'Lightyear' Coming Summer 2022

[Disney Analyst]

Y’all, a two second kiss didn’t cause the under performance.

The box office was hurt because not enough people cared about this movie. There is no hype, no momentum.

We are all being pickier about what movies we see in theatres. I want to see the movie, but I’ll wait for it come to Disney+.

 

[Ghost93]

Y’all, a two second kiss didn’t cause the under performance.

The box office was hurt because not enough people cared about this movie. There is no hype, no momentum.

We are all being pickier about what movies we see in theatres. I want to see the movie, but I’ll wait for it come to Disney+.

I think it was one of many factors — others being the mixed reviews (they were good for most films, but bad by Pixar standards), the movie feeling disconnected from the Toy Story reviews and audiences being conditioned to wait for Disney Plus to view animated films.

 

[Disney Analyst]

. I think it was one of many factors — others being the mixed reviews (they were good for most films, but bad by Pixar standards), the movie feeling disconnected from the Toy Story reviews and audiences being conditioned to wait for Disney Plus to view animated films.

The only real factor is it’s a movie that doesn’t draw you in. Toy story universe fatigue, etc.

Give me a Coco or Inside Out, and I’ll come watch it in theatres.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

To be honest, when I first heard via this thread that Tim Allen was replaced as Buzz I just shrugged and thought "Oh, yeah, Tim Allen is pretty old now and his voice probably sounds like a frog."

He’s still in his 60s, not exactly senile and unable to make a coherent sentence. He’s still as energetic and funny as ever in Last Man Standing.

I think the lesbian kiss and the homophobic backlash had some impact on the box office, but not enough in and of itself for it to flop. I think it was one of many factors — others being the mixed reviews (they were good for most films, but bad by Pixar standards), the movie feeling disconnected from the Toy Story reviews and audiences being conditioned to wait for Disney Plus to view animated films.

I don’t think it was the kiss itself that hurt the box-office but I think there was some backlash because the kiss was politicized.

I just watched Dr Strange on D+ today and was shocked that I didn’t hear anything about her moms, maybe I missed any backlash over the last couple months but I’m guessing I just didn’t hear anything because it wasn’t politicized so no one cared.

 

[Kirby86]

What hurt the box office wasn't one thing. It was the death by a thousand cuts. The kiss may have hurt it, Tim not voicing Buzz may have hurt it, it being a spin-off/ Toy Story fatigue. Other things could have as well. Now one of these things won't cost a movie 30 million off opening weekend projections but add it together it can be a noticeable effect.

 

[DCLcruiser]

He’s still in his 60s, not exactly senile and unable to make a coherent sentence. He’s still as energetic and funny as ever in Last Man Standing.



I don’t think it was the kiss itself that hurt the box-office but I think there was some backlash because the kiss was politicized.

I just watched Dr Strange on D+ today and was shocked that I didn’t hear anything about her moms, maybe I missed any backlash over the last couple months but I’m guessing I just didn’t hear anything because it wasn’t politicized so no one cared.

The kiss may have hurt it, but only because of the negative attention that certain media outlets gave it. Talking about the movie being banned in certain places.

I told someone I was going to see Lightyear (a Disney fan, long time park goer but viewer of a certain network) and their first response was, “the movie that got banned?”

That right there said it all to me. This movie has been marked and that is a major part of the problem.

Plus it was a double holiday weekend. Not sure if Father’s Day is usually good for sales, but the added Monday off for Juneteenth may have seen families going away on vacation, vs being home and looking for A/C at the movies.

 

[mf1972]

I think it was one of many factors — others being the mixed reviews (they were good for most films, but bad by Pixar standards), the movie feeling disconnected from the Toy Story reviews and audiences being conditioned to wait for Disney Plus to view animated films.

i remember a story from years ago when disney was releasing more computer animated films (pixar), bared responsibility for the end of 2D animation for what they’re known for. can the same now be said on how people watch future disney animated films by waiting for it to arrive on D+ instead of going to the theater? we’ll see.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

To be clear, this is parody of a sign a theater posted for the art film Tree of Life.

It honestly has never occurred to me to ask for a refund after a film, but Tree of Life is one of the films that came close!

