'Strange World' Disney's 2022 Animated Film

[CaptainMickey]

Because a lot of people no longer have a DVD player. And what movie costs $35 to stream???

Disney+ has really disrupted the theatrical box office business, but has completely killed another cash cow, the physical media market. They were almost collector items, especially Disney movies. For decades, for most of my favorite Disney movies, I purchased a VHS copy, a DVD copy, a remastered collectors edition DVD, a Blu-Ray copy and a 4k copy over the years whenever a newer special edition was released with some new additional "Exclusive content" at minimum $20 per pop. Hundreds of dollars a year on movies I already mostly had a copy of already. Ande we always would grab a copy of the newest releases as they came out, and we already saw all of them in the Theaters. Since Disney+ came out, I haven't purchase one Disney DVD. Disney+ costs less then 4 DVDs per year. Going to be interesting to see how they get the new math to work out.

 

[RobWDW1971]

International numbers coming into view - after three weekends in most key markets, cumulative is a horrific $23M and weekly changes dropping steadily.

For example, just looking at a couple of historically strong markets for Disney animated films, here is some perspective compare to other 2022 major wide-release animated films after three weekends of release:

Mexico (total to date after 3 weekends):
Minions:Rise of Gru $28.6M
Lightyear $16.4M
Strange World $1.7M

United Kingdom (total to date after 3 weekends):
Minions:Rise of Gru $27.5M
Lightyear $10.3M
Strange World $2.2M

Story is similar in most of the key markets, with the lowest CinemaScore in Disney animated history by those that actually saw it, it is being soundly rejected around the world.

 

[_caleb]

(This has been a fascinating thread to read).

Disney is (likely) at a crossroads, whether they know it or want to acknowledge it. A company if it is to survive, ultimately has to focus on one thing: $; it has to care about only one color: green.

In order to get to those objectives it has to appeal as widely as possible. Ideally it would garner childless adults and families of four to watch their movies as they once did. It has to draw in everyone possible.

Disney has to choose now because they aren’t going to (largely) get both anymore. People can argue the how’s and why’s all they want. Not going to change anytime soon. That ship had sailed. Will there be some overlap? Likely some, but that seemingly is narrowing as years go by.

To take it a step further: regardless of what anyone thinks, wants to believe as to the reason SW bombed, one fact it remains: that it did. Disney can either look at why that happened and change their approach or continue on the same path. They are likely going to get an answer if their next movie bombs to the tune of 150 million+

On a personal note I have no horse in this race; kids are past the point of Disney/Pixar movies and we’re unlikely to go to the parks anytime soon if ever again. Wife is a fan of Disney (I’m not). That said no one should be surprised if parents object to what is in a movie. That’s their right as a parent no matter how much anyone thinks that is misguided or wrong.

I'm pretty sure Disney already chose against chasing mass/general audiences at the cinema box office as their primary business for content. That's what Disney+ is. The current strategy–developed by Iger, implemented (poorly) by Chapek–is to leverage data to do smaller (*supposed to be lower-budget) films/series and go deeper with niche content for niche audiences and connect that effort to parks, experiences, and products.

Now, might they be rethinking this strategy (or, at least the timing of it? Sure. But they're already billions of dollars into this, so I'm not sure they can just reverse. And, as we've discussed on other threads, people will still come out to the movies, but they aren't going to the movies like they used to.

 

[TP2000]

When I first waded in, your position was—or at least appeared to be—pretty much what it is now. It seemed to shift a bit when I pushed you on the matter, but you’ve since gone back to your earlier stance. It’s difficult to know what your true thoughts are, and the fact that you are quite the raconteur—you are witty, I’ll give you that—makes it even harder to disentangle sincerity from spin.

I find @MisterPenguin’s interventions helpful in this regard.

I have always thought of this discussion board like a lively cocktail party. You talk, you chat, you hear other opinions. Through that process you weigh new ideas and concepts, and your own opinions or thoughts can change. Evolve.

The same thing happened with Strange World. I had no idea that the kid in this movie was gay until a week or so before it opened, and I learned about it in this thread. At that time I thought "Who the hell even knows this movie exists? It's barely being marketed anywhere!"

But now I think that the gay character (in a children's movie, remember) had a decent chunk of the blame here as to why audiences were staying away. Yes, the marketing still was awful. But why didn't Burbank market it after they spent $180 Million on it? According to this thread , American parents were reportedly talking about Ethan Clade on Facebook and parenting Social Media outlets and the news about Ethan was spreading,

This whole thing is quite fascinating! I've never seen Disney bury an expensive movie like this. At Thanksgiving!

I imagine that as more information comes out, if it ever does, that my opinion on why Strange World failed so spectacularly might even change again. Anything is possible!

 

[Heppenheimer]

Disney+ has really disrupted the theatrical box office business, but has completely killed another cash cow, the physical media market. They were almost collector items, especially Disney movies. For decades, for most of my favorite Disney movies, I purchased a VHS copy, a DVD copy, a remastered collectors edition DVD, a Blu-Ray copy and a 4k copy over the years whenever a newer special edition was released with some new additional "Exclusive content" at minimum $20 per pop. Hundreds of dollars a year on movies I already mostly had a copy of already. Ande we always would grab a copy of the newest releases as they came out, and we already saw all of them in the Theaters. Since Disney+ came out, I haven't purchase one Disney DVD. Disney+ costs less then 4 DVDs per year. Going to be interesting to see how they get the new math to work out.

