Disney’s Recent Big Budget Blockbusters and Bombs – and What Lies Ahead

 by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 3, 2023

 

What’s the right rate of success for Hollywood movies in terms of being profitable? Given the many mysteries of film industry accounting, general estimates are all over the place, with many pointing to a 50-50 chance overall, though higher for big-budget movies.

This question came to mind looking at Disney’s big budget movie performance in 2022, early 2023, and looking at the rest of this year.

 

Deadline.com recently provided some valuable estimates, with one report focused on 2022’s most valuable blockbusters, and another on Hollywood’s biggest bombs of 2022. Disney was well represented on both lists.

 

As for the biggest successes, four of the top 10 were Disney films. Avatar: The Way of Water came in at number one, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at number four, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at number five, and Thor: Love and Thunder at number nine.

 

However, it also should be noted that among the three Marvel movies on the list, while Dr. Strange ranked as unique, interesting and entertaining, Thor: Love and Thunder was largely panned by critics, and Wakanda Forever was, well, a yawner.

 

Meanwhile, Disney had three of the five big budget bombs noted by Deadline. In fact, Disney had the three worst performers. The losses by Deadline’s estimates were staggering, with Disney’s Strange World coming in the very worst at a $197.4 million loss; followed by the Disney/New Regency vehicle Amsterdam losing $108.4 million; and then Pixar/Disney’s Lightyear registering the third biggest loss at $106 million.

 

Yikes.

 

And then we had Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrive in theaters this past February. This movie is supposed to kick off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But that film’s global gross was only $474.6 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Critics were displeased as well. A reported pre-production and filming budget of nearly $200 million means that when everything is tallied up in the end, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania likely will be a money loser for Disney.

 

Double yikes.

 

And what lies ahead for the rest of this year? Well, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens this weekend. It has a reported pre-production and filming budget of $250 million.  Opening weekend box office projections are running at $250-$260 million globally. Of course, it’s staying power will be the test. But when you look at the coming MCU titles, Guardians 3 offers Disney its best hope on the MCU front.

 

The next installment is The Marvels, arriving in November. And quite frankly, it’s hard to find any excitement or anticipation for this movie, and the same pretty much goes for the 2024 movies on the list – Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts and Blade.

 

Disney is hoping for the best with a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (May 26) and another crack at Haunted Mansion (July 28), while Elemental (June 16) will be a big test to see if Pixar can shake off a period of underwhelming movies – besides the Lightyear bomb. But one doesn’t exactly get a feeling of confidence from this list either.

 

In the end, the greatest anticipation and hope for the Disney box office in 2023 swirls around Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30). There seems to be real excitement for the return of Harrison Ford one more time as the iconic Indiana Jones. We trust that director James Mangold is up to the challenge, and he won’t make the same dumb mistake that the James Bond people made, that is, Mangold will not kill Indiana Jones. 

 

For what it’s worth, after seeing Dial of Destiny, according to Variety, Steven Spielberg declared, “Bob Iger had a screening for a lot of the Disney executives, and I came to the screening along with the director James Mangold. Everybody loved the movie. It’s really, really a good ‘Indiana Jones’ film. I’m really proud of what Jim has done with it… When the lights came up I just turned to the group and said, ‘Damn! I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these.’”

 

Indy fans and Disney shareholders are praying that Spielberg is right.

 

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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, and the Alliance of Saint Michael novels; and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right? 

 

Consider books by Ray Keating…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. You can order the latest book in the series – Under the Golden Dome: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel. Get the signed books here, or paperbacks and Kindle editions right here.

 

• Pre-order The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Kindle edition here and signed books here. And don’t forget the first book in this growing series, i.e., The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks at RayKeatingOnline.com or paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.

 

• Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel. Signed paperbacks and/or paperbacks, hardcovers and the Kindle edition at Amazon. 

 

• The Lutheran Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement, inspiration and consolation from the Christian faith.

 

• Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  –  signed books  or at  Amazon.

 

•  Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know is available at  Amazon  in paperback or for the Kindle edition, and signed books at  www.raykeatingonline.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Raimi Directing Dr. Strange 2 Leads to Creative and Box Office Success

 by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 16, 2022

 

DisneyBizJournal.com Movie Rating: 5 stars out of 5

DisneyBizJournal.com Box Office Rating:  $$$$ out of $$$$

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ranks as one of the very best Marvel Studios movies ever made, certainly by far the top entry since Avengers: Endgame, and it is justifiably getting rewarded at the box office. By the way, I serve up this assessment as someone who has never been a big Dr. Strange fan.

 

And yes, most of the credit for these creative and business achievements goes to Sam Raimi and his skills as a director.

Raimi already had three of the finest superhero films ever made on his resume – that is, Spider-Man(2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Spider-Man 3  (2007) – along with a wide-ranging group of other films. He brought this formidable experience to work in a Marvel film at a time when the studio clearly needed something big. After all, recent Marvel movies haven’t exactly been memorable. Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were little more than adequate, and Eternals was simply abysmal (see our review). Spider-Man: No Way Home, of course, was excellent (again, check out our rundown), but that was a Sony release that plays in the Marvel universe; it was not a Disney-Marvel Studios movie.

 

Raimi accomplished a great deal with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

 

The story was solid. It made sense and was entertaining (such basics cannot be assumed – see the Eternals). The characters, for the most part, were interesting. Indeed, some notable characters were introduced, or re-introduced, and wound up going to surprising places, adding unexpected aspects and richness to the film. Also, Raimi provided touches from assorted genres that he has worked in before, including horror, although the film doesn’t go too far. Yes, this is a hard PG-13, but definitely not an R.

 

Multiverse of Madness is a visually enthralling film as well. The special effects add to the movie, as opposed to some recent Marvel films in which very expensive special effects managed to distract and detract from the story (that was the case with Shang-Chi).

 

Perhaps most surprising was one thing that Raimi was allowed to do, and it made a big difference. Dr. Strange corrected or remedied the abysmal ending to the Disney+ WandaVision series (see our take). After committing an assortment of atrocities due to suffering personal losses (both real and imagined), Wanda’s actions in WandaVision were effectively justified or simply shrugged off at the end of the series. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness tossed aside such nonsense, or moral obtuseness, and made clear the evil that Wanda, or the Scarlett Witch, commits.

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness turned out to be engrossing, fascinating, and entertaining on multiple levels.

 

At the close of its second weekend (as of May 15), the film grossed $292 million domestically and earned $688 million globally. Those numbers run far ahead of the total box office take for each of the three previous Marvel Studios movies – Black Widow, Shang-Chi and Eternals.

 

Here’s a lesson for Marvel: Don’t shy away from getting top-notch directors to make your films, not to mention your Disney+ series. Disney certainly has enough funds available to get the best directors – ones that can handle the scope and the genre, while telling stories well. Sam Raimi directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes clear that such decisions make creative and box office sense.

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Two great ways to pre-order Cathedral: An Alliance of Saint Michael Novel, which is Ray’s sixteenth work of fiction, and the first in the Alliance of Saint Michael series. Signed paperbacks here and the Kindle edition here. 

 

Two great ways to order Ray Keating’s new nonfiction book – The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Signed paperbacks here, and paperbacks, hardcovers and Kindle editions here.  

 

Get all of Ray Keating Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries in paperback and for the Kindle at Amazon.com and signed books at www.RayKeatingOnline.com. 

 

Get more out of the rest of 2022 with The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution! It combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more. Also, “The Disney Planner 2022: The TO DO List Solution” comes with a handy spiral binding for easy use. It’s on sale and shipping is always free!

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.