Princess and the frog a failure?

elliot

elliot

Member
I just got the DVD/BluRay pack and watched it for the 1st time. My whole family loved it. To a person, we ranked it right up there with the 90's era movies. It has catchy tunes, it's funny, the story was there and the animation was there.

I really wish there were a way to re-evaluate how "popular" a movie is other than the almighty dollar. Did I want to see this opening night? H yes! But can I afford it? H no. 5 people @ $9 a pop is alot of money for us right now. For $15 less, I have it forever, can watch it as many times as I like, and not have the typical theater rudeness (phones, chatting etc..) Yet they, whoever they is, will determine it wasn't as successful as they hoped. They couldn't be more wrong. I mean, I love steak too. I just can't afford to eat it every time I want it.

So to the suits at Corporate, don't presume that people have to spend the top dollar (theater tickets) to show you what they like. Figure in the economy and other things into these dollars totals first before you make rash decisions like the previous administration. Crappy animated movies didn't mean 2D was dead (or dying) any more than less than a $300mil gross means 2D is dead.

The idea behind the Rapunzel name change is ridiculous, but changing it itself doesn't bother me. They've edited film names before (Emeror's New Groove). But if some idiot in a room thinks they will dupe more people to going to a Disney movie by the title not being a girl's name, then maybe there is no hope for this art form at this company. Let's let the artists work speak for the movie and not marketing trickery.
 
Disneyfanman

Disneyfanman

Well-Known Member
I wasn't a huge P&the Frog fan when I saw it at the theater. We just purchased the DVD and I had an interesting reaction. I liked it much better on the home showing. My kids said the same thing.
 
dandaman

dandaman

Well-Known Member
Finally got around to seeing PatF last night and thought it was amazing. Especially liked the "Firefly Five Plus Lou" reference towards the end. :D
 
Dragonrider1227

Dragonrider1227

Well-Known Member
Disneyfanman said:
I think ALL of this is related to the disappointing Box Office of the Princess and the Frog. I am viewing all of this as a "slow down" vs a stop. I personally think that is a really healthy sign. Going "guardrail to guardrail" on 2-D animation is my mind, destined to fail. Do something well, build on it next time, tweak some details, and expect some failures along the way is how to rebuild the medium. As much as I love John Lassetter, he built up the expectations for this film far too high. I was afraid that Disney would simply bail on 2-D again, but a calculated step backward is the best that I could hope for.

No rose colored glasses here. It was a really good attempt that fell short. It wasn't a disaster. It wasn't a miss. It just wasn't the hit that they were hoping for.

It certainly does, however, place more pressure on the next 2-D film that they decide to release, which if I understand correctly will be Pooh. I think that Pooh has a limited appeal, so I worry.

We need another Ashman / Menkin team. Unfortunately that kind of magic is tough to find.
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Good way of seeing it. No one said the road to recovery would be easy.
With PATF reaching number 1 on DVD, is it possible Disney will rethink their strategy?
 
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Dragonrider1227

Dragonrider1227

Well-Known Member
Now it's number two but it came out on DVD one week before New Moon and then it was number 1. I know mainly because Astro Boy came out on the same day and that was Number 2.
From Phillyburbs.com:

Best-Sellers
1. “The Princess and the Frog” (G); Grade: A; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, DVD/Blu Ray combo; $44.99, DVD/Blu-ray Disc with a digital copy

2. “Astro Boy” (PG); Grade: B+; $26.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc

3. “Up in the Air” (R); Grade: A; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc

4. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (R); Grade: A; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc

5. “Ninja Assassin” (R); Grade: B; $28.99, DVD; $35.99, Blu-ray Disc

6. “The Hurt Locker” (R); Grade: A; $26.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc

7. “Old Dogs” (PG); Grade: B; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc; $44.99, Blu-ray Disc with digital copy

8. “2012” (PG-13); Grade: B; $28.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc

9. “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” (PG-13); Grade: NP; $28.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc

10. “The Fourth Kind” (PG-13); Grade: C; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc

