baffling.