75 employees laid off at Pixar, including the director of Lightyear

[mdmost]

Thanks for the report, mdmost. Is Lake even presented as nonbinary in the movie, and if so, how?

Also, we need to send BrianL to the corner for a few minutes after that bad joke.

It was super fast and I don't know if I can even recall correctly. It was something of "this is Lake and her friend _______". Marco and Polo, the young water kids, had more of a part in this movie and interaction with the two main characters than the non-binary blink and you miss them character. But of course, the outrage merchants need to feed the monster they created.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

We watched Elemental tonight and really enjoyed it. The animation was pretty spectacular and I'm glad we saw it in a theater versus waiting for it to come out on Disney+. I think people who bad mouthed it without giving it a chance have really deprived themselves of something pretty enjoyable. And the "controversy" is beyond silly given the character was about a 5 second blip in the movie. But again, it really seems people are looking for things to be offended by.

Or some families are just gun shy with Disney's "not so secret agenda" lately. When people that have adored your product in previous years stop buying it, maybe you should ask why? #1 rule of marketing is Know Who Your Customers Are.

 

[Disneychick13]

We watched Elemental tonight and really enjoyed it. The animation was pretty spectacular and I'm glad we saw it in a theater versus waiting for it to come out on Disney+. I think people who bad mouthed it without giving it a chance have really deprived themselves of something pretty enjoyable. And the "controversy" is beyond silly given the character was about a 5 second blip in the movie. But again, it really seems people are looking for things to be offended by.

I don’t really think the initial performance of Elementals has anything to do with any “controversy”. I never even heard about anything like that until I read these posts. The movie wasn’t marketed well. When I saw previews for it at the theatre I thought it looked totally uninteresting. So whatever about it that some people/reviewers have said is really good just did not come across well at all via the previews. I’m not saying it’s not good because I haven’t see it, but there’s probably nothing anyone could say to make me watch it. Again, that’s strictly because it doesn’t look interesting; the theme doesn’t appeal to me. I suspect a lot of people thought the same thing.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I know you all are saying how great the legs on Elemental are, but here is the math.

Production Budget = $200+ Million
Marketing Budget = $75+ Millon

Break even point at the box office assuming average 50% return from box office = $550 Million

So as of yesterday, this movie had made $252 million worldwide

Current shortfall to breaking even for the studio = $298 million.

 

[Moliphino]

Or some families are just gun shy with Disney's "not so secret agenda" lately. When people that have adored your product in previous years stop buying it, maybe you should ask why? #1 rule of marketing is Know Who Your Customers Are.

They've made no secret about wanting to be inclusive. They made it their fifth key.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I don’t really think the initial performance of Elementals has anything to do with any “controversy”. I never even heard about anything like that until I read these posts. The movie wasn’t marketed well. When I saw previews for it at the theatre I thought it looked totally uninteresting. So whatever about it that some people/reviewers have said is really good just did not come across well at all via the previews. I’m not saying it’s not good because I haven’t see it, but there’s probably nothing anyone could say to make me watch it. Again, that’s strictly because it doesn’t look interesting; the theme doesn’t appeal to me. I suspect a lot of people thought the same thing.

I agree with you just not a great story, or really just a spin on an often told story (basically animated West Side Story). Really odd with the no real villain plan, as that doesn't always work out very well. However, it's billed as an animated rom com for kids, which is a little odd to start with, so maybe no villain is ok in this situation.

I do think there are some families that are a little gun shy at this point. They have turned to checking things out via one of the many parental ratings apps before they will take their kids to see it. For some people the inclusion of a non-binary character is going to cause them to pause before consuming this content. Not a huge percentage of people, but certainly some. Now que all the SJWs to tell me how "sad" it is for people to be offended by such a throwaway line.


Wish is my big hope for Disney later this year. This looks to my eye as a true return to form for Disney, and a winner in the box office.

 

[nancipants]

It is sad. If people can't handle diversity in entertainment, how do they get through real life?

