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

[TP2000]

You seriously need to slow down on the booze or the weed if you think TP has any clue about anything movie related. The only thing he is good at is discussing movies he has never seen.

I only offer up the latest box office data and facts here, I don't discuss the plots of movies I have never seen.

But the box office data, which reflects how the free market of a couple Billion middle class consumers across the world are reacting to Disney's latest mega-budget movie products, is something I find more interesting than plots of movies I've never seen.

If you don't want to discuss the box office results Disney is getting, it might be best to avoid the Disney Box Office thread.

For instance, Migration (budget $72 Million) opens in Japan this weekend, and Monday it's going to be interesting to see how it did against Wish (budget $200 Million). And we'll throw Kung Fu Panda (budget $85 Million) in there too. Stay tuned!

 

[Disney Irish]

I had to Google, just to prove I wasn't going crazy... The High School Musical movies on Disney Channel that Vanessa Hudgens (AKA "household name!") was in were more than a decade ago. The series started 18 years ago in January, 2006.

The first TV movie released in '06 was a surprise hit with its tween-aged girl demographic. A second TV movie was released in 2007, and Disney Channel ended it with High School Musical 3 in 2008. They were easy turn-n-burn TV movies, but were wildly popular with young girls.

The High School Musical Pep Rally stage show, which I do remember watching with my tween aged nephews at the time and I remember it being distinctly catch and fun, debuted at Disney's California Adventure in October, 2006.

The name "Vanessa Hudgens" was never used in the theme park stage show.

I'm glad you can google that information. Maybe start googling all the other actors/actresses who have starred in Disney content since at least the 2000s so you know when posting about them that they have a Disney connection.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Sarcasm aside, you would think that as someone who claims to follow Disney as much as you do you would at least know more about the company. Basically its just telling that you obviously know nothing about the Studios side after circa 1975.

Stop…this might be the dumbest zinger ever.

There are tons of Disney fans who know ZERO about high school musical because they didn’t have close contacts who would have been tuning in on the Disney channel. It wasn’t the superbowl.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You seriously need to slow down on the booze or the weed if you think TP has any clue about anything movie related. The only thing he is good at is discussing movies he has never seen.

We all have our vices…

I don’t have the lung capacity nor knee cartilage left to huff dust from a knelt position 24/7

 

[TP2000]

I'm glad you can google that information. Maybe start googling all the other actors/actresses who have starred in Disney content since at least the 2000s so you know when posting about them that they have a Disney connection.

No, that sounds kind of boring.

But I wish Vanessa Hudgens well when she delivers her baby! Oscars Bump.

 

[Disney Irish]

Stop…this might be the dumbest zinger ever.

There are tons of Disney fans who know ZERO about high school musical because they didn’t have close contacts who would have been tuning in on the Disney channel. It wasn’t the superbowl.

I'm just calling it out like I see it, the same as other posters do to me all the time.

 

[TP2000]

In a preview of how this weekend should pan out, the box office from Thursday has been released. It seems to be a two-way race between Dune 2 and Kung Fu Panda 4.

I believe that this was the weekend that Disney was going to release Snow White in theaters originally, before the Rachel Zeigler sagas started and the dwarf/hipster controversy sent the entire movie back to the drawing board for a 2025 release instead. Disney has a rather slim slate of releases now for '24, so we'll need to get used to not having anything from any Disney studio in the Top 10 for weeks on end. At least until this summer.

Here's Thursday's box office Top 10 to ponder...

And Poor Things is in 14th place, with a 44% decline in box office since last Thursday. The Oscars Bump in 2024 really is only about Ms. Hudgens maternity gown, apparently.

The Numbers - Daily Box Office Chart for Tuesday July 29, 2025

Daily Domestic Box Office Chart for Tuesday July 29, 2025

www.the-numbers.com

 

[Disney Irish]

No, that sounds kind of boring.

But I wish Vanessa Hudgens well when she delivers her baby! Oscars Bump.

Well I'll be sure to point out the Disney connections in the future for you.

Just want to help you keep up with Disney Studios goings on in the modern era.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm pretty sure that we all acknowledge that Disney isn't having the box office success that we expect. That doesn't mean we all agree on the quality of that content that was released.

People love capitalism in defense of Disney…but quickly forget when it’s the prosecution. The consumption by the audience is the final judgement

But whether fair or not, the fact is that TP hasn't watch Disney content or really much of anything past the Reagan administration. And it shows in what is presented and the discussions being had.

Did I mention consumption? Disney only profits off MASS consumption. Get used to it because it never will change nor would they want it too. You sell more crap and get more margins that way.

So personal opinions…and I know chi loves this…don’t really mean anything if we are discussing a corporation. They are yours to keep…but thumbs up/down here is window dressing for an insignificant polling sample.

We could start a thread “wish is the most underated move ever!”…and a
Few people would float onto it and give testimonials. And that’s well and good.

