Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

Disgruntled Walt

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
So far, this doesn't seem to me like a case of reviews that would sink a movie's chances. It's more a case of reviews that don't really help.

I suspect whether this movie succeeds or fails in its first weekend will have a significant amount to do with whether the public mood is behind going back to the cinemas to see a film in the classic Disney style of princesses, villains, sidekicks, and songs. As the promotional campaign has ramped up, I think they've done a good job of making this seem like a Disney movie in that vein and Adriana DeBose has done a particularly good job in interviews of pushing that angle and talking about herself as a Disney kid who grew up with all the 1990s films for which there is now a lot of nostalgia.

Longer term, I guess we'll see if audiences like it more than critics.
One thing's for sure, the SAG strike ended just in time for this, allowing DeBose to make the rounds like she has.
 

Disney Irish

Premium Member
I’m sorry. I guess I was very upset and shocked with the reviews. And TP2000 always announce bad news which kind of upsets me. Now I don’t know Wish is going to be successful or not. I blame the Hollywood strike. I need a break from this! I’m sorry if I’m a deluded person.

This is not the end of the world. Even if the critics give it bad reviews doesn't mean that audiences will react the same way.

We'll have to wait until audiences actually see it to see if they respond to it or not.
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
And TP2000 always announce bad news which kind of upsets me.

I write the posts that make the whole world sing, I write the posts of love and special things.
I write the posts that make the young girls cry, I write the posts, I write the posts...


Great, now I'll be humming Barry Manilow all evening. :rolleyes:

In better news, I just checked and Wish is up at 63% now!

Aim High!.jpg
 

TsWade2

Well-Known Member
I write the posts that make the whole world sing, I write the posts of love and special things.
I write the posts that make the young girls cry, I write the posts, I write the posts...


Great, now I'll be humming Barry Manilow all evening. :rolleyes:

In better news, I just checked and Wish is up at 63% now!

View attachment 754614
Well, I hope it keeps going up, because I well you know.
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
And TP2000 always announce bad news which kind of upsets me.
As somebody who's been on this board since late 2015. TP2000's critical posts about Disney is tame compared to @WDW1974's posts. Spirit was brutally honest when it comes to everything Disney's been doing these past couple of years. To the point that Spirit used to make dedicated threads covering Disney's actions and inner workings which can get very passive-aggressive at times. I don't think you could handle Spirit's posts (although he's been less active on this board in the past).
 

TsWade2

Well-Known Member
As somebody who's been on this board since late 2015. TP2000's critical posts about Disney is tame compared to @WDW1974's posts. Spirit was brutally honest when it comes to everything Disney's been doing these past couple of years. To the point that Spirit used to make dedicated threads covering Disney's actions and inner workings which can get very passive-aggressive at times. I don't think you could handle Spirit's posts (although he's been less active on this board in the past).
Really? Thank you for telling me.
 

Jon Turner

New Member
I did take a look at the Letterboxd reviews to see what THEY thought of the movie, and a majority of them are saying that it's not a TERRIBLE movie per say, just an OK to average one. Which I would at least be fine with. A terrible movie, though, I wouldn't. Nonetheless, I'm sure the film will find its audience. The people screaming over the film destined to be a bomb are kinda misremembering. This could be another Elemental. That film opened with average reviews and yet audiences responded to it. The same could happen with this one depending on how audience response is.
 

TsWade2

Well-Known Member
I kind’ve feel better now, but I’m still shocked and upset of the critics giving Wish mixed reviews. I just hope it’s a box office success.🥺
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
Wouldn't it be great if it turns out that Chris Pine's character was actually the good guy and Asha was just misinformed while she tries to stop him. She ends up causing havoc and Pine has to put things right at the end. It would be like the wizard Yensid putting things right after Mickey made a mess. That would give the movie a nice unexpected twist but Disney would never think of such a thing.
 

Miss Rori

Well-Known Member
So far, this doesn't seem to me like a case of reviews that would sink a movie's chances. It's more a case of reviews that don't really help.

I suspect whether this movie succeeds or fails in its first weekend will have a significant amount to do with whether the public mood is behind going back to the cinemas to see a film in the classic Disney style of princesses, villains, sidekicks, and songs. As the promotional campaign has ramped up, I think they've done a good job of making this seem like a Disney movie in that vein and Adriana DeBose has done a particularly good job in interviews of pushing that angle and talking about herself as a Disney kid who grew up with all the 1990s films for which there is now a lot of nostalgia.

Longer term, I guess we'll see if audiences like it more than critics.
Yeah, I was and wasn't surprised by the common complaints brought up in the reviews -- they reflected pretty well my own misgivings from the preview material but I didn't expect them to bother the professional critics who saw the whole thing so much. There are next to no rave reviews coming out thus far, and that's surprising for a "traditional" Disney fantasy musical.