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I don’t really think the initial performance of Elementals has anything to do with any “controversy”. I never even heard about anything like that until I read these posts. The movie wasn’t marketed well. When I saw previews for it at the theatre I thought it looked totally uninteresting. So whatever about it that some people/reviewers have said is really good just did not come across well at all via the previews. I’m not saying it’s not good because I haven’t see it, but there’s probably nothing anyone could say to make me watch it. Again, that’s strictly because it doesn’t look interesting; the theme doesn’t appeal to me. I suspect a lot of people thought the same thing.

I asked my son (14), a huge movie buff, if he wanted to watch the movie. He said that the reviews he read said that while the animation is incredible, the plot is the worst Pixar has ever made. He has no interest in watching it in the theater and may or may not watch it on Disney+. My daughter (10) saw the preview while watching Little Mermaid and also said it looked boring.

Their lack of interest has nothing to do with the “controversy.”

 

[Scalemaster34]

I know you all are saying how great the legs on Elemental are, but here is the math.

Production Budget = $200+ Million
Marketing Budget = $75+ Millon

Break even point at the box office assuming average 50% return from box office = $550 Million

So as of yesterday, this movie had made $252 million worldwide

Current shortfall to breaking even for the studio = $298 million.

Either way it's a FLOP and will go down that way.... and as bad as Ruby Gillman has done for DreamWorks, they didn't lose as much as Disney will have lost on Elemental.

You can bet "panic mode" is going on at Disney headquarters right now as their Studio Business - once a Golden Goose - is in major trouble. It's not just one of two films that haven't meet projections or hopes.... right now it's nearly their whole 2023 line up. While Guardians broke even, it just barley did so.... and didn't do the amount of business one would have hoped. And it's not just DIsney, it's the market....

What is clear is Disney has to get budgets under control, and maybe scale back and spread out their release scheduled. I'm sure there will be some top heads rolling as a result, but your going to see a lot of little heads losing their jobs as there will be cutbacks across the production process.

Travel has returned with a vengeance, but the box office hasn't.... and at this point I'd say it isn't going to. As most of us know wait a few weeks and do in home theater, or wait just a couple of months and stream it.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I think it is time to get movie production cost back down to around $80-100 Million. The risk is just so much less at that price point, and your box office requirement to break even is just so much lower.

Super Mario and Into the Spiderverse just proved a lower budget animated film can make some really good money in the box office.

 

[Moliphino]

Either way it's a FLOP and will go down that way.... and as bad as Ruby Gillman has done for DreamWorks, they didn't lose as much as Disney will have lost on Elemental.

You can bet "panic mode" is going on at Disney headquarters right now as their Studio Business - once a Golden Goose - is in major trouble. It's not just one of two films that haven't meet projections or hopes.... right now it's nearly their whole 2023 line up. While Guardians broke even, it just barley did so.... and didn't do the amount of business one would have hoped. And it's not just DIsney, it's the market....

What is clear is Disney has to get budgets under control, and maybe scale back and spread out their release scheduled. I'm sure there will be some top heads rolling as a result, but your going to see a lot of little heads losing their jobs as there will be cutbacks across the production process.

Travel has returned with a vengeance, but the box office hasn't.... and at this point I'd say it isn't going to. As most of us know wait a few weeks and do in home theater, or wait just a couple of months and stream it.

Huh? It made almost $840 million on a $250 million budget.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Huh? It made almost $840 million on a $250 million budget.

Go look at the Forbes info on this, these production budgets that are often quoted are early estimates, and often never updated. It is not in the studios best interest for fans to know what they actually spent on something in detail. I think Guardians made a little money, but most people perceive these movies as making way more profit than they actually do.

 

[bryaalre]

Huh? It made almost $840 million on a $250 million budget.

It definitely made more than break even but probably won't make a huge amount. There was probably a large advertising and promotion budget, as well as back end deals for the cast and director, so all in all it probably will make less than $50M profit once it finishes its run in theaters. However, this is only theatrical performance and does not include any profit it makes from licensing, video sales, streaming, etc.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

It definitely made more than break even but probably won't make a huge amount. There was probably a large advertising and promotion budget, as well as back end deals for the cast and director, so all in all it probably will make less than $50M profit once it finishes its run in theaters. However, this is only theatrical performance and does not include any profit it makes from licensing, video sales, streaming, etc.

