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

[LittleBuford]

I doubt too many people looked past the bright pink colors and the fact that it was about the beloved Barbie doll.

I actually think most people—even those who otherwise get quite worked up about these things—tend not to care about today’s supposedly controversial issues when they go into the experience without negative expectations. Where the marketing of Barbie really succeeded was in getting people into cinemas before they could decide the film was ideologically anathema to them, and once they were there, they just allowed themselves to enjoy the film despite its inclusion of elements that, on paper, they may have found objectionable. I just read a piece (a bit too political to share here) that summed the situation up nicely in its concluding sentence: “Mainstream audiences simply do not hate transgender actors enough to hold back their enthusiasm for the film.”

 

[LittleBuford]

Lemme guess:

Disney flopping again is a “conspiracy”…while a movie doing well specifically aimed at a modern wash on an age old stereotype is also…”conspiracy”


…I’ll be over in the parks threads where a definitive decline in Orlando attendance is also a “conspriracy”…

And then on the DVC where the sales numbers not even being discussed is also a “conspiracy”

Why make incorrect guesses rather than just read the posts?

 

[TP2000]

I just read a piece (a bit too political to share here) that summed the situation up nicely in its concluding sentence: “Mainstream audiences simply do not hate transgender actors enough to hold back their enthusiasm for the film.”

Oh, for gosh sakes. This is why "journalism" has become such a laughing stock of a career nowadays, because "journalists" ascribe all these big, scary ideas onto a middle-class American public they clearly have never met or talked to.

(Not a criticism of you @LittleBuford, but of the journalists always looking for things to be offended about)

Americans' Trust In Media Remains Near Record Low

Americans' trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly remains near the historical low, with sharply differing views among partisans.

news.gallup.com

I had no idea there was a Trans actress in Barbie until I'd already bought tickets, but I didn't care. Then I saw it and loved it, and then a day or two later when we were talking about the movie I thought "Wait, which one was the Trans lady?" and I had to Google. It was the redhead who kind of reminds me of Phoebe from Friends.

 

[LittleBuford]

And you inexplicably missed the very clear point of the quote, which is precisely that “the middle-class American public” doesn’t care about such things.

 

[TP2000]

Which is what the quote you mocked was saying anyway.

No, the quote I mocked said that Americans "hate" transgender people. Which could only be believed if you've never actually spoken to or hung out with mainstream Americans.

I just read a piece (a bit too political to share here) that summed the situation up nicely in its concluding sentence: “Mainstream audiences simply do not hate transgender actors enough to hold back their enthusiasm for the film.”

 

[LittleBuford]

No, the quote I mocked said that Americans "hate" transgender people. Which could only be believed if you've never actually spoken to or hung out with mainstream Americans.

That isn’t what the quote is saying, but you already know that.

Moving on . . .

 

[TP2000]

Spooky Thought:

If Haunted Mansion gets only $30 Million in its opening weekend, that would put it on a path towards $75 Million-ish domestically, and another $75 Million overseas. Which would mean that Haunted Mansion would lose at least $150 Million at the global box office due to its $155 Million production and $75 Million marketing budgets.

That's another $100+ Million loss on yet another Disney mega-budget movie.

DisCo's final summer tally on Tuesday, September 5th will be terrifying for them.

 

[TalkingHead]

I just read a piece (a bit too political to share here) that summed the situation up nicely in its concluding sentence: “Mainstream audiences simply do not hate transgender actors enough to hold back their enthusiasm for the film.”

It’s a valid question as to why the movie’s gender politics haven’t come under fire more but I think it’s more complicated than audiences think “it’s a good time so *shrug*.”

My guess is it’s largely due to Barbie being perceived as a “girls’ property and thus the expectation going in is it’ll have a pro-girls message. Contrast that with something like Ghostbusters where the girl power reboot was perceived as inverting a guys’ franchise.

And it can’t be understated that the teens-30s female audience that this movie is made for largely agrees with the things-arent-fair-for-women messaging in that one speech. It’s a simple case of preaching to the choir. Pretty reductive if you scratch the surface, but it’s what the audience wants to hear. It’s not telling them anything they don’t already agree with.

That’s not really possible for Disney whose movies play to a much more general audience, not to mention the issue of parents policing their kids’ entertainment for transgressive messages, etc. So if they were to insert a speech like the one in Barbie, they’d be raked over the coals.

Unfortunately their biggest takeaway will probably be to greenlight Toy Story 6 and 7.

 

[DisneyHead123]

It’s a valid question as to why the movie’s gender politics haven’t come under fire more but I think it’s more complicated than audiences think “it’s a good time so *shrug*.”

I think it’s because the progressive element stays in very, very safe territory. Barbie is white, wealthy, thin, beautiful, heterosexual, cisgender, etc. The movie has vague “Girl Power!” messaging, the kind of thing parents from all walks of life happily let their daughters wear on their tee shirts, and have for years. The people with the “wrong views” in the movie (based on reviews, haven’t seen it) are such complete and utter caricatures of chauvinism that pretty much everyone can walk away feeling like the good guy, like “Well I would never treat a woman like that!”

 

[TalkingHead]

The movie has vague “Girl Power!” messaging,

It’s not remotely vague. One character delivers a lengthy speech about how bad modern women have it.

 

[DisneyHead123]

It’s not remotely vague. One character delivers a lengthy speech about how bad modern women have it.

