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

[TP2000]

Wicked has also yet to release in some foreign markets. I expect it to do well in Japan.

On The Numbers site, Wicked opened in all overseas markets by December 5th. The majority of markets opened on November 21st or 22nd. The lone exception is Japan, which doesn't open until March 7th, 2025.

I somehow doubt the springtime Japan audience (of maybe $25 Million?) will save its overseas performance overall. But maybe Japan had the same Easter tradition of showing The Wizard of Oz on national broadcast television for decades since the 1950's?

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.

thenumbers.com

 

[Disney Irish]

I couldn't agree with you more. There's clearly a disconnect on Wicked with foreign audiences, while it's been notably more successful with Americans. Luckily, it "only" had a $150 Million production budget, so it got itself to breakeven last week while still flopping in most overseas markets.

If Wicked had a Burbank-sized budget of $250+ Million, its path to breakeven would be almost impossible with its dismal overseas performance.

I grew up watching The Wizard of Oz on TV every Easter break. I vaguely remember it as NBC, with the ding-dong-ding jingle In Living Color. Do they still broadcast Oz on network TV, I wonder? I doubt most Europeans had that tradition, and many Europeans born after 1970 may have never even seen The Wizard of Oz on any format; broadcast TV, movie theaters, Disc/Cassettes. If so, and if they aren't West End London theater fans, why would they even care about Wicked?

The comparatively dismal overseas box office for Wicked seems to prove that point for us.

I would say that Wicked is sort of its own thing separate of 1939 Wizard of Oz, similar to how The Wiz was its own thing also. So the nostalgia for the 1939 movie wouldn't play into this as much as being a fan of the musical.

As you sort of alluded to, the musical toured worldwide since 2006, including very successful runs in London's West End, other places in the UK/Ireland, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Mexico and Australia to name a few. So it has quite a following, very possible that those other countries aren't big on the film adaptations of the favorite musical or will catch it down the line when it hits whatever streaming service it goes to overseas.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Coincidentally, of the 13 movies released as "Platinum Edition" DVDs in the 2000s*, all but one (Bambi) have been done as live action remakes. The movies included in this line up were based on prior home video sales.

They've run out of the heavy hitters of the 20th century, and that's why they're doing post 2000 stuff now too.

I know a lot of other movies have been considered, but it feels like they're all stuck in development.

*Fantasia was to be movie #14, but ultimately was released in 2010 without said title

 

[TP2000]

Too lazy to look it up but how would that domestic opening compare to other live action remakes?

You'd need to adjust for inflation here in late 2024, even for movies from 2019. The past few years have been brutal for the American pocketbook, remember.

The Lion King live action remake opened on a mid July weekend in 2019 to a total of $192 Million domestically, which would be $237 Million here in 2024. If Mufasa makes $55 Million domestically in its debut weekend, that would mean Mufasa only made 23% of the debut box office that its 2019 predecessor did, adjusted for inflation.

And if they spent more than $200 Million on the production budget for Mufasa, a weak domestic opening weekend of only $55 Million will mean financial disaster barring some huge overseas box office.

Lion King: $191.7 million
Beauty and the Beast: $174.7 million
Alice in Wonderland: $116 million
Jungle Book: $103 Million
Little Mermaid: $95.5 million
Aladdin: $91.5 million
Maleficent: $69.4 million
Cinderella: $67.8 million
Dumbo: $46 million
Maleficent 2: $36.9 million
Alice Through the Looking Glass: $26.8 million
Cruella: $21.4 million [same-day Disney+ release you had to pay for]

Some of those movies are a decade old, when eggs were still $1.99 a dozen. Adjusted for inflation for 2024 dollars, those opening weekend figures look like this...

The Lion King 2019: $237 Million
Beauty & The Beast 2017: $225 Million
Alice in Wonderland 2010: $168 Million
Aladdin 2019: $113 Million
Maleficent 2014: $92 Million
Cinderella 2015: $90 Million
Dumbo 2019: $57 Million
Maleficent 2 2019: $46 Million

If the expert predictions are accurate, it would seem that Mufasa is headed towards a debut weekend at the box office of something between Dumbo and Maleficent 2. That's very troubling if you are a Sharp Pencil Boy in Burbank.

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[LittleBuford]

I think the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked musical are simply much more popular in America than overseas, which is why Wicked is a phenomenon in the U.S. and flopping/underperforming in overseas countries. Similar thing happened earlier this year with Twisters doing great in the U.S. but poorly overseas.

It’s a bit dismaying as a non-American to see posts like yours that lump all non-US countries together in this way. Wicked is doing very well in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Korea. One can’t just reductively speak of the “overseas” market as if it’s a monolith.

ETA: The Wizard of Oz is also extremely popular in the UK (I can’t speak for other markets). It was a staple of Christmas broadcasting when I was growing up.

