And the reviews are in.............Little Mermaid

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

If you go to Rotten, for verified audience, pretty much all 5s, but if you go to all audience half are ones, so clearly the reviews are false and under attack. People have no life, a very small minded group of people would like to see Disney fail.

All audience is up to 56%. It was down at 35%. So the saboteurs are becoming less and less of the percentage. In any case, they're failing. It has already made over 95 million and as estimated for the weekend it will come in between 115 and 120 million making it far and away #1 displacing FAF10. And GOTG3 is approaching 300 million total and estimates put it at #3 possibly for the weekend.

 

[BrianL]

All audience is up to 56%. It was down at 35%. So the saboteurs are becoming less and less of the percentage. In any case, they're failing. It has already made over 95 million and as estimated for the weekend it will come in between 115 and 120 million making it far and away #1 displacing FAF10. And GOTG3 is approaching 300 million total and estimates put it at #3 possibly for the weekend.

That kind of stuff never works. Online campaigns, boycotts - not enough people care about such things or likely even hear about them. Movies succeed or fail based more on marketing than anything else.

 

[HopperFan]

If you like Tim Burton in general though I think you would like Dumbo. It is pretty good and not a copy/paste of the original.

LOVE Tim Burton and I really enjoyed Dumbo. I don't even remember last time I saw animated Dumbo so it was no issue for me to take it a bit dark.

That kind of stuff never works. Online campaigns, boycotts - not enough people care about such things or likely even hear about them. Movies succeed or fail based more on marketing than anything else.

I don't know .... with movies being so expensive right now some people absolutely may wait until D+ if it gets less than ideal reviews or "ratings". I went Sunday morning and it was still $18 per person. If I weren't A-List I would not have paid that unless I was confident it was a great movie. I still think there are plenty who go straight to Rotten etc to make a decision.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't know .... with movies being so expensive right now some people absolutely may wait until D+ if it gets less than ideal reviews or "ratings". I went Sunday morning and it was still $18 per person. If I weren't A-List I would not have paid that unless I was confident it was a great movie. I still think there are plenty who go straight to Rotten etc to make a decision.

We pretty much for years have stuck with Tuesdays because they are $5 per ticket with AMC (well now they are just over $6 at the main theater we go to since they changed the formula but same thing cheap tickets). And we do look to reviews (rotten tomatoes, IMDb, etc) for at least gauging it. If it's a movie we really really want to see we'll go regardless but more often than not in recent years that number of "must see" have dwindled.

We also still have gift cards for AMC and have $50 in stubs rewards. We like Dine In and the food costs a pretty penny but we don't always go to that type of theater usually it's related to movie times. Like Guardians was not showing on a Tuesday in a Dine In but was showing in the biggest theater (which had like maybe 15 people total across 3 or 4 groups) when we went on the 15th.

When movies in 2021 went straight to HBO Max we waited for some of them with exception to The Batman as many people mentioned how dark it could be in home theater as opposed to big screen and it did seem to be better experience in theaters for that one.

We did see Avatar 2 in theaters which I think is a type of movie that also really benefits from the theater type experience. But really many of these movies aren't as important to see in the theaters and with the timeframe of when you can see it by other means lower than in historical past combined with your point about the pricing (because many can't just see with their kids on a Tuesday evening at least during the school year) combined with the quantity of just knock them out of the park movies people tend to be like you said more selective and if it is just a so so movie in the end it's less of a sting if they saw it by a drastically cheaper way.

 

[HopperFan]

We pretty much for years have stuck with Tuesdays because they are $5 per ticket with AMC (well now they are just over $6 at the main theater we go to since they changed the formula but same thing cheap tickets). And we do look to reviews (rotten tomatoes, IMDb, etc) for at least gauging it. If it's a movie we really really want to see we'll go regardless but more often than not in recent years that number of "must see" have dwindled.

We also still have gift cards for AMC and have $50 in stubs rewards. We like Dine In and the food costs a pretty penny but we don't always go to that type of theater usually it's related to movie times. Like Guardians was not showing on a Tuesday in a Dine In but was showing in the biggest theater (which had like maybe 15 people total across 3 or 4 groups) when we went on the 15th.

When movies in 2021 went straight to HBO Max we waited for some of them with exception to The Batman as many people mentioned how dark it could be in home theater as opposed to big screen and it did seem to be better experience in theaters for that one.

We did see Avatar 2 in theaters which I think is a type of movie that also really benefits from the theater type experience. But really many of these movies aren't as important to see in the theaters and with the timeframe of when you can see it by other means lower than in historical past combined with your point about the pricing (because many can't just see with their kids on a Tuesday evening at least during the school year) combined with the quantity of just knock them out of the park movies people tend to be like you said more selective and if it is just a so so movie in the end it's less of a sting if they saw it by a drastically cheaper way.

