Disney has had a rough go of things in recent months. The company has seen declining stock prices, massive streaming losses, poor attendance at theme parks, and a string of box office flops not seen in recent memory.
The reasons are numerous; the company decided to pick a fight with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, they released title after title of questionable content in terms of family entertainment, and have continually doubled down in the culture war as they continue to push far-left political agendas rather than focus on wholesome family entertainment.
The fallout is obvious at the box office. As Disney celebrated 100 years, its most recent release has drawn some of the most unfavorable reviews in company history. “Wish,” which, according to The Blaze cost between $175 and $200 million to produce, barely crossed $19.5 domestically over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The animated feature was projected to do between $45 and $55 million for the five-day period, according to CNBC, but fell shockingly short. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, said: “It wouldn’t be a holiday box office season without some occasional upsets and this weekend is delivering on that front.”
The massive disappointment of “Wish” follows the string of losers from Disney this year, including the latest “Indiana Jones,” “The Marvels,” “Haunted Mansion,” and “Little Mermaid.” In past years, titles like these would be slam-dunk financial successes, but the battles Disney has fought with conservative America have taken its toll.
“Wish,” which didn’t appear to be aggressively marketed, also suffered from largely negative reviews. User reviews have been brutal, and critical reviews have not been any better. One critic said: “Just like The Marvels, Wish is an emotionally inert and personality-free movie that appears to have been assembled from the outside in.”
Many critics have maintained the film lacks personality and was not properly marketed. Wendy Ide of the Observer summed it up by saying: “Disney celebrates its centenary with a grimly cynical marketing exercise wrapped in the sparkly cloak of an escapist animated fairytale.” She noted that even the soundtrack is: “an unhummable mess of warbled exposition.”
Disney recently filed its Securities and Exchanges filing, commonly known as SEC filings, and acknowledged their own role in relation to their ongoing involvement in the culture wars. Part of the filing read: “We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our business. Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products whose success depends substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways.”
The vernacular of the filing basically boils down to a ‘we messed up’ admission on the part of Disney. The hiring of former CEO Bob Iger was supposed to reenergize the brand, but the results haven’t been as Disney hoped. Instead, they are facing massive losses and no clear path back from the hole they have dug for themselves.
If the losses of 2023 teach Disney a needed lesson about what parents want their kids to see, then maybe there is hope for the company moving forward. If not, 2024 will provide more misery for the once-beloved family standard.
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