MOVIE NEWS – Disney’s 100th animated film, Wish, disappointed theatres on its opening weekend. So, the studio has to deal with another failed Thanksgiving…

Wish is Disney’s second disappointing Thanksgiving premiere in a row. The new animated film, which serves as the origin story of the company’s iconic wishing star, is the only animated film to be released in 2023 by Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is celebrating its 100th birthday. However, the year has so far brought a series of surprising failures for the company. The new Indiana Jones lost roughly $100 million, The Haunted Mansion didn’t make back its $150 million budget, and The Marvels had the lowest opening weekend of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

According to initial reports, Wish will continue Disney’s dismal 2023 trend based on box office data. It is currently predicted for a 5-day total of between $32 million and $33 million. It would be too early to say that it will take the second place of the weekend ahead of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. But regardless, this gross income falls well short of the original 45-50 million dollars forecasts.

It also marks Disney’s second disappointing Thanksgiving in a row after Strange World flopped in theatres in 2022.

Can Disney get out of the financial failure series?

Not every Disney movie released in 2023 was an abject failure. Moreover, their MCU movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 did quite well. It earned $845.5 million worldwide. Pixar’s Elemental also more than doubled its $200 million production budget. However, with Wish underperforming at the box office and proving that even a Disney staple like a princess musical can falter, Disney needs a strong 2024 to compensate for this year’s losses.

The amount of Disney films released next year has already been seriously affected by the 2023 actors’ strike. This ended up taking 118 days. While the performers, including the cast of Wish, fought for fair pay, they refrained from appearing in or promoting productions affected by the strike. This has led to the release dates of many of Disney’s planned 2024 films being pushed back. These include Snow White, the next Captain America and Pixar’s Elio.

However, quite a few of the titles still slated for 2024 are tied to existing solid IPs that could help boost the company’s overall revenue outlook.

Other MCU films with their release dates pushed back include Blade Runner, Thunderbolts, and Deadpool 3. After Searchlight Pictures releases Poor Things and All of Us Strangers in December, they will be followed by the prequel The First Omen in April 2024. Horror has largely drawn intense crowds in recent years. So, this title could potentially start a streak of successful IP projects. The rest of the year sees titles such as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Inside Out 2, Deadpool 3, Alien: Romulus and Mufasa: The Lion King. These have a chance to do well and at least partially restore Disney’s finances.

Source: BBC