I read it - I thought it was vague in that it lists the types of life musings you might hear on a positive psychology podcast. Most of them applied to being human in general. There was one line about “the system is rigged”, but given that it was a single line, they didn’t tread too far in that direction (at least in the monologue). There were no specific critiques of any policies or statistics in regard to modern society, more like an Elsa moment when she’s like “Why does everyone expect me to be so freaking perfect?!” and then belts out Let It Go.

 

[Casper Gutman]

It’s not remotely vague. One character delivers a lengthy speech about how bad modern women have it.

Yeah, even very positive reviews note that the film absolutely stops in its tracks to deliver speeches that explicitly hammer home the message, which is what Disney has been accused of doing ("forcing") and really... hasn't done at all.

 

[BrianLo]

It's certainly an interesting landscape when the studios barely own their successful tentpole licenses these days. If they all weren't so meagrely performing to various levels another IP feeding frenzy would be soon taking place.

Or in the case of Sony, when your competitor owns your franchise.

It's a director and licensee forward landscape right now.

 

[Disney Irish]

I read it - I thought it was vague in that it lists the types of life musings you might hear on a positive psychology podcast. Most of them applied to being human in general. There was one line about “the system is rigged”, but given that it was a single line, they didn’t tread too far in that direction (at least in the monologue). There were no specific critiques of any policies or statistics in regard to modern society, more like an Elsa moment when she’s like “Why does everyone expect me to be so freaking perfect?!” and then belts out Let It Go.

Its one thing to "read it", which would be in your own voice, its another to see it and experience it in the middle of a movie said by a character in their voice surrounded by the context of the rest of the movie.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Its one thing to "read it", which would be in your own voice, its another to see it and experience it in the middle of a movie said by a character in their voice surrounded by the context of the rest of the movie.

Seeing it live would add emotional impact, not new data or facts. The factual content of what was said in the monologue can be read.

I’m not hating on the movie, btw - I haven’t seen it and have no particular opinion on it. Just saying that it appears to stay in pretty established, vanilla territory with its messaging. I think there’s this sense that audiences can’t even handle the type of pro-female messaging that wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow 15 years ago. Clearly that’s not the case, as complaints about Barbie have been (relatively) minimal. I think comparing it to Disney is apples and oranges though as Disney really tread some new ground in terms of representation. Disney went beyond “wouldn’t have raised eyebrows 15 years ago” territory, which I applaud them for.

 

[Disney Irish]

Seeing it live would add emotional impact, not new data or facts. The factual content of what was said in the monologue can be read.

I’m not hating on the movie, btw - I haven’t seen it and have no particular opinion on it. Just saying that it appears to stay in pretty established, vanilla territory with its messaging. I think there’s this sense that audiences can’t even handle the type of pro-female messaging that wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow 15 years ago. Clearly that’s not the case, as complaints about Barbie have been (relatively) minimal. I think comparing it to Disney is apples and oranges though as Disney really tread some new ground in terms of representation. Disney went beyond “wouldn’t have raised eyebrows 15 years ago” territory, which I applaud them for.

A movie monologue without the context of the surrounding story loses all its meaning and impact. Sorry I disagree with your oversimplification of the "messaging" being vanilla.

And the complaints being minimal more has to do with the "messaging" being relatively hidden ahead of time then anything, and is different compared to Disney promoting representation within their films months ahead of time.

 

[TP2000]

I hear little mermaid will be available on vhs soon…making Bank just like they planned

Please be kind, rewind.

It’s a valid question as to why the movie’s gender politics haven’t come under fire more but I think it’s more complicated than audiences think “it’s a good time so *shrug*.”

Exactly.

Also, because it's Barbie. She's been a girl-power icon who can do or be anything for 40 years now. This isn't new territory for her.

I’m not hating on the movie, btw - I haven’t seen it and have no particular opinion on it. Just saying that it appears to stay in pretty established, vanilla territory with its messaging.

The Barbie movie's tropes and plot points were very established, vanilla territory with its messaging.

If anything, it had to pretend the last 40 years of progress hadn't happened and that big, corporate boards like Mattel were all still run entirely by men. It seemed to think it was still the circa 1980 world of "9 to 5", which was a fabulous movie and a personal favorite but even in 1980 it was a bit unbelievable and hokey for those of us actually working 9 to 5 as President Carter left office.

But, in fact, Mattel was co-founded by a woman (Ruth Handler), currently 4 of Mattel's 11 executive directors are women, the producer of the movie about Barbie was a woman (Greta Gerwig), the movie was produced by a woman (Margot Robbie), starred mostly women (Margot Robbie and others), and was given a production and marketing budget that could put a dent in some nation's entire GDP. Because, women.

But sure, blame "patriarchy" and pretend it's still 1964 for some reason, if it can get a few jokes. Which made the dour and humorless teenage Sasha character railing about patriarchy at the Cool Girls Table in her Jr. High cafeteria even funnier in Act 2, until Sasha finally realized the truth and lightened up in Act 3.

 

[DisneyHead123]

A movie monologue without the context of the surrounding story loses all its meaning and impact. Sorry I disagree with your oversimplification of the "messaging" being vanilla.

And the complaints being minimal more has to do with the "messaging" being relatively hidden ahead of time than anything, and is different compared to Disney promoting representation within their films months ahead of time.

By "vanilla" I mean "well established", not "unimportant", just to be clear. But if your opinion after seeing it differs, of course I respect that.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So have we moved onto “Barbie isn’t really any good…” to throw dirt on Disney dropping more bombs than a B-52 these days?

 

[Chi84]

So have we moved onto “Barbie isn’t really any good…” to throw dirt on Disney dropping more bombs than a B-52 these days?

Who here said Barbie isn’t really any good?