One thing concerning is that many of the less enthusiastic reviews cite that there is no clear theme or message; that the "rules" of the film's universe are overly complicated, unclear, and raise too many logical questions (at least one reviewer saying that if it picked one or two of those questions and explored them, the movie would be better for it). If a complaint like that is so common, that suggests a fundamentally broken story, or at least one that the film's other elements (characterization, humor, visual artistry, music, etc.) can't overcome. We'll see if audiences are more forgiving; they might be. Good reviews have never guaranteed a box office hit, and bad ones never a flop.
 

Tha Realest

Well-Known Member
I think it will do well enough, certainly one of the bright spots of an otherwise dismal year. A lot will depend on word of mouth and how well the other family offerings perform.
So I had been bullish on this film based on the expectation it would be received more like Encanto or Elementals than Strange World (72% RT). It’s currently at 58% (down from 63%). That’s…terrible. I don’t think RT scores are a 1:1 indicator of how a Cinemascore /WOM rating is, but they’re not usually that oppositional.

I hope these early reviews are really just an aberration, because the early tracking wasn’t looking great and if you couple that with bad word of mouth…

I mean, right now at 58% it’s below Trolls 3 (59% as of this writing).
 

Disgruntled Walt

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Yeah, I was and wasn't surprised by the common complaints brought up in the reviews -- they reflected pretty well my own misgivings from the preview material but I didn't expect them to bother the professional critics who saw the whole thing so much. There are next to no rave reviews coming out thus far, and that's surprising for a "traditional" Disney fantasy musical.

One thing concerning is that many of the less enthusiastic reviews cite that there is no clear theme or message; that the "rules" of the film's universe are overly complicated, unclear, and raise too many logical questions (at least one reviewer saying that if it picked one or two of those questions and explored them, the movie would be better for it). If a complaint like that is so common, that suggests a fundamentally broken story, or at least one that the film's other elements (characterization, humor, visual artistry, music, etc.) can't overcome. We'll see if audiences are more forgiving; they might be. Good reviews have never guaranteed a box office hit, and bad ones never a flop.
One of the reviews brought up "The Greatest Showman" and "This is Me," just as we were discussing the other day! Spot on observation!
 

TsWade2

Well-Known Member
So I had been bullish on this film based on the expectation it would be received more like Encanto or Elementals than Strange World (72% RT). It’s currently at 58% (down from 63%). That’s…terrible. I don’t think RT scores are a 1:1 indicator of how a Cinemascore /WOM rating is, but they’re not usually that oppositional.

I hope these early reviews are really just an aberration, because the early tracking wasn’t looking great and if you couple that with bad word of mouth…

I mean, right now at 58% it’s below Trolls 3 (59% as of this writing).
Sorry, but 😢😭
 

TP2000

Well-Known Member
I updated this last at about 5:00 pm Mountain Standard Time. But now seven hours later Wish is down at 58% on the Tomato website thing.

It got a green splat symbol. I have to assume that's bad. Will it get back above 60% before next Wednesday? Will it make the $600 Million at the global box office it needs to break even? An interesting position that Disney has put themselves in while celebrating their 100th Anniversary with this movie.

The faces of the girl and the farting goat are probably the same faces on Burbank executives this weekend....

A6.jpg
 

Jedijax719

Well-Known Member
People talk about RT scores not affecting box office and that is true about some films (we're looking at you, Mario). However, with some, it really does matter. Mario has a following. People tend to really look at RT scores of Disney films these days with Disney under scrutiny and all. When comparing to Tangled, Frozen, Moana, Raya, Encanto, and even Frozen 2, the score for Wish is going to be BLARING. It will still get families with, shall I say, little girls. But other audiences who otherwise turned out for movies like Frozen and Moana, would give this a pass, especially in the age of D+ which Frozen and Moana didn't originally have.

I say that Wish will end up in the Encanto box office range of around $100 million domestic. Not great considering we aren't in the pandemic any longer. Yes, these are VERY tough times for Disney movies for sure. MCU has been on the down swing, remakes aren't living up quite as much as hoped or expected, Pixar is struggling and can't make $200 domestic, and now we have a new Disney princess movie that is rotten. Disney can't catch a break.
 

TsWade2

Well-Known Member
I updated this last at about 5:00 pm Mountain Standard Time. But now seven hours later Wish is down at 58% on the Tomato website thing.

It got a green splat symbol. I have to assume that's bad. Will it get back above 60% before next Wednesday? Will it make the $600 Million at the global box office it needs to break even? An interesting position that Disney has put themselves in while celebrating their 100th Anniversary with this movie.

The faces of the girl and the farting goat are probably the same faces on Burbank executives this weekend....

View attachment 754644
I’m sorry, but
 

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