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

[Disney Irish]

You realize that the Hollywood "industry" in SoCal is in an economic recession, dragging down the entire region, right?

You realize that multiple news sources, who are nothing but left-wing, keep talking about how dire the economic situation is for low level support workers, blue collar workers in the trades, and white collar cubicle drones in the movie industry, right?

The economy of greater Los Angeles is weakened and getting weaker, and the specific industry of show business is at the heart of that weakness. Which has led to Billion dollar budget deficits from LA to Sacramento. But sure, write off yet another mega-million Disney flop and pretend it doesn't matter to the little people. But it matters, and Hollywood's working class is paying the price.

Hollywood Workers, Still Reeling From Five Years Of Economic Turmoil, Turn To Collective Action In Wake Of L.A. Wildfires

In the wake of the L.A. wildfires, Hollywood's workers members have been helping their own with relief and recovery efforts.

deadline.com

Workers feel the pain as a post-streaming-wars Hollywood restructures

Contraction. Pullback. Market correction. However you want to describe what’s going on in the Hollywood economy right now, there are potentially brutal long-term consequences of the entertainment industry’s shrinkage.

www.latimes.com

Behind the stunning job losses in Hollywood: 'The audience has moved on'

After strikes by actors and writers last year, Los Angeles' entertainment economy is struggling to stage a comeback as production activity, employment and box office revenue are down.

www.latimes.com

California is gripped by economic problems, with no easy fix

Rising unemployment, a growing deficit and persistent outmigration are a painful trinity

www.economist.com

Your concern for the little guy is heart warming, it really is.

Funny how this never got brought up until now. Wasn’t really brought up during the strikes last year even though Disney had a banner year. Wasn’t brought up during Disney’s no good really bad year of 2023, but other Studios were doing ok. Wasn’t brought up during 2021 or 2022 when almost all Studios were struggling. Heck it wasn’t even really brought up too much during 2020 when everything was shutdown and many of us discussed how theaters might be closing permanently.

No it’s only brought up now after a producers son mentions it, which doesn’t even apply to the film it was being attributed to since it was done in the UK.

So as heart warming as it is, forgive me for not shedding a tear since it’s never been something anyone cared about before.

 

[brideck]

You realize that multiple news sources, who are nothing but left-wing, keep talking about how dire the economic situation is for low level support workers, blue collar workers in the trades, and white collar cubicle drones in the movie industry, right?

Not in the movie industry writ large, though. You're talking specifically about the situation in SoCal. Others are talking about the industry as a whole, so ya'll are talking at cross purposes.

Disney didn't make Snow White in the LA area, so nothing you're talking about is pertinent to the discussion about that movie and its blue collar workers. Disney, in fact, hardly makes any of their live-action stuff in SoCal as far as I'm aware. (Anyone can feel free to correct me, I have no desire to look up what facilities have been used for every movie.) They shoot a lot in the UK, they shoot a lot in Georgia, etc. In short, they chase the tax credits that incentivize where movies and TV get made. As I'm sure you're aware, California is considering bumping their credits (https://variety.com/2025/biz/news/california-film-credit-35-percent-animation-sitcoms-1236348602/) in order to compete with the rest of the market, so maybe that will entice Disney to make more there.

 

[TP2000]

Your concern for the little guy is heart warming, it really is.

Funny how this never got brought up until now. Wasn’t really brought up during the strikes last year even though Disney had a banner year. Wasn’t brought up during Disney’s no good really bad year of 2023, but other Studios were doing ok. Wasn’t brought up during 2021 or 2022 when almost all Studios were struggling. Heck it wasn’t even really brought up too much during 2020 when everything was shutdown and many of us discussed how theaters might be closing permanently.

No it’s only brought up now after a producers son mentions it, which doesn’t even apply to the film it was being attributed to since it was done in the UK.

So as heart warming as it is, forgive me for not shedding a tear since it’s never been something anyone cared about before.

It was brought up because the Jonah Platt Instagram spat, and his valid points, made headlines in the past 24 hours.

He has a good point. Rachel Zegler already got her multi-million payout for Snow White, flop or hit. But the little guys need a Hollywood that is making more hits than flops to pay their rent.

The Hollywood economy, and the broader LA County economy, is weak right now and not looking bright. Rachel Zegler might try to remember that before she Tweets again in the future on her next mega-budget project.

 

[Disney Irish]

It was brought up because the Jonah Platt Instagram spat, and his valid points, made headlines in the past 24 hours.

He has a good point. Rachel Zegler already got her multi-million payout for Snow White, flop or hit. But the little guys need a Hollywood that is making more hits than flops to pay their rent.

The Hollywood economy, and the broader LA County economy, is weak right now and not looking bright. Rachel Zegler might try to remember that before she Tweets again in the future on her next mega-budget project.