I would guess $25-50M is in the range of what it actually made (profit) in the box office. Add to that some DVD sales, and whatever Disney+ pays for it and it will make some profit. I struggle with the Disney+ stuff a little bit though, becuase it loses a billion dollars a quater, it seems like you are robbing Peter to pay Paul to me.

 

[fatmanatee]

 

[irlandaise]

View attachment 776483

Here's the other half of the calculation:

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/guardians-of-the-galaxy-3-box-office-staying-power-1235605571/

“...Guardians of the Galaxy 3 cost $250 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote..."

Yes of course there are other places the incoming money has to go but this should account for most of it.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Disney has strayed away from what they were. The "new" Disney knows exactly what they are doing. I have been sent several survey and included in them asking why I no longer spend money with ShopDisney, it gives me the option to select "I do not support Disney's politics". They have never asked that in year's prior.

Honestly, I don’t want to be preached at or have a constant narrative pushed at me in every movie produced by the same company. This could be from any angle. I want to be entertained with family-friendly fun. Movies *should be* about getting out of reality for a bit and being a part of something else for a few hours. Personally, I don’t think it is necessarily the story of the movie that is the problem, it’s the media and Hollywood using the story to push narratives. You can push people so far, on any topic, and then they have just had enough. In Disney's case. it is affecting them on every level, not just the box office attendance.

A lot of movies have characters with backstories, but that backstory does do not become the focus to push a narrative. Disney having gay characters or rewriting older stories just to show how progressive their DEI philosophy is, is a turn-off. If Disney has a compelling story, and the character is gay or the main actor is a different ethnicity than previously, well okay!? But don’t cram the idea of “we need to support the movie because the character is gay and if we dislike the movie it equates to being homophobic.” The overuse of that word is ridiculous. Phobic = irrational fear. Or “we are racist if we don’t like the new movie with the re-imagined main character.” That is the turn-off that is pushing away what was their fan-base. If THEY did not make such a huge deal about it, nobody else would either.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

They've made no secret about wanting to be inclusive. They made it their fifth key.

They are going overboard on the DEI, virtue signaling. Disney has become so inclusive that the are now exclusive.

 

[nancipants]

They are going overboard on the DEI, virtue signaling. Disney has become so inclusive that the are now exclusive.

How so? What "narratives" are they pushing that are excluding people?

People say things like this but then don't actually post specifics, which leads me to believe everyone is getting their news from outrage sources. Because getting mad about the LGBTQ content in a movie like Lightyear is just laughable.

 

[starlite_]

Disney has strayed away from what they were. The "new" Disney knows exactly what they are doing. I have been sent several survey and included in them asking why I no longer spend money with ShopDisney, it gives me the option to select "I do not support Disney's politics". They have never asked that in year's prior.

Honestly, I don’t want to be preached at or have a constant narrative pushed at me in every movie produced by the same company. This could be from any angle. I want to be entertained with family-friendly fun. Movies *should be* about getting out of reality for a bit and being a part of something else for a few hours. Personally, I don’t think it is necessarily the story of the movie that is the problem, it’s the media and Hollywood using the story to push narratives. You can push people so far, on any topic, and then they have just had enough. In Disney's case. it is affecting them on every level, not just the box office attendance.

A lot of movies have characters with backstories, but that backstory does do not become the focus to push a narrative. Disney having gay characters or rewriting older stories just to show how progressive their DEI philosophy is, is a turn-off. If Disney has a compelling story, and the character is gay or the main actor is a different ethnicity than previously, well okay!? But don’t cram the idea of “we need to support the movie because the character is gay and if we dislike the movie it equates to being homophobic.” The overuse of that word is ridiculous. Phobic = irrational fear. Or “we are racist if we don’t like the new movie with the re-imagined main character.” That is the turn-off that is pushing away what was their fan-base. If THEY did not make such a huge deal about it, nobody else would either.

Yawn.