We are A-List so I didn't pay the $18, and the plus is if we like a movie we can go see it again. We go to the movies 1 or 2 times a week if there is something new playing. That is the hard part, getting the movie industry production back.

We have run in to some problems with Tuesday Discount when DH wants to go. It is discounted but often it's not $6, sometimes as much as $12 (which for most movies is half price). And that is without concessions. And for families weeknights are often not an option. By us, even though an affluent area, we see very few children in the theaters so I wonder what it does mean for family movies.

 

[TwoMisfits]

All audience is up to 56%. It was down at 35%. So the saboteurs are becoming less and less of the percentage. In any case, they're failing. It has already made over 95 million and as estimated for the weekend it will come in between 115 and 120 million making it far and away #1 displacing FAF10. And GOTG3 is approaching 300 million total and estimates put it at #3 possibly for the weekend.

Its struggle is not domestic - it's worldwide. Outside of the US, Little Mermaid has had a catastrophic open. It's unlikely to break even theatrically b/c the world outside of the US did fully reject it. Who knows why, since they don't really follow US/Disney issues, so that's not likely why they are skipping it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We are A-List so I didn't pay the $18, and the plus is if we like a movie we can go see it again. We go to the movies 1 or 2 times a week if there is something new playing. That is the hard part, getting the movie industry production back.

We have run in to some problems with Tuesday Discount when DH wants to go. It is discounted but often it's not $6, sometimes as much as $12 (which for most movies is half price). And that is without concessions. And for families weeknights are often not an option. By us, even though an affluent area, we see very few children in the theaters so I wonder what it does mean for family movies.

They changed it a few years back where it was something like "up to $5 off" or something like that so depending on the theater you are going to and what they charge will depend on the ultimate cost but they still call it like Discount Tuesdays or $5 Tuesdays or something similar. It used to actually be $5 plus tax.

The theater we went to the normal price would have been $19.98 for two tickets (using Guardians 3 as an example) then they removed $8.98 off for Tuesday ticket pricing which makes each ticket $5.50 per one then tax on there. We then used $10.00 in stubs rewards and so with tax paid $1.10 total. Otherwise it would have been just over $12 with tax IIRC which is easier to take.

AMC A-List never appealed to us completely and I think that's because we could switch to Tuesdays and see what we wanted to see when we wanted to see it instead of feeling like we had to get our monies worth. Our DISer friends have A-list though and they seem to get a decent usage out of it. But there's still just not as many movies out there in recent years like there used to be.

Tuesdays (and now double point Wednesdays during the summer) aren't really promotions meant for families. They are meant to shift to slower days and the flexibility and realistic aspect is that during the school year especially that's just not going to be families. But on the flipside IF you want to see that movie like Little Mermaid and have a rewards program like AMC stubs you can at least earn quickly more points (if doing Premiere or higher) to then use on another movie visit.

 

[sethschroeder]

A family of four will spend well over $150. That is CRAZY.

We saw it on Thursday (essentially before opening) and it was recliner seats for $27 total. Bought popcorn for like $10 as well which was their largest size.

Could have took all 4 of us for less than $50 so people might want to check their local theaters on non-prime nights.

 

[HopperFan]

They changed it a few years back where it was something like "up to $5 off" or something like that so depending on the theater you are going to and what they charge will depend on the ultimate cost but they still call it like Discount Tuesdays or $5 Tuesdays or something similar. It used to actually be $5 plus tax.

The theater we went to the normal price would have been $19.98 for two tickets (using Guardians 3 as an example) then they removed $8.98 off for Tuesday ticket pricing which makes each ticket $5.50 per one then tax on there. We then used $10.00 in stubs rewards and so with tax paid $1.10 total. Otherwise it would have been just over $12 with tax IIRC which is easier to take.

So normal price was $9.99 each??? Well I guess that is what makes the difference, depending on where you live will dictate the normal prices. LM Sunday morning was $17.99 and for 6 pm evening show $22.49 ... that is EACH! GOG first evening show is $15.49 and it's been out how long? $15 is about the lowest you will find any movie here.

So for us A-List is totally worth it, we can break even with one movie. But we got to 3-6 a month so we come out way ahead. Add that we get points on our monthly cost we get back $5 every other month we use to take DH to movies he wants to see.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So normal price was $9.99 each??? Well I guess that is what makes the difference, depending on where you live will dictate the normal prices. LM Sunday morning was $17.99 and for 6 pm evening show $22.49 ... that is EACH! GOG first evening show is $15.49 and it's been out how long? $15 is about the lowest you will find any movie here.

So for us A-List is totally worth it, we can break even with one movie. But we got to 3-6 a month so we come out way ahead. Add that we get points on our monthly cost we get back $5 every other month we use to take DH to movies he wants to see.

Yeah and