 

[Disney Irish]

It’s a bit dismaying as a non-American to see posts like yours that lump all non-US countries together in this way. Wicked is doing very well in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Korea. One can’t just reductively speak of the “overseas” market as if it’s a monolith.

ETA: The Wizard of Oz is also extremely popular in the UK (I can’t speak for other markets). It was a staple of Christmas broadcasting when I was growing up.

Not to mention as I posted previously, the musical toured quite successfully in many overseas markets around the world.

 

[CinematicFusion]

I think the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked musical are simply much more popular in America than overseas, which is why Wicked is a phenomenon in the U.S. and flopping/underperforming in overseas countries. Similar thing happened earlier this year with Twisters doing great in the U.S. but poorly overseas.

There's a possibility, however, that Wicked Part 2 might do better overseas if foreign audiences discover the film more in streaming. I don't think other countries necessarily hate Wicked, they just don't have nostalgia for the IP.

Wicked fortunately kept it's budget fairly low for this type of movie by shooting both films back-to-back, so it will be profitable regardless.

2-hour and 40-minute runtime of Wicked doesn’t help its box office performance, even though it was well-received and a well-done movie. longer runtime limits the number of showings per day… makes it harder to sell tickets.
In comparison, Barbie and Moana 2 each run about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

 

[Ghost93]

It’s a bit dismaying as a non-American to see posts like yours that lump all non-US countries together in this way. Wicked is doing very well in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Korea. One can’t just reductively speak of the “overseas” market as if it’s a monolith.

ETA: The Wizard of Oz is also extremely popular in the UK (I can’t speak for other markets). It was a staple of Christmas broadcasting when I was growing up.

I'm mainly talking about countries not in the anglosphere and looking at the international box office as a whole — not country by country. Most big movies make more money overseas than they do domestically, and Wicked is different in that regard.

I WISH Wicked was doing better internationally as it's a great movie (my personal fave of the year), and much, MUCH better than Moana 2, which deserves none of the money its getting.

2-hour and 40-minute runtime of Wicked doesn’t help its box office performance, even though it was well-received and a well-done movie. longer runtime limits the number of showings per day… makes it harder to sell tickets.
In comparison, Barbie and Moana 2 each run about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

I don't think so when Avatar, Avengers Endgame, Avatar the Way of Water and Titanic are all in the top four highest grossing movies of all time and are all 3 hours long. People will sit through a long movie if it's good and they think it's an event. And in the U.S., that's how people are treating Wicked.

Japan is a potential big market for Wicked, but the movie won't release there until March.

 

[LittleBuford]

I'm mainly talking about countries not in the anglosphere and looking at the international box office as a whole — not country by country.

OK, but the conversation was focused on Wicked’s performance in the UK and Ireland. What’s the point of using a term like “overseas” if you actually mean “non-anglosphere”?

 

[Ghost93]

OK, but the conversation was focused on Wicked’s performance in the UK and Ireland. What’s the point of using a term like “overseas” if you actually mean “non-anglosphere”?

Maybe I should have just said "international box office" instead of "overseas," but I wasn't expecting my comments to be nitpicked to death, especially when I haven't attacked anyone in this thread. Back off.

While the UK performance is pretty good, overall, Wicked's overall International total is low. Just go to Box Office Mojo and you can see the combined international box office total of all non-U.S. countries Wicked has been released in is significantly less than the total box office in the United States. I'm not sure why this is controversial to point out as it's not typical of a major blockbuster. And I'm not coming from this as a hater of Wicked, I love the film.

 

[LittleBuford]

Maybe I should have just said "international box office" instead of "overseas," but I wasn't expecting my comments to be nitpicked to death. Back off.

It’s not nitpicking to ask that you frame your comments with some degree of accuracy.

While the UK performance is pretty good, overall, Wicked's overall International total is low.

I have never denied that. But it doesn’t have anything to do with my point, which is that framing things as North America vs. The Rest of the World obscures the fact that the film is performing differently in different markets.

 

[Ghost93]

It’s not nitpicking to ask that you frame your comments with some degree of accuracy.

More than half of the countries Wicked has been released in are overseas.

 

[LittleBuford]

I'm not sure why this is controversial to point out as it's not typical of a major blockbuster. And I'm not coming from this as a hater of Wicked, I love the film.

I’m quoting this separately because you have apparently misunderstood why this matters to me. This has nothing to do with my being a fan of the film or wishing to defend it. How it’s performing—or underperforming as the case may be—is simply a matter of fact, substantiated by numbers. And yes, those numbers show that the North American share of the box office is by far the largest. But those same numbers also show the absurdity of claiming that the film is doing only “modestly” in the UK. It was in response to that specific statement that I replied to @TP2000, not to disagree with the claim that Wicked isn’t a global hit. Why would I dispute what is factually irrefutable (even if others—and I don’t mean you—are apparently happy doing so)?