 

[Sir_Cliff]

What hurt the box office wasn't one thing. It was the death by a thousand cuts. The kiss may have hurt it, Tim not voicing Buzz may have hurt it, it being a spin-off/ Toy Story fatigue. Other things could have as well. Now one of these things won't cost a movie 30 million off opening weekend projections but add it together it can be a noticeable effect.

Completely agree: I feel it very much was death by a thousand cuts. This film just didn't seem to be able to build up much momentum due to all of the issues you mention in combination. I guess we'll see if it manages to gather some momentum based on word of mouth, though the early signs aren't fantastic.

I am kind of interested about the degree anyone else out there has Toy Story fatigue. I very much have it, but then I am also not interested in those remakes of classic Disney films that seem to be a license to print money. I must admit that I did also wonder with those initial dramatic previews for Lightyear with David Bowie playing whether this was the sort of Toy Story movie that fans of the franchise wanted? The Toy Story films are generally light and fun with some drama in the mix, but they seemed to be pitching this as drama perhaps with some fun in the mix.

 

[fractal]

James Earl Jones voices new Star Wars action figure​

Attention Star Wars action figure fans, and fans of unique, exclusive collectibles. Darth Vader himself, or rather his voice, will be appearing at Star Wars Celebration III this April 21 to 24, when Hasbro and Lucasfilm Ltd. unveil the new Darth Vader Celebration III action figure.

James Earl Jones voices new Star Wars action figure

...Lucasfilm Ltd. unveils the new Darth Vader Celebration III action figure

movieweb.com

And - Pedro Pascal's voice is on the Mandalorian action figure.

 

[TwilightZone]

I must admit that I did also wonder with those initial dramatic previews for Lightyear with David Bowie playing whether this was the sort of Toy Story movie that fans of the franchise wanted?

I am not sure it's what the fans wanted either, but I have seen some people were disappointed the song isn't actually in the movie. Sure that is a common thing with trailers, but I have seen some who wanted to hear the song in a big climatic battle against Buzz and Zurg or something of equal importance.

 

[TP2000]

The movie was banned. Apparently facts upset you.

I just Googled. Lightyear was banned from public showing in 14 countries, all of them Muslim countries:

Palestinian Territories of Israel
Lebanon
Bahrain
Egypt
United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Syria

Without looking up the box office pull of those Muslim countries, I think the two that really matter are Indonesia and Malaysia owing to their large populations and growing middle class. Dubai and Saudi Arabia are small but wealthy populations, yet likely don't amount to much in the global box office pull.

In Pixar's defense of its weak Lightyear box office internationally, one other country that's now no longer in the mix is Russia. That likely has the same box office pull as Indonesia, although we'd need to research that.

 

[TP2000]

Plus it was a double holiday weekend. Not sure if Father’s Day is usually good for sales, but the added Monday off for Juneteenth may have seen families going away on vacation, vs being home and looking for A/C at the movies.

Holiday weekends and vacation periods are traditionally big for the movie business. It's why all the big blockbusters are released for Easter vacation, Memorial Day Weekend for summer, and during Christmas. That basic business tenet of the movie business is also why stinkers and low-budget weaklings are quietly released in the middle of September or the end of February.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to use "it opened on a holiday weekend" as another reason why Lightyear bombed. But I do agree that Lightyear's problems were likely a combination of several things.

This latest article from The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting bit of facts and data on its demographic pull at the box office. Apparently Lightyear did not pull in family demographics well at all. If a movie studio is in the business of making "family films" like Pixar certainly is, they better darn well ensure their movies appeal to large numbers of American families!

January, 2022: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 = 60% Ticket sales to parents & children
June, 2022: Lightyear = 38% Ticket sales to parents & children

‘Lightyear’ Box Office: Behind the Pixar Movie’s Family Problem

The 'Toy Story' spinoff is suffering at theaters thanks to brand confusion, fierce competition and far-right politicians.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Disney Irish]

I just Googled. Lightyear was banned from public showing in 14 countries, all of them Muslim countries:

Palestinian Territories of Israel
Lebanon
Bahrain
Egypt
United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Syria

Without looking up the box office pull of those Muslim countries, I think the two that really matter are Indonesia and Malaysia owing to their large populations and growing middle class. Dubai and Saudi Arabia are small but wealthy populations, yet likely don't amount to much in the global box office pull.