And as I mentioned before and @brideck just echoed none of this has anything to do with Snow White or Zegler. Platt’s comments are shallow at best and self serving at worst being the son of a producer who’s actual livelihood depends on the success of the films he produces, not the Hollywood “little guy” who have no actual stake in how a film does.

So as touching as this faux outrage you have is, if you really were concerned for the Hollywood “little guy” you’d be out every weekend going to the movies and supporting all those thousands of worker you claim to be concerned about.

 

[coffeefan]

Now let's hear from some "little guys" that have worked with her.

 

[Ayla]

Disney adjusted their future release schedule after the disastrous 2022 box office, that’s how it hurts workers, if Disney pushes back another project or 2 as a result of losses in 2025 that results in thousands of lost jobs.

Hollywood is already struggling as more movies move to Vancouver, Georgia, England, even here in Vegas… the last thing they need is for studios to delay a couple more projects as a result of struggling box office results.

Do you think those productions move with only a few people involved? Of course not, it takes hundreds of people.

 

[Ayla]

The California economy in general is one of the weakest ones in the nation, and the Los Angeles economy specifically is one of the weakest in an already weak California. The loss of Hollywood production and business is really hurting things in and around LA.

As Hollywood Struggles, the Region’s Economy Feels the Pain

Film production has failed to bounce back after major strikes last year, and competition from other locales has gotten stiffer.

www.nytimes.com

Los Angeles' entertainment industry suffers continued losses over past three years, report says

The film and television industry in Los Angeles, widely heralded as the entertainment capital of the world, suffered substantial economic losses over the past three years, according to an industry report released Wednesday.

www.cbsnews.com

There are parts of LA that were once vibrant and successful owing to their proximity to the Hollywood money machine, but they are now slipping into decay and abandonment. Not all of that is due to Hollywood's financial straits, but is also due to years of catastrophic government policy at the state and local level on drug abuse, crime, homelessness, etc.

But large swaths of LA that were once "Tinsel Town!" now look more like an abandoned steel mill town in Ohio.

That is complete and utter hogwash and you know it. California's economy alone is the 5th largest in the WORLD, which ranks them above the vast majority of countries across the globe.

 

[Indy_UK]

I don’t get why Disney continue to be so tone deaf on so much outside of their own bubble. Everyone saw leading up to release how things were going to go and on a film that yet again, nobody asked for.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don’t get why Disney continue to be so tone deaf on so much outside of their own bubble. Everyone saw leading up to release how things were going to go and on a film that yet again, nobody asked for.

The problem, however, is that a good number of the remakes have been extremely lucrative for Disney. You say nobody asks for these films, but they often go on to make over a billion. People are already predicting that the Stitch movie will prove a blockbuster.

 

[Indy_UK]

The problem, however, is that a good number of the remakes have been extremely lucrative for Disney. You say nobody asks for these films, but they often go on to make over a billion. People are already predicting that the Stitch movie will prove a blockbuster.

Some live action remakes make sense and I am looking forward to Stitch but it feels Disney is just working through a list and not actually putting any thought behind it.

With a bunch of these remakes I don’t understand why they have to make changes to the original story. Zegler goes on about not being the same Snow White who isn’t saved by a man blah blah blah. Why can’t she be anymore? If they don’t want her to be then you know what…. Make a new original movie instead to tell that story

 

[LittleBuford]

With a bunch of these remakes I don’t foresee why they have to make changes to the original story. Zegler goes on about not being the same Snow White who isn’t saved by a man blah blah blah. Why can’t she be anymore? If they don’t want her to be then you know what…. Make a new original movie instead to tell that story

Not to give too much away (although there seems to be no discernible difference between this thread and the spoiler one), but she actually is saved by a man, albeit a bandit rather than a prince: she is awoken from death by true love’s kiss after being poisoned by the apple. I think what Zegler (and Gadot) meant was that she wouldn’t only be saved by a man—that there would be more to her story, which indeed there is.

As I discussed yesterday after seeing it, this is a very traditional family film. Sure, it deviates from the plot of the original, but there is nothing controversial about it. Had it been released before 2020, no-one would be decrying it as woke propaganda. (I dread to think what sort of reception the far more daring Frozen would get if released today.)

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

As I discussed yesterday after seeing it, this is a very traditional family film. Sure, it deviates from the plot of the original, but there is nothing controversial about it. Had it been released before 2020, no-one would be decrying it as woke propaganda. (I dread to think what sort of reception the far more daring Frozen would get if released today.)

I think this is where the original comments hurt it. The first comments most of us heard about this movie was Gadot and Zegler talking about how It wasn’t going to be like the old, obviously outdated, original, she wasn’t going to be saved by a stalker Prince, she was going to find her role as a leader, etc. It sounded like a completely different, “woke” (I know people hate this use of the word but I don’t know how else to describe it), version of a movie we grew up with and love.