That original VHS release of The Little Mermaid definitely became a collector's item, but not for a reason that Disney wanted...

 

[TP2000]

He also admitted to me that there’s no proof regarding the reasons Strange World has done so poorly two days ago.

There is no proof of anything for any of this. No one has produced, or likely can produce, internal Burbank documents that show why they barely marketed this film on purpose, what the test screening results were and their demographics on who disliked it most, or why Ethan Clade's original casting call from 2018 morphed into the Ethan Clade character that arrived on screen three weeks ago. Also why the Strange World toys and merch designed and manufactured were never put on the shelves for Target's Christmas season.

But that's why we're all here talking; weighing in with our own ideas and opinions and thoughts on what must have happened to create one of the worst box office bombs in Disney Animation history.

 

[TP2000]

International numbers coming into view - after three weekends in most key markets, cumulative is a horrific $23M and weekly changes dropping steadily...

The Numbers site has also just updated its global box office this afternoon, after a data dump of box office numbers from around the world from this past weekend.

Strange World continues to underperform at an even greater rate in foreign countries than it has in the USA, historically speaking with previous family animation. It's not just an American thing. If anything, Strange World was more popular in America that it is overseas.

 

[GimpYancIent]

International numbers coming into view - after three weekends in most key markets, cumulative is a horrific $23M and weekly changes dropping steadily.

For example, just looking at a couple of historically strong markets for Disney animated films, here is some perspective compare to other 2022 major wide-release animated films after three weekends of release:

Mexico (total to date after 3 weekends):
Minions:Rise of Gru $28.6M
Lightyear $16.4M
Strange World $1.7M

United Kingdom (total to date after 3 weekends):
Minions:Rise of Gru $27.5M
Lightyear $10.3M
Strange World $2.2M

Story is similar in most of the key markets, with the lowest CinemaScore in Disney animated history by those that actually saw it, it is being soundly rejected around the world.

The viewing audience being turned off and not having interest in seeing Strange World immediately after the trailers circulated should have been a clue. The doubling down and making it shown only in theaters made things worse. It should have gone straight to D+ Disney is having difficulty reading the audience. In entertainment it's about giving people what they want not to force feeding the audience what you want. The results are clear to see.

 

[TP2000]

“Inherently trusted” for what?

It used to be inherently trusted for this statement below. Burbank used to brag about it constantly...

 

[erasure fan1]

There is no proof of anything for any of this. No one has produced, or likely can produce, internal Burbank documents that show why they barely marketed this film on purpose, or why Ethan Clade's original casting call from 2018 morphed into the Ethan Clade character that arrived on screen three weeks ago. Or why the Strange World toys designed and manufactured were never put on the shelves for Target's Christmas season.

That's exactly right. No matter what anyones opinion on any of this. No matter what side you fall on. You are no more right or wrong than the next person. Like you said, until Disney comes out and says the reason, no one really knows. This is a discussion forum, a place to give your thoughts and opinions. And if someone doesn't like your opinion, make a good argument, and who knows, maybe you sway their opinion.

 

[TP2000]

The viewing audience being turned off and not having interest in seeing Strange World immediately after the trailers circulated should have been a clue. The doubling down and making it shown only in theaters made things worse. It should have gone straight to D+ Disney is having difficulty reading the audience. In entertainment it's about giving people what they want not to force feeding the audience what you want. The results are clear to see.

The only part I disagree with there is the "sending it straight to Disney+" strategy.

They spent $180 Million on this film, and apparently had already written it off a month ago by barely marketing it.

They partly got themselves into this mess of diminishing box office returns by sending these big budget theater releases to Disney+ too quickly. They've got to stop that, it makes no sense financially.

Better to take the huge loss on Strange World that was already created in the marketplace, and just keep it to a 90 day arrival window on their 8 bucks a month streaming service. Their audience has to stop expecting to see these big budget films for practically free mere weeks after their release. In my humble opinion, of course.

 

[Californian Elitist]

There is no proof of anything for any of this. No one has produced, or likely can produce, internal Burbank documents that show why they barely marketed this film on purpose, what the test screening results were and their demographics on who disliked it most, or why Ethan Clade's original casting call from 2018 morphed into the Ethan Clade character that arrived on screen three weeks ago. Also why the Strange World toys and merch designed and manufactured were never put on the shelves for Target's Christmas season.

But that's why we're all here talking; weighing in with our own ideas and opinions and thoughts on what must have happened to create one of the worst box office bombs in Disney Animation history.

Correct, there is no proof. I never said people can’t discuss.

 

[lazyboy97o]

That might be a regional definition but there are people the architect has nothing to do with like interior designers. This a pointless argument, so lets drop it.

Architects are allowed to design an entire building, especially single family houses. It’s only in larger commercial projects that there might be requirements to engage engineers. The engineers though typically work for the architect. Interior designers are completely optional, their scope of work varies widely, and they’re often not able to stamp their own drawings.