In Pixar's defense of its weak Lightyear box office internationally, one other country that's now no longer in the mix is Russia. That likely has the same box office pull as Indonesia, although we'd need to research that.

Just looking at the recent Toy Story 4 movie BO which made over $1B, of those countries that banned Lightyear, none of them pulled in more than $10M for Toy Story 4's entire theatrical run. In fact some of those on that list didn't even release Toy Story 4 at all. Not even Russia pulled in more than $10M for Toy Story 4.

So those on your list aren't really that huge of an impact on Lightyear's BO performance, ban or no ban.

The only outlier right now is China, its a will they/won't they waiting game right now to determine if China will release Lightyear or not.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I just Googled. Lightyear was banned from public showing in 14 countries, all of them Muslim countries:

Palestinian Territories of Israel
Lebanon
Bahrain
Egypt
United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia
Malaysia
Syria

Without looking up the box office pull of those Muslim countries, I think the two that really matter are Indonesia and Malaysia owing to their large populations and growing middle class. Dubai and Saudi Arabia are small but wealthy populations, yet likely don't amount to much in the global box office pull.

In Pixar's defense of its weak Lightyear box office internationally, one other country that's now no longer in the mix is Russia. That likely has the same box office pull as Indonesia, although we'd need to research that.

I thought they are going to simply send these countries the version without the kiss because MONEY!

I hope they don’t.

Personally, if for once, TWDC put principles ahead of money, that would make me a happy customer…

 

[GimpYancIent]

Time to move on. Lightyear had its opening moment, made a little money, underperformed and is now sputtering. It is on its way to a shelf somewhere in history. There are other production coming with more appeal, there are competitors.

 

[Disney Irish]

I thought they are going to simply send these countries the version without the kiss because MONEY!

I hope they don’t.

Personally, if for once, TWDC put principles ahead of money, that would make me a happy customer…

So far Disney/Pixar has said no to making cuts to the movie.

 

[TP2000]

Just looking at the recent Toy Story 4 movie BO which made over $1B, of those countries that banned Lightyear, none of them pulled in more than $10M for Toy Story 4's entire theatrical run. In fact some of those on that list didn't even release Toy Story 4 at all. Not even Russia pulled in more than $10M for Toy Story 4.

Thanks for the research! As I suspected, those 14 Muslim countries that banned Lightyear don't amount to much. Most of them have tiny populations to begin with, even if they have some wealth. Indonesia is the biggest population, but without the wealth of the Arab nations.

The only outlier right now is China, its a will they/won't they waiting game right now to determine if China will release Lightyear or not.

I didn't know it hadn't been released in China yet. I thought it had wide global release. Is it because of China's ongoing Covid shutdowns? Is there a release date scheduled I wonder?

 

[TP2000]

I thought they are going to simply send these countries the version without the kiss because MONEY!

I hope they don’t.

Personally, if for once, TWDC put principles ahead of money, that would make me a happy customer…

Agreed. Whether it's a Muslim country or a Communist country, Hollywood should stop censoring its art for their government censors. Either you get to watch American movies, or you don't. Your choice.

And once a movie gets approved for release by a studio, it should be up to the free market of consumers to decide if they want to buy a ticket to see it or not. In Lightyear's case, the free market mostly took a pass on buying a ticket to Lightyear.

 

[Disney Irish]

Thanks for the research! As I suspected, those 14 Muslim countries that banned Lightyear don't amount to much. Most of them have tiny populations to begin with, even if they have some wealth. Indonesia is the biggest population, but without the wealth of the Arab nations.



I didn't know it hadn't been released in China yet. I thought it had wide global release. Is it because of China's ongoing Covid shutdowns? Is there a release date scheduled I wonder?

China has no release date yet, it requested to have the "kiss" remove and so far TWDC said no. So its a waiting game to see if China will still release it or not, which of course is a big market doing $29.1M for TS4.

France just released it last night, so waiting to see numbers on that but it did $30.5M for TS4.

Japan releases is July 1st, which was actually the biggest market outside the US for TS4 with $93.8M.

So Lightyear could still pull in quite a bit over the next 2 weeks.