But the truth is it sucked…it bombed…it was a huge financial loss…it harms their brand and credibility and future marketing endeavors.
So that’s that and didn’t matter whether anyone saw it or not.
Because an ineffective number did.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm just calling it out like I see it, the same as other posters do to me all the time.

But an adult watching high school musical from the pre-streaming days doesn’t really move the needle. That was specifically for 10 year olds and was successful at gaining a decent following

But yes…call it like you see it. This thread has become more civil over time. I’ll just assume the end of excuses for box office bombs has NOTHING to do with it?

 

[Disney Irish]

But an adult watching high school musical from the pre-streaming days doesn’t really move the needle. That was specifically for 10 year olds and was successful at gaining a decent following

I've never seen anything to do with the franchise a day in my life. But I know that it starred Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, ie they have a Disney connection and can recognize that years later. So whether that franchise moves the needle or not wasn't the conversation.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I watched Poor Things (that movie that people here have been talking about all the time). I love Emma Stone, but this movie was atrocious, the only word that describes this movie perfectly that I can think about is DEPRAVED. Mark Ruffalo is annoying, I can't see him on my screen anymore.
For some odd reason people compared this film to Barbie. One thing that should be clear to anyone by merely watching the two is that Barbie was made by a woman and Poor Things was clearly not.

I am not going to criticize you, as you at least watched it…and we are all entitled to opinions… all film is subjective… but IMO I did not find Poor Things depraved…

I'm surprised the movie isn't more polarizing, given what's shown on screen.

I liked it, but agree with others that it was needlessly gratuitous at times, and I don't think it's unfair to say that's the result of who's directing, or to not like the film as a result.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I watched Poor Things (that movie that people here have been talking about all the time). I love Emma Stone, but this movie was atrocious, the only word that describes this movie perfectly that I can think about is DEPRAVED. Mark Ruffalo is annoying, I can't see him on my screen anymore.
For some odd reason people compared this film to Barbie. One thing that should be clear to anyone by merely watching the two is that Barbie was made by a woman and Poor Things was clearly not. Barbie should have won Costumes and Production Design.

I very strongly disagree with every single thing you just said.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm surprised the movie isn't more polarizing, given what's shown on screen.

I liked it, but agree with others that it was needlessly gratuitous at times, and I don't think it's unfair to say that's the result of who's directing, or to not like the film as a result.

Yeah…I use “bizarre” a safe word blanket to cover that movie. Very “interesting”

 

[Tha Realest]

Well I'll be sure to point out the Disney connections in the future for you.

Just want to help you keep up with Disney Studios goings on in the modern era.

It’s still not clear to me why a middle aged man would, or should, have known about one of the stars of the High School Musical franchise, which, as someone here noted, only had one theatrical release.

I get you’d rather not address how audiences continue to not show up for Disney films at the box office, but this is a pretty transparent way to refuse to address his claims

 

[Disney Irish]

I get you’d rather not address how audiences continue to not show up for Disney films at the box office, but this is a pretty transparent way to refuse to address his claims

Its been discussed many times over now in this thread and others why audiences didn't likely show up for Disney films recently. So its getting boring to re-litigate the same thing over and over. Not sure how many more times it needs to be discussed.

But let me summarize from my point of view on everything that has been discussed. Its a combination of many factors, its not just one thing. So take your pick, D+ factor, perceived quality issues, general Disney fatigue, cultural divide, superhero fatigue. I'm sure there is some I've forgotten, but this has been discussed ad nauseam for over a year now. So its already been addressed, and discussed over and over. So no one is refusing anything.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s still not clear to me why a middle aged man would, or should, have known about one of the stars of the High School Musical franchise, which, as someone here noted, only had one theatrical release.

I get you’d rather not address how audiences continue to not show up for Disney films at the box office, but this is a pretty transparent way to refuse to address his claims

I noticed they tried the box office for round 3…instead of selling it to netflix…which is of course where all The “real” Money is…

Like for the little mermaid and wish

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s been discussed many times over now in this thread and others why audiences didn't likely show up for Disney films recently.

Oh we all can go back and read some of the doozies…I’m not sure “discussion” is the right word for it though

 

[Disney Irish]

Oh we all can go back and read some of the doozies…I’m not sure “discussion” is the right word for it though

We've all had many back and forth "discussions" on the box office over the last year+. The point is that this isn't new ground we're covering here, its been discussed to death. The only hope is that 2024 is a better year for Disney at the box office. Only time will tell. We may be back here a year from now discussing the same thing over again, and I'll still be complaining that its a tired discussion.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We've all had many back and forth "discussions" on the box office over the last year+. The point is that this isn't new ground we're covering here, its been discussed to death. The only hope is that 2024 is a better year for Disney at the box office. Only time will tell. We may be back here a year from now discussing the same thing over again, and I'll still be complaining that its a tired discussion.

It just depends on if what they release is better. That’s what audiences will pay for…it is what it is