 

[LittleBuford]

More than half of the countries Wicked has been released in are overseas.

These discussions are so US-centric that you probably don’t and simply can’t understand where I’m coming from.

ETA: I should have said “North-American-centric” given that Canada—and a number of Canadian posters—are part of the story. I could have corrected myself silently but feel I should acknowledge my own terminological slips.

 

[Ghost93]

Not to mention as I posted previously, the musical toured quite successfully in many overseas markets around the world.

This is why I have some hope that the Japan release will do well.

I’m quoting this separately because you have apparently misunderstood why this matters to me. This has nothing to do with my being a fan of the film or wishing to defend it. How it’s performing—or underperforming as the case may be—is simply a matter of fact, substantiated by numbers. And yes, those numbers show that the North American share of the box office is by far the largest. But those same numbers also show the absurdity of claiming that the film is doing only “modestly” in the UK. It was in response to that specific statement that I replied to @TP2000, not to disagree with the claim that Wicked isn’t a global hit. Why would I dispute what is factually irrefutable (even if others—and I don’t mean you—are apparently happy doing so)?

Ah, I see now. I was responding to the TP2000's general sentiment about the international box office and wasn't exactly paying attention to his inaccurate statements about the UK box office.

Also, I apologize for my "back off" comment. I think I may have read things in a harsher tone than intended and I think I was needlessly harsh/mean in my response. You didn't deserve that as you are among the more civil posters on this forum.

And yes, I was mainly looking at things from a US perspective (since I am an United States citizen and Wicked is a US film), but I probably should have been more specific in talking about the regions where it is underperforming. But in most U.S. articles about the box office, international totals tend to be lumped together in box office reports, which is why I did something similar.

 

[LittleBuford]

This is why I have some hope that the Japan release will do well.


Ah, I see now. I was responding to the TP2000's general sentiment about the international box office and wasn't exactly paying attention to his inaccurate statements about the UK box office.

Also, apologize for my "back off" comment. I think I may have read things in a harsher tone than intended and I think I was needlessly harsh/mean in my response. You didn't deserve that as you are among the more civil posters on this forum.

And yes, I was mainly looking at things from a US perspective (since I am an United States citizen and Wicked is a US film), but I probably should have been more specific in talking about the regions where it is underperforming. But in most U.S. articles about the box office, international totals tend to be lumped together in box office reports, which is why I did something similar.

It’s all good, and I apologise for embroiling you in my spat with another poster. I was pricklier than I should have been.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Wicked has always been a harder sell outside the anglophone world, although the show has still had much success over the years.

Wizard of Oz is an American classic, and Wicked is rightfully insanely more popular here.

The movie is a success regardless, and I am sure Universal is very pleased.

 

[CinematicFusion]

Wicked did what it needed to do. As of December 15, 2024, the film adaptation of “Wicked” has grossed approximately $361.7 million domestically and $166.1 million internationally, totaling around $527.8 million worldwide.

production and marketing budget of $250 million. film has surpassed its initial investment making it profitable.

Wicked has achieved significant box office success and set records for a musical adaptation but Universal Pictures anticipated higher earnings and has not entirely met the ambitious financial expectations set by the studio, particularly concerning its international performance.

 

[TP2000]

That you’re describing even Moana 2’s global box-office performance as “modest” leaves me wondering what on earth you understand by that term.

In the context of the conversation here in the last few days, plus the box office data that have been used to compare it to other Disney live action remakes in the past decade, I feel confident in calling Moana 2 a modest success in that context.

It's not a huge global hit like 2019's The Lion King or Beauty & The Beast, but it's certainly not a flop like Dumbo. It's on a trajectory to be a modest success and get around $900 Million globally by the end of its run, and it has already crossed into profitability in its third week in theaters owing to its Made For TV production budget of only $150 Million.

 

[TP2000]

Wicked did what it needed to do. As of December 15, 2024, the film adaptation of “Wicked” has grossed approximately $361.7 million domestically and $166.1 million internationally, totaling around $527.8 million worldwide.

production and marketing budget of $250 million. film has surpassed its initial investment making it profitable.

Really? $250 Million for production/marketing? I had it pegged as only spending half its production budget of $145 Million on marketing, thus getting to a total of $225 Million. But they spent $100 Million on marketing? I can believe that actually, reflecting back on how many YouTube commercials I saw for Wicked, and the huge product pavilion on display at my local Target.

Wicked has achieved significant box office success and set records for a musical adaptation but Universal Pictures anticipated higher earnings and has not entirely met the ambitious financial expectations set by the studio, particularly concerning its international performance.

Makes sense. If they spent $250 Million on Wicked, they must have planned for it to do better. Especially overseas, where box office was mostly dismal for a big budget Hollywood musical like that. Hmm...