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Disney could lose $140mil on Tomorrowland movie
- Thread starter GhostHost1000
- Start date
Progress.City
Well-Known Member
I guess no major Tommorowland redos are imminent then. Might as well retheme it as a nostalgic look at the Space Age.
What kills me is they spent $150 million on marketing and you really could not tell what this movie was about from the trailers.
Had the words "Disney" and "Tomorrowland" not been attached to it, I would have never seen it.
Had the words "Disney" and "Tomorrowland" not been attached to it, I would have never seen it.
Beholder
Well-Known Member
Without having seen the movie nor have I read any reviews, the biggest strike against the film seems to be the marketing. The trailer and TV spots didn't give much information at all concerning the story, the conflict, villains, goals, anything. A lot of people get paid big money to advertise this sort of thing, you'd think somebody would've said something. You know, "hey, um, what the heck is the movie about?", kind of thing.
Makes me wonder if they have gotten use to advertising already known properties where all they have to do is show a few tent pole scenes and people show up in droves.
OvertheHorizon
Well-Known Member
I agree about the marketing. I was intrigued by the theater trailer, and then saw the 12 minute preview for Tomorrowland at Epcot, which made it look like a completely different movie than the "trailer" had suggested.
I've seen the movie twice (took friends the second time), and while I enjoyed aspects of it, the movie felt overly complicated. To me anyway.
I've seen the movie twice (took friends the second time), and while I enjoyed aspects of it, the movie felt overly complicated. To me anyway.
ItlngrlBella
Well-Known Member
I think they front loaded the trailer with a ton of eye candy pertaining to the futuristic Tomorrowland, and then sitting in the movie I wanted to see more of that... How was it built/created (expounded upon) and the "daily life" of someone living there.
UnhealthilyObsessed
Well-Known Member
I just worry that their takeaway will be "new properties aren't worth developing" when it should be "our stories must be told coherently and marketed well."
I will never ever understand this regime's quickness of throwing in the towel when these big budgets sci-fi movies under deliver. It's John Carter: Take 2.
The corporate line should be: "Yes, the movie underperformed but it's a great movie that we know will find its audience and we aren't giving up on it."
You don't do what Disney has done with this one (and John Carter) and announce that it's a bomb while it's still in its first week. That almost ensures no one will go to see it.
We would have gone last week to see it, but their acceptance of it being a bomb makes it seem likely that it isn't worth going to see and that it will be on home video sooner rather than later. It sends a terrible message.
The corporate line should be: "Yes, the movie underperformed but it's a great movie that we know will find its audience and we aren't giving up on it."
You don't do what Disney has done with this one (and John Carter) and announce that it's a bomb while it's still in its first week. That almost ensures no one will go to see it.
We would have gone last week to see it, but their acceptance of it being a bomb makes it seem likely that it isn't worth going to see and that it will be on home video sooner rather than later. It sends a terrible message.
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
Disney did market the movie in a cool way, just not in time for when it was released. Back in 2013, Brad Bird/Disney sent people on a scavenger hunt/mystery hunt all across Southern California as a way to market the film. Fans were taken everywhere, from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, to one of Walt Disney's favorite restaurants, to Disneyland. Why they conducted it so early, I don't know. I can bet if they had conducted it this year instead of two years ago, they would have gotten more people interested in seeing the film.
People have incredibly short attention spans. A promotion like that needs to conclude within days if not the day of the release date.
What they did was also very narrow in scope. Something done online could have gotten the entire world involved. (eg Hunt the Truth for Halo 5, There is something in the Sea for Bioshock 2, etc)
tcool
Well-Known Member
They did do takemetotomorrowland.com
Californian Elitist
Well-Known Member
I agree.
I guess that shows another level of the marketing failure. I am online at least 9 hours a day, follow multiple Disney pages on Facebook and this was the first I ever heard of it.
Beholder
Well-Known Member
I suppose it's seduction to an entertainment business like Disney when you have a monster franchise like Pirates. I assume they keep looking for the next global/cultural phenomenon like Jack Sparrow. Instead of sitting down and creating something great or special, they keep shooting for the next big thing. Maybe they should go ask the guys over at Pixar how to do this movie making/marketing thing.
AndyS2992
Well-Known Member
There's adverts for Tommorowland on UK TV quite often but Most people don't know what it is unless they have visited WDW or Disneyland CA since most Europeans have only been to Disneyland Paris where Tomorrowland is called Discoveryland so people here don't make the connection and therefore are less likely to go and see it.
Likewise, that new Disney Junior show in the U.S. Is called 'Miles from Tomorrowland' but here in the UK it is renamed 'Miles from Tomorrow' so no connection is made there either to the parks.
When someone says Tomorrowland here in Europe, most people think of the big music festival which maybe is why Disney is so reluctant to use the name.
Likewise, that new Disney Junior show in the U.S. Is called 'Miles from Tomorrowland' but here in the UK it is renamed 'Miles from Tomorrow' so no connection is made there either to the parks.
When someone says Tomorrowland here in Europe, most people think of the big music festival which maybe is why Disney is so reluctant to use the name.
Arthur Wellesley
Well-Known Member
Releasing the movie only weeks after Avengers and weeks before Jurassic World didn't help it's case either. The sci-fi/action buffs were holding out for these two nostalgic, time-tested franchises.
Tomorrowland would have fared better (imo) had it been released much earlier in the Spring, or had it waited until Fall (just not too close to getting into Hunger Games or Star Wars' stomping ground...as that would recreate the same trouble it is seeing now).
Tomorrowland would have fared better (imo) had it been released much earlier in the Spring, or had it waited until Fall (just not too close to getting into Hunger Games or Star Wars' stomping ground...as that would recreate the same trouble it is seeing now).