'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[LittleBuford]

I hope you are right, but I'm not convinced.

It should be noted that neither Lightyear nor Strange World received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, so Disney could theoretically view the financial disappointments of both films as an indictment of mediocre quality rather than anti-gay backlash. We shall see.

That would be the more logical reading, especially since sexuality isn’t a central theme of either film (admittedly, I haven’t seen Strange World, but no-one has claimed that the gay crush is a major plot point).

I think it would be very bad optics for Disney to retreat on this issue, and I very much doubt they will.

 

[TP2000]

I suspect Disney will probably back off doing LGBTQ representation in their $180-$200 million animated movies in the next five years, but will continue to have more inclusive representation on their Disney Plus content, as well as in the Marvel Studios movies (where reactions to gay characters have been significantly less controversial).

Because those movies are rated PG-13 or R and are not targeted at children aged 5 to 11 via the Target toy aisles or McDonald's Happy Meals, I think that's the right decision for them to make.

 

[TP2000]

The website that delivers daily updates on American box office has some nifty features! I just found this one; it's a graph you can create comparing different movies and their box office performance over time.

Here's three 2022 big family cartoons that went to theaters; Lightyear, Minions Rise of Gru, and Strange World. This graph really illustrates for me the historic failure of Strange World in the free marketplace.

And just six months ago we all thought Lightyear was a flop?!?

The Numbers - Where Data and the Movie Business Meet

The Numbers provides detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[LittleBuford]

The website that delivers daily updates on American box office has some nifty features! I just found this one; it's a graph you can create comparing different movies and their box office performance over time.

Here's three 2022 cartoons that went to theaters; Lightyear, League of Super Pets, and Strange World. This graph really illustrates for me the historic failure of Strange World in the free marketplace.

And just six months ago we all thought Lightyear was a flop?!?

View attachment 683972

The Numbers - Where Data and the Movie Business Meet

The Numbers provides detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

www.the-numbers.com

It’s interesting that you have nothing to say about DC League of Super Pets, which, according to the graph, did worse than Lightyear.

 

[TwilightZone]

Lightyear was a flop?!?

I will give lightyear this, it was actually marketed well, super well in fact. I constantly saw commercials for it, it even had a meet n greet! It just seemed bland and lacked imagination. The audience knew this and skipped it.

Today, I watched some spongebob, partially because I love spongebob but also to see what commercials I would get.

Guess what commercial I didn't see. Shouldn't be hard.

 

[TP2000]

It’s interesting that you have nothing to say about DC League of Super Pets, which, according to the graph, did worse than Lightyear.

While you were saying that, I'd already swapped it out for Minions on that chart. I just included it because the website recommended it as an option, and I've never heard of that Super Pets movie and the title made me chuckle. I'm having fun with this new chart thing, but I can put it back in? I assume it's about pets that have superpowers of some kind?

It also had a production budget that was less than half of Lightyear's.

 

[LittleBuford]

While you were saying that, I'd already swapped it out for Minions on that chart. I just included it because the website recommended it as an option, and I've never heard of that Super Pets movie and the title made me chuckle. I'm having fun with this new chart thing, but I can put it back in? I assume it's about pets that have superpowers of some kind?

It also had a production budget that was less than half of Lightyear's.

But what are we to blame its relative failure on? Does it feature a gay subplot?

 

[TP2000]

Here's a different chart of box office data, freshly cherry picked as if it was a warm July morning in the Skagit Valley...

Frozen vs. Moana vs. Coco vs. Lightyear vs. Strange World: Cage Match Smackdown Edition!

Frozen as the obvious best case scenario for a Thanksgiving movie and eternal benchmark for Burbank, but then the other three were also Thanksgiving movies that did differing levels of box office. Plus Lightyear, as the previous 2022 point of reference for "flop".

The Numbers - Where Data and the Movie Business Meet

The Numbers provides detailed movie financial analysis, including box office, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, and release schedules.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[TP2000]

But what are we to blame its relative failure on? Does it feature a gay subplot?

I doubt it. I think it was just probably a crappy kids movie about super pets. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[LittleBuford]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Indeed. That’s the point I’ve been trying to make all along.

 

[Phroobar]

This chart is even better. Encanto wasn't making much money when pulled to Disney+. It was already starting to flat line.

 

[TP2000]

Indeed. That’s the point I’ve been trying to make all along.

I think the point that American parents are making is that they want (and rightly deserve!) the right to introduce the discussion of 2SLGBTQQIA+ themes and content on their own terms, at a time of their choosing that is appropriate for their own child and the values/culture of their own family unit. A movie studio doesn't get to take that right away from them.

I don't think that point is the entire reason Strange World bombed so historically, but I do now believe that it had a sizable influence on Strange World's box office failure in all Western countries. Whether we like it or not.

