It’s no secret that Disney films haven’t been living up to their reputation of having guaranteed returns in the box office; a string of recent bombs isn’t exactly bolstering confidence in the Mouse House nor in the eyes of the public. With several Disney-backed films in theaters at the same time, Disney is proving itself to be its own worst enemy when it comes to box office success as its films compete for spots on the highest-grossing list.
In less than 24 hours, Haunted Mansion will hit theaters and all eyes are on the film’s performance in light of the above. While the film isn’t projected to do well financially nor critically, director Justin Simien is facing even more problems than making a profit.
In lighter news, a new menu item is coming to Disney World as part of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. This wouldn’t normally be news in itself in a park known for its rotational menus, but the new item is a bright green milkshake with an unusual ingredient that’s already proving to be controversial among Disney World foodies.
While both have been designated box office flops, Elemental overtakes Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in earnings
You likely know by now that Disney is having an outrageously bad year when it comes to making a profit in the box office. Long gone are the days of movies with mid-sized budgets heading to theaters. Instead, the Mouse House has become seasoned in the art of the blockbuster, with most theatrically released films having reported budgets in the hundreds of millions. With budgets so high — and that’s even before counting marketing costs — these massive films need even bigger profits. It’s gotten to a point that any Disney film needs to hit close to $1 billion to actually make a decent profit, which is proving to be a difficult feat in our current streaming climate.
Just a few short years ago, a Pixar release like Elemental and a franchise film like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny being considered box office flops would have been unthinkable, but that’s our current reality. While both films are on the top 10 list of box office earners, neither are considered financially successful given their bloated budgets. Dial of Destiny is doing better domestically, but Elemental just knocked it down a place in worldwide sales, earning a total of $360 million compared to Indy‘s $338 million.
It’s kind of depressing that both films have decent reviews and have grossed that much money to only be considered flops, but Disney’s high production and marketing costs are looking less and less sustainable when people just don’t want to purchase movie tickets. Unless a movie is a cultural moment (think Barbenheimer) or tells a compelling enough story, audiences are showing they’re not interested in less than original content. With Haunted Mansion hitting theaters tomorrow, it looks like Disney will have another movie competing with its other blockbuster-sized films.
Amid WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, Haunted Mansion director gets real about the film’s chances at success
Another spin at making a movie out of one Disney’s most beloved attractions is coming to theaters with little fanfare. The new Haunted Mansion comes 20 years after the Eddie Murphy film of the same name and is projected to gross about the same amount of money in its first weekend as the previous film did in 2003. It goes without saying, but that is not good. That is especially bad when the new Haunted Mansion reportedly cost Disney $157 million to make (once again, before marketing costs).
It’s not just a bad box office outlook weighing on director Justin Simien on the eve of his biggest film-to-date’s theatrical release. The filmmaker, known for Dear White People, is contractually stuck promoting a film his own actors cannot promote due to the SAG-AFTRA strike and he’s fully aware that he’s been put in an unfavorable position. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Simien spoke about how the film needs publicity as there’s no existing fanbase, noting, “this is going to hurt it.”
As both a member of the WGA and DGA (Directors Guild of America), Simien still has to show up at events for the film, despite supporting the strikes. Contractual obligations aside, he made his position clear when he spoke with the publication about his time working on Dear White People on Netflix; “Our network was putting our billboards all over the country to advertise their commitment to Blackness and to Black liberation because of George Floyd and COVID, while we were asking for pennies just to pay for PPE.” Like many Hollywood writers, Simien would love to have some words with Bob Iger about what it’s like to create the content the entire industry revolves around.
You’ve heard of the Disney pickle, but what if it was a milkshake?
Like many avid Disneyland visitors, there’s nothing I enjoy more than buying a good pickle when I make it into the park. I also like milkshakes but I don’t think I’m alone when I say I have never even remotely considered combining the two, but that’s exactly what Disney has done with the new Pickle Milkshake at Epcot. The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival has begun and you can find this monstrosity there from July 27 until Nov. 18.
Disney revealed the new shake on its official Disney Eats Instagram page and immediately caused a stir among Disney food fans. The top commenter shared their trepidation by writing, “I mean…I’m going to try it but let’s not let it slide that NO ONE IN THAT VIDEO ACTUALLY TOOK A SIP.” Another commenter summed up my feelings about the pickle shake with, “we’re scared but also ready.”
The shake has the potential to be as disastrous as Disney’s recent box office run (too soon?) but some adventurous foodies are saying its not as bad as you might expect. Since the Food and Wine Festival just started, there aren’t too many reviews circulating social media yet, but the shake is getting reviews ranging from “I don’t hate it” to “This is definitely not going to be for everyone.” I would love to see Disney bring some of that innovation to its movies next!