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

[Disney Analyst]

It did for the midweek lull, possible for Moana to take it back for the weekend.

I could see Wicked beating it - it has such a momentum right now.

 

[erasure fan1]

Variety claims $240M, and Forbes claims $269.4M. So who knows which is correct as reshoot budgets aren’t public usually. However none of those take into account the UK tax rebate that Disney got, which lowers the price tag by $55.5M bringing even the top end to $213.9M.

So that is the figure that should be used for any calculations, $213.9M.

You are right, it's anyone's guess what the budget was on it. I've seen it reported as at the high end before reshoots. I'd be surprised if we ever see any real numbers on it. They do not want those out at all. If it flops hard, the less financial info out there the better. Even if it does well, they don't want the narrative, well it still didn't profit because the budget was out of control. As an example, mermaid with a reasonable budget does ok financially.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Exactly. It was a 4 second scene where Wade introduces his sister and her girlfriend. Who sit two feet apart from each other.

It wasn't quite the Sapphic version of Splendor In The Grass, was it?

Thanks for explaining. I keep seeing this referenced here regarding Elemental, but have no recollection of it. If not for this thread/board I would have no idea there was even anything like that in the movie.

 

[Disney Irish]

You are right, it's anyone's guess what the budget was on it. I've seen it reported as at the high end before reshoots. I'd be surprised if we ever see any real numbers on it. They do not want those out at all. If it flops hard, the less financial info out there the better. Even if it does well, they don't want the narrative, well it still didn't profit because the budget was out of control. As an example, mermaid with a reasonable budget does ok financially.

That is why for discussion purposes it’s best to just use the $213.9M number as it’s the closest we’ll come to any real number for this movie as that is at least verifiable through financial reports.

 

[Ghost93]

Thanks for explaining. I keep seeing this referenced here regarding Elemental, but have no recollection of it. If not for this thread/board I would have no idea there was even anything like that in the movie.

There was an article quoting the voice actor about Wade's sibling/sister being nonbinary, but it's NEVER stated in the movie that the character is nonbinary. Furthermore, Wade uses "her" as a pronoun to discuss the nonbinary character in question.

 

[DisneyWarrior27]

It did for the midweek lull, possible for Moana to take it back for the weekend.

My thoughts exactly.

I could see Wicked beating it - it has such a momentum right now.

Eh. I think both movies will each get $500M domestic.

 

[LittleBuford]

There was an article quoting the voice actor about Wade's sibling/sister being nonbinary, but it's NEVER stated in the movie that the character is nonbinary. Furthermore, Wade uses "her" as a pronoun to discuss the nonbinary character in question.

Doesn’t change the fact that the character is presented as queer: “Anyway, that's my little sib, Lake, and her girlfriend, Ghibli." Had Wade used “their”, it would actually have made Lake’s queerness less obvious (since audiences may have interpreted the character as male).

 

[LittleBuford]

Thanks for explaining. I keep seeing this referenced here regarding Elemental, but have no recollection of it. If not for this thread/board I would have no idea there was even anything like that in the movie.

I think a lot of things are amplified here that have very little bearing on the real world. To read certain people’s posts, you’d think Lightyear failed on the basis of a fleeting kiss in a brief flashback sequence, and not because it was dull and joyless.

 

[Disney Irish]

I think a lot of things are amplified here that have very little bearing on the real world. To read certain people’s posts, you’d think Lightyear failed on the basis of a fleeting kiss in a brief flashback sequence, and not because it was dull and joyless.

Not to mention having very little to do with the character everyone wanted to see, and not being voiced by the actor who made the character what he was. Both of which were the biggest factors, not the other stuff.

 

[LittleBuford]

Not to mention having very little to do with the character everyone wanted to see, and not being voiced by the actor who made the character what he was. Both of which were the biggest factors, not the other stuff.

I understand why the character was different—he was meant to be the original, after all, rather than the toy version. It could have worked well if executed better. Alas, what they gave us was really plodding.

 

[Disney Irish]

I understand why the character was different—he was meant to be the original, after all, rather than the toy version. It could have worked well if executed better. Alas, what they gave us was really plodding.

I understand the concept they were going for, but it was just stupid in the way they did, execution as you mentioned. Could have been done better and with Allen being the voice, would have performed a whole lot better even with the minor kiss controversy.

 

[TP2000]

....it's NEVER stated in the movie that the character is nonbinary. Furthermore, Wade uses "her" as a pronoun to discuss the nonbinary character in question.

I'm not an expert on the latest 2SLGBTQQIA+ lingo, and there's no "N" in that acronym, but wouldn't the fact that she is described as a "she" by Wade during introductions make her by definition binary?

She is a girl. Wade's sister, in fact. And while it's not said out loud in the movie, it is implied through blatant coding that would make Paul Lynde blush that her girlfriend is linked to her romantically and not just a platonic gal pal girlfriend. So what part of her story is non-binary?