Partial source: Home Media Magazine, wire-service and Web reports; NP means not previewed.
This IS old. This is the report for the weekend of March 16, the day it came out but even so, being number 2 is nothing to sneeze at either. It means the movie is still holding it's own after being out for a while
BTW, That was a fascinating read you provided though I think a simpler explanation is that in this economy, no one can afford to take the whole family to the movies. We, a family of six would have to pay 60 big ones just to go to the movies and that's not even counting snacks. So I think it was a price issue. People couldn't take the whole family to the movie so they decided to just wait for the DVD
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Posts from December updated and proved

jt04 said:
It should be easily over 75 million by the end of the holiday break. (It made on Monday almost what it made on Saturday!) After that it really depends on word of mouth. I don't agree they have marketed the heck out of it though. I've seen relatively few commercials. And there are no large scale tie-ins with food outlets, Walmart etc. The in-park promotions were the biggest promotion it appears.

Anyway, I think it will break the 100 million dollar mark in the US. I also think it could be stong overseas. So my prediction is it will recoup all costs through it's ticket sales. DVD's sales, PPV, and merchandising will be all profit from that point to the end of time. Again, I was worried it would bomb because Disney really seemed to be quietly lowering expectations. I am not at all convinced they are that disappointed.
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Right as it turns out.

jt04 said:
Oh look, PatF had the biggest jump in ticket sales on Tuesday for movies in wide release after posting the smallest drop on Monday. It is now well over the 70 million mark with 5 days left in the Christmas break. Might want to recalibrate your figures.

Proof....

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/daily/chart/?sortdate=2009-12-29&p=.htm


Again, Disney knew this was a bit of a niche film but it is holding up fairly well. I am very confident my prediction of going over 100 million in the US is accurate. Now another prediction. It will surpass the Lilo and Stitch box office worldwide total.
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Right as it turns out

jt04 said:
It will easily pass many of Disney's modern hand drawn animated G rated movies, including Little Mermaid, at the domestic box office. I personally believe it will pass the 300 million mark globally. Hardly a failure. Then of course there are DVD's, PPV, merchandising, spin-offs etc. I wonder how many people said Little Mermaid was a failure during it's original release? And where are they now? :shrug:
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It far surpassed The Little Mermaid world wide. Still closing in on 300 million. I think it's safe to say the premise of this thread is in tatters. :wave:
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
dxwwf3 said:
I can't figure out if this is one big joke or if you are really being unintentionally funny in this thread.
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It is one of the top grossing animated films in Disney history. And it won't be like much of modern animation that fades away and is even forgotten. PatF will grow in it's reputation as the years pass. It will rank very high in the Disney library of animated classics sooner or later. It will become more respected and appreciated with each passing year.
 
stlbobby

stlbobby

Well-Known Member
I think because it didn't explode out of the gate and didn't reach the outrageous high-end expectations that were being touted naysayers are jumping on it.

But it has made a ton of money, sold a bunch of merchandise, and revitalized the princess line, so calling it a failure is ludicrious.
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Animaniac93-98

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
stlbobby said:
But it has made a ton of money, sold a bunch of merchandise, and revitalized the princess line, so calling it a failure is ludicrious.
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A line that makes billions in annual profit does not need "revitalizing", unless you're confusing the word with "diversifying" or "extending".

"A ton" is also highly subjective and if you feel that way you should tell the marketing team behind Tangled that who think the domestic run says otherwise (which is where the disappointment comes from).

Again PatF ranked #6 for animated releases in 2009, made less than Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis domestically when adjusted for inflation (roughly on par with Brother Bear), had a lower opening day weekend total than Bolt, Enchanted or Meet the Robinsons (with a total run less than the first two and only $7 million more than the last), just barely matched its production budget, made a lousy $8.6 million over Christmas Day weekend, made less than not only Avatar and Alvin but Sherlock Holmes and other holiday releases etc. There's alot of evidence to suggest that some thinking isn't so "ludicrous".

Had the film made $5 million less ($99 million) would we have the same opinion?
 

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