‘Lightyear’ box office: The family problem behind the Pixar movie

In early January of this year, sonic the hedgehog 2 A strong boom began at the domestic box office when $72.1 million was sold in theaters. Paramount sources estimate that nearly 60% of the opening weekend audience were children and parents, confirming that families were genuinely willing to put aside concerns about the current pandemic and return to theaters. Hollywood and theater owners breathed a sigh of relief.

But when Pixar and Disney toys Story slit light-year Opening in theaters over Father’s Day weekend, only 38% of attendees were families, which helped explain why the movie opened for $50.6 million instead of the $70 million it cost. Worse still, he finished second behind Holdover. jurassic world domination Unexpectedly animated, even if it has the best opening pandemic for an animated movie (sonic It was a live action/CGI hybrid).

Over the weekend of June 17-19 evening in Hollywood, the same questions were asked why the opening couldn’t simply be linked to a pandemic: What happened?

Disney insiders personally point to inconsistent reviews from critics, at least Pixar’s offering, and viewership scores that don’t beat the ratings, as well as marketing and brand confusion.

Pixar movies have always been known to appeal to young people and adults who don’t have kids but do have families. light-year It was particularly light. As of June 2019, around 45% of ticket buyers toy story 4 There were children and parents. Children are known for being repetitive spectators who can have an incredible amount of movie fun on the big screen.

that didn’t help either light-year It became political bag for conservative Republican lawmakers when the same-sex kiss scene was reprized in the film after Pixar staff said Disney was censored after Disney CEO Bob Chapek said “obviously love gay” – “Say gay in Florida” due to unrest. The bill.

Following the film’s opening over Father’s Weekend, American spokesman Jim Jordan (Ohio), a minority member of the House Judiciary Committee who has 2.8 million followers, wrote on Twitter June 21: “Buzz Lightyear woke up. Disney is broke.” And a certified Twitter account for the GOP Judiciary Committee, which has over 223,000 followers, followed by a tweet: “No toys Story Excellent again.”

There is no concrete and quick evidence that political discourse hurts light-year, although the film has dropped heavily in the Midwest, according to a source with access to Comscore’s regional data. (toy story 4 It was within normal limits three years ago in the Midwest.)

Disney insiders claim that red-prone states contributed the same percentage to total gross revenues. light-year what did they do to sonic 2.

light-year It is also under-indexed in the Northeast, where many residents are Democrats, as well as in Canada. In many markets in the West and Southeast, including those led by the Spaniards, he stood out. (Spanish people made up more than 30% of the audience.)

Boxoffice Pro analyst Sean Robbins says there are bigger issues behind the policy, but adds that the latter cannot be ignored. “We must also take into account the unfortunate responsibility of the film’s ultra-talenting same-sex relationship families, who were also created for two years to wait for Pixar films to air too late,” Robbins said. , pointing to Disney’s decision to ship multiple Pixars. . Disney+ titles after the pandemic. The combination of these two sentiments seems to have instilled the “we watch until we let our children see” mentality, a mentality in some societies, especially those with strong religious views, as opposed to filmmakers’ intentions to promote equality and. Representation for all”.

Curious studio distributors and box office experts don’t buy the argument that sending Pixar’s latest movies directly to Disney+ is harmful. light-year. “Clients, of course, have a lot to do with it, but it doesn’t replace theater. Disney has mobilized more than 4 million people to leave television and experience light-year So it can’t be replicated at home,” said Steve Buck of EntTelligence, a cash-based analytics company.

The film currently has a rating of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience of 86%. This compares to 96% and 94%, respectively. toy story 4.

General Consensus: There was confusion about how the film related to the icon. toys Story The franchise and character Buzz Lighter, voiced in the main series by conservative actor Tim Allen. This time, Chris Evans voices the space ranger.

“The movie didn’t push the right buttons,” says a veteran executive at a rival studio.

Adds Robbins: “Marketing was nostalgic, but it relied heavily on toys Story The brand’s oldest millennial audience and heralds minimal comedic elements that often make the 4-square-meter animated film the biggest at the box office.

competition of it was jurassic world Another problem light-year. “Kids love dinosaurs,” says another veteran Hollywood executive. And then there’s Top Gun: MaverickWhich became a huge box office hit and also receives love from families almost a month after its debut.

In 2007 from Pixar Ratatouille It opened for just $47 million, too light-yearHeadlines around the world drew attention to the hot numbers, but they began to spill over and generate revenue of $206.4 million domestically and $626.5 million globally.

Ironically, toy story 4 It initially also attracted negative headlines when it opened to $118 million domestically, as a preliminary range suggested it would open to $140 million, if not more. This movie grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Abroad, light-year It started at $34.6 million in the first 43 markets. It did particularly well in Latin America, which is a big market for animation.

On July 1, Universal and Illumination debut the animated sequel. Minions: The Rise of Gru Another test for the family cash registers whose full recovery is critical to the success of the traditional Hollywood studio system. As soon as the news broke in the press, Paramount announced it. sonic 2 It surpassed the $400 million mark worldwide and became the only second family photo post-COVID-19 to achieve that success. sing 2. Before the pandemic, family movies could have done so much more. (In 2019, for example, four family photos reached $1 billion worldwide.)

Disney and Pixar expect this. light-year He plays all summer, but his restraining power becomes apparent after troublesome and ever-destructive little yellow creatures (or minions) invade the multiplex.