And if Disney & Pixar continues putting gay content into every family animated feature they release at summer or Thanksgiving marketed at young children, the box office results will look more like Strange World and less like Frozen.

Or Lightyear, if they're lucky.

 

[BuddyThomas]

I think we have different definitions of homophobia. Also just because I “like” a post doesn’t necessarily mean I like every.single.thing that was said in that post or that I would have phrased it the same way. I don’t think anything he said was homophobic though.

So you don’t think you have enough visibility? Gay people make up what, 5% of the population? So you want = visibility? And why does that visibility have to come in childrens cartoons?

Also when did I show sympathy for the Ayotollah?

This so called “children’s cartoon” happens to be rated PG, not G, and I don’t know why supposed Disney superfans on this thread continue to refer to animated motion pictures as “cartoons”.

 

[Disney Analyst]

The 2022 box office in general is nothing to write home about. Started off decent, then most has fizzled.

These charts show how the 2022 box office sizzled, then fizzled

The summer box office started with a bang, but as the season shifts into fall, ticket sales have petered out.

www.cnbc.com

Despite nearly 50% fewer film releases during the summer, the domestic box still tallied $3.34 billion in ticket sales, down nearly 21% from 2019 levels.

This article is from September, I swear I read something today that suggested the 2022 box office is 30-35% down.


2023 should be a better year, with a larger slate of films.

Perhaps Avatar will give 2022 a final decent bump?

 

[BuddyThomas]

With what’s happening? What do you mean exactly? If you re hoping for more of the kind of representation we saw in Strange World and Lightyear in another Disney animated feature film any time soon you will probably be disappointed. Unless of course Disney has decided their a charity that can keep this up when their core fanbase doesn’t want it.

Please enlighten us as to what their “core fan base” wants.

 

[TP2000]

This chart is even better. Encanto wasn't making much money when pulled to Disney+. It was already starting to flat line.

View attachment 683976

Isn't it fun!?! I have a new toy.

But don't forget to toggle to "Inflation Adjusted" financials (the tab at upper right) if you pick a movie more than five years old or so. It then automatically puts the financials in inflation adjusted dollars so you can see the real impact historically.

 

[LittleBuford]

I think the point that American parents are making is that they want (and rightly deserve!) the right to introduce the discussion of 2SLGBTQQIA+ themes and content on their own terms, at a time of their choosing that is appropriate for their own child and the values/culture of their own family unit. A movie studio doesn't get to take that right away from them.

That isn’t a point I’m interested in discussing, nor does it have anything to do with what I wrote.

I just think it’s telling that people aren’t scrambling to find ideological reasons for the failure of DC League of Super-Pets. It seems that for some of you, a cigar stops being a cigar when even a hint of gay representation is involved, at which point quality, marketing, etc., are rendered irrelevant and everything gets blamed on Disney’s “agenda”.

 

[mickEblu]

It was a rough summer at the movies for those of us with kids this past summer. I had to sit through Lightyear, Paws Fury, DC Super League of Pets and the new Minions movie. I mostly slept through all of them or looked at my phone but of the 4 I actually think I liked Super league of Pets the most from what I retained. Not that that’s saying much.

Yes I saw Lightyear with my son. And I knew about the kiss before I went in. I didn’t particularly care for it but I was actually more bothered that they felt it was necessary to have one of the women get pregnant and visibly show that during a montage. Somehow we went from talking toys in Toy Story 1 to artificial insemination in space in “Toy Story 5.”

For whatever reason Lightyear didn’t bother me as much as the thought of Strange World does. Maybe because it’s two adult women and not a young boy? Maybe because it was Super brief and one of the women kind of looked androgynous? More likely though is because Strange World is the second of two back fo back movies with this type of content. With Lightyear you could pass it off as some one off or once in a blue moon type of thing. With Strange World being the very next movie means that isn’t the case. And to hear they were considering going for # 3 in a row with Wish is mind boggling.

 

[TP2000]

Perhaps Avatar will give 2022 a final decent bump?

There's a lot of service workers in LA hustling for tips that are praying for that exact thing for '23.

I can make fun of the pompous Burbank execs all day long, but I also have to remember the baristas and beauticians and barmaids working (not from home!) in Los Angeles that depend on a financially healthy Hollywood for their livelihoods.

.

 

[Phroobar]

Isn't it fun!?! I have a new toy.

But don't forget to toggle to "Inflation Adjusted" financials (the tab at upper right) if you pick a movie more than five years old or so. It then automatically puts the financials in inflation adjusted dollars so you can see the real impact historically.

I did that for the original Star Wars trilogy and Prequels. Interesting how ANH & TESB slowly climbed but didn't level off like the others. Those were the days when movies stayed in the theater for a year.