 

[TP2000]

Correct, there is no proof. I never said people can’t discuss.

Not only can I discuss it, but my thoughts and opinions on the subject can change and evolve as the discussion rolls along over a period of weeks and more ideas are presented.

It's fun to be open to a diversity of thought and learn from others! And let your mind expand and evolve!

 

[RobWDW1971]

The Numbers site has also just updated its global box office this afternoon, after a data dump of box office numbers from around the world from this past weekend.

Strange World continues to underperform at an even greater rate in foreign countries than it has in the USA, historically speaking with previous family animation. It's not just an American thing. If anything, Strange World was more popular in America that it is overseas.

It will be interesting to see the trends in the international markets that are both traditionally strong spenders on family entertainment and have high religious affiliation. Over 70% of the Mexican population identifies as Roman Catholic and the film has done only 6% of Minions:Rise of Gru's box office to date.

In the US, it is an interesting dynamic that Disney is going to struggle with going forward as they are aggressively (and smartly based on demographic trends) pursuing the Hispanic-American audience who historically spend a disproportionate amount of their income on children/family making them a prime audience for theme parks and animated family films.

However, Hispanic-Americans are overwhelmingly religious and Catholic (see below) and do not align with Silver Lake "progressive" values for their children. That will be an interesting fine line for Disney to navigate over the coming years on a variety of topics.

• Latinos and Hispanics are predominantly Christians in the United States. Specifically, they are most often Roman Catholic. According to a Public Religion Research Institute study in 2017, the majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans are Christians (76%). Roman Catholicism continues to be the largest, but not the only, religious denomination among most Latinos. Among the largest Latino groups, 61% of Mexican Americans identify as Catholic, followed by Dominican American (59%), Cuban American (49%), Puerto Rican American (45%), and Salvadoran American (42%).[2]Among the largest Latino groups, 61% of Mexican Americans identify as Roman Catholic, followed by Dominican American (59%), Cuban American (49%), Puerto Rican American (45%), and Salvadoran American (42%)

 

[Californian Elitist]

Not only can I discuss it, but my thoughts and opinions on the subject can change and evolve as the discussion rolls along over a period of weeks and more ideas are presented.

It's fun to be open to a diversity of thought and learn from others! And let your mind expand and evolve!

I never said they couldn’t. I simply gave an example of you doing that.

It’s so awesome when folks pay attention!

 

[TP2000]

Over 70% of the Mexican population identifies as Roman Catholic and the film has done only 6% of Minions:Rise of Gru's box office to date.

So much is fascinating about your last post, but that sentence really shocked me. So I went to check...

Mexico Box Office

Strange World at 21 days................ = $1,687,124
Minions Rise of Gru at 21 days..... = $28,096,263

By the end of August, Minions Rise of Gru had made just over $40 Million in Mexico. Now certainly, Mexico does not have a Thanksgiving holiday week like the USA just did, so there are some cultural differences that lead to different theater attendance patterns in November between the two neighbors. But the box office trend is clear.

Most other countries have weaker box office for Strange World than the USA does, but Mexicans really seem to hate it! Or don't know it exists. Or are ignoring it. Or, most likely, a combination of all three of those factors that feed off of each other. Yikes! Or as they say south of the border, Uff!

Minions 2: Nace un villano - Financial Information Mexico

Financial analysis of Minions 2: Nace un villano (2022) at the Mexico Box Office, including earnings and profitability.

www.the-numbers.com

Un mundo extraño - Financial Information Mexico

Financial analysis of Un mundo extraño (2022) at the Mexico Box Office, including earnings and profitability.

www.the-numbers.com

 

[Prince-1]

Disney+ has really disrupted the theatrical box office business, but has completely killed another cash cow, the physical media market. They were almost collector items, especially Disney movies. For decades, for most of my favorite Disney movies, I purchased a VHS copy, a DVD copy, a remastered collectors edition DVD, a Blu-Ray copy and a 4k copy over the years whenever a newer special edition was released with some new additional "Exclusive content" at minimum $20 per pop. Hundreds of dollars a year on movies I already mostly had a copy of already. Ande we always would grab a copy of the newest releases as they came out, and we already saw all of them in the Theaters. Since Disney+ came out, I haven't purchase one Disney DVD. Disney+ costs less then 4 DVDs per year. Going to be interesting to see how they get the new math to work out.

D+ didn't help it but the physical media market was dying already. New cars no longer come with a CD player built in, DVD players are hardly being made or sold, etc. It is just the way things go when it comes to technology.

 

[BuddyThomas]

T

It used to be inherently trusted for this statement below. Burbank used to brag about it constantly...

View attachment 685120

I didn’t ask you anything.

 

[TwilightZone]

Dare I say that Disney should put out feelers to see if John Lasseter wants to come back? Maybe credit him under a pseudonym, like Lass Johneter to avoid a public backlash. Nobody will ever figure it out!

Luck proves that is not gonna work. I was all excited for that studio too, until that released. Well also Lasseter just seems kinda scummy.