This reminds me of the backstory for the queue in Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Some intern at WDI wrote up a whole bunch of inane backstory for the log ride that is vaguely and/or barely mentioned or alluded to in the queue. And in the world of a Parks Blog post a year or two before the ride opened, it exists. But now while actual paying customers are waiting in line for the actual log ride, that fabricated backstory is either unseen, unexplained, or ignored entirely.

Wade's sister being non-binary by declaration of an actress on Instagram 6 months before the movie came out in theaters seems just like that. But if that's what the kids want with "representation" today, then so be it. It seems all rather silly and pandering to me, but then perhaps my expectations are too high for what "representation" actually is?

 

[TP2000]

I could see Wicked beating it - it has such a momentum right now.

The thing with Wicked Vs. Moana 2 is that Wicked has very weak box office overseas, compared to the USA.

The lone exception seemingly being the UK, with modest box office so far of $36 Million, or a third of its total overseas take.

But just across the Channel and Wicked has weak European box office, and extremely weak Asian box office. Wicked seems to mainly be an American phenom, with a small outpost of decent box office in the UK likely owing to London's West End theater scene. It's definitely not big in Germany or Japan, unlike David Hasselhoff.

Wicked (2024) - Financial Information

Financial analysis of Wicked (2024) including budget, domestic and international box office gross, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, total earnings and profitability.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[Miss Rori]

Sorry, I haven’t been following. What sources confirmed the reanimation and decision not to air? Doesn’t Disney usually keep that information close?

Some of the animators who worked on the film spoke to IGN about the film's production.

Inside Out 2 Was the Hit Pixar Needed, but the Laid-Off Employees Who Crunched on It Are Still Hurting - IGN

Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossed animated film ever. But behind the scenes, Pixar workers grappled with crunch, layoffs, and an avoidance of LGBTQ+ themes. Our report of the tumultuous making of the sequel to one of the most beloved Pixar films ever.

www.ign.com

 

[Miss Rori]

But just across the Channel and Wicked has weak European box office, and extremely weak Asian box office. Wicked seems to mainly be an American phenom, with a small outpost of decent box office in the UK likely owing to London's West End theater scene. It's definitely not big in Germany or Japan, unlike David Hasselhoff.

Non-animated/Disney musicals tend to be tough international sells. Bear in mind that Wicked hasn't been released in Japan yet (I believe they're waiting until March on that), and the musical is rather popular there, so it could do well.

 

[celluloid]

Non-animated/Disney musicals tend to be tough international sells. Bear in mind that Wicked hasn't been released in Japan yet (I believe they're waiting until March on that), and the musical is rather popular there, so it could do well.

Also, Wicked in US had Thanksgiving. There was not a Thanksgiving time holiday break outside of the very US Holiday. So the non-Disney/animated musical thing holds true and has done very well considering. It will buiild.

 

[LittleBuford]

Non-animated/Disney musicals tend to be tough international sells. Bear in mind that Wicked hasn't been released in Japan yet (I believe they're waiting until March on that), and the musical is rather popular there, so it could do well.

It hasn’t come out in Germany yet either (where the musical is also very popular), but why let facts get in the way of well-articulated spin?

 

[LittleBuford]

On Wicked's performance in the UK and Ireland:

Wicked cast its spell on UK-Ireland audiences this weekend, bringing in £13.7m in its debut – the best-performing opening weekend for a stage-to-screen adaptation in the territory, and the biggest opening weekend of 2024.​

The musical was released at 701 sites, for a site average of £19,543 for Universal. It beat previous stage-to-screen record holder Les Misérables, with £8.1m in 2013. Wicked also knocked Deadpool & Wolverine off its 2024 opening weekend top spot, bringing in £12.6m for Disney in July.​

​

It is also the third-highest opening for a musical ever in the UK and Ireland, behind Beauty And The Beast (£19.7m, March 2017) and Frozen 2 (£15.1m, November 2019) and the third-highest opening weekend for a PG certificate film, behind Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King (£16.7m, July 2019). It is also Universal’s third-highest opening weekend of all time.​

Well deserved! I'm a Disney fan through and through, but this, not Moana 2, is the film that ought to be taking the world by storm.

‘Wicked’ shines with biggest opening weekend of 2024 at UK-Ireland box office

The musical has also broken the box office record for best-peforming debut for a stage-to-screen adaptation in the territory.

www.screendaily.com

 

[TalkingHead]

Some of the animators who worked on the film spoke to IGN about the film's production.

Inside Out 2 Was the Hit Pixar Needed, but the Laid-Off Employees Who Crunched on It Are Still Hurting - IGN

Inside Out 2 is the highest-grossed animated film ever. But behind the scenes, Pixar workers grappled with crunch, layoffs, and an avoidance of LGBTQ+ themes. Our report of the tumultuous making of the sequel to one of the most beloved Pixar films ever.

www.ign.com

Considering how weak the Oscar race is this year, there’s a chance that a more ambitious-riskier Inside Out sequel might’ve become the first animated Best Picture winner. Not that Disney would trade that for the box office…

 

[Farerb]

An animated film will never win Best Picture, no matter how good it is, and at this point they have been sanitized so much that they aren't even being considered for a nomination.