It sounds like the film ended up similar to the original but a ton of people will never know because the tone was set years before it actually released and that tone was mostly negative.

 

[coffeefan]

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Do you think those productions move with only a few people involved? Of course not, it takes hundreds of people.

That’s the problem, if they delay or cancel a movie because of struggles this year it affects hundreds of people next year.

I work special events in Vegas, primarily concerts and corporate events, if concerts struggle to make money this year fewer bands will tour next year, that’s just how it works, so the success of this years tours will determine if I work 150 concerts next year, 100, or 50. As a front line worker I have zero control over that, my future income is highly dependent on people buying tickets, just like the future income of front line movie workers is highly dependent on people buying movie tickets this year.

 

[brideck]

It sounds like the film ended up similar to the original but a ton of people will never know because the tone was set years before it actually released and that tone was mostly negative.

It's a shame that people aren't able to, you know, take in new information and overturn their preconceived notions. But that pretty much sums up modern society as a whole, so why would the conversation around one little movie be any different?

All right, I did some crunching based on Snow White's open, and if it gets holds like Maleficent: Mistress of Evil it'll end up around $130m domestic. If it instead gets holds like Dumbo, which performed really poorly, it'll end up around $105m domestic.

If it ends up higher than $75m after next weekend, then it'll have gotten a decent word-of-mouth bump and everything will need to be recalibrated. We'll see how much those school-age girls are talking to each other about it this week.

We've got numbers for Monday through Thursday now, so we can safely say (unless the actual weekend is miraculously significantly different) that Snow White is firmly on the Dumbo path for its holds.

ETA: You'll see news blurbs about how Snow White has held on to all of its theaters for week 2, but that's hiding that on the screening side it's down to 2 screens/theater in my area. That's where Mufasa and Brave New World were in their 3rd weeks of release. The timeline has begun to accelerate.

 

[Disney Irish]

Do you think those productions move with only a few people involved? Of course not, it takes hundreds of people.

Not only that, but when those productions move to the other locations they are good for those local economies where local productions crews are used. So if you uproot all those productions for those other location now go back to use only LA locations you just put now many thousands of local production crews out of work from all those other location, ie a bigger impact on jobs.

The Hollywood engine is global not just set in the LA area anymore.

 

[coffeefan]

 

[Agent H]

I think this is where the original comments hurt it. The first comments most of us heard about this movie was Gadot and Zegler talking about how It wasn’t going to be like the old, obviously outdated, original, she wasn’t going to be saved by a stalker Prince, she was going to find her role as a leader, etc. It sounded like a completely different, “woke” (I know people hate this use of the word but I don’t know how else to describe it), version of a movie we grew up with and love.

It sounds like the film ended up similar to the original but a ton of people will never know because the tone was set years before it actually released and that tone was mostly negative.

I agree the comments may have gone a bit too far but I think it’s just a sad remark on people these days being unwilling to look past their initial assumptions for the facts.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It's a shame that people aren't able to, you know, take in new information and overturn their preconceived notions. But that pretty much sums up modern society as a whole, so why would the conversation around one little movie be any different?

It is a shame but also the reason there’s so many famous sayings about first impressions, I think humans are just wired that way, they say most people make their first impression of someone in the first 30 seconds and it takes 8 positive outcomes, or several months (depending on the study), to change that impression. This is why smiling is so important, a smile is one of the biggest factors in first impressions.

This isn’t a modern society problem either, many of these saying go back decades.

 

[Disney Irish]

That’s the problem, if they delay or cancel a movie because of struggles this year it affects hundreds of people next year.

I work special events in Vegas, primarily concerts and corporate events, if concerts struggle to make money this year fewer bands will tour next year, that’s just how it works, so the success of this years tours will determine if I work 150 concerts next year, 100, or 50. As a front line worker I have zero control over that, my future income is highly dependent on people buying tickets, just like the future income of front line movie workers is highly dependent on people buying movie tickets this year.

But again this makes the assumption that no studio is doing anything else but those delayed or cancelled movies. Most studios don't just have one or two productions going, Disney certainly doesn't, they have a pipeline of movies in various stages of production. So if one gets delayed or cancelled they fast track another into production so they have something always going. If they didn't we'd have no movies released to theaters because they wouldn't have anything in the pipeline. This is how the Hollywood engine works. No studio just completely shutdown all productions for months or years without an external force such as the strikes or a pandemic.

Again I understand your point-of-view, and empathize with your wanting to point to this movie as one that will cause strife in the industry. But I think you're being a bit over dramatic here, as this one movie isn't going to cause a cascading effect on all productions in the industry that causes thousands to lose their job because it wasn't successful. Especially when we've all fairly evenly agree that Disney is going to be alright for the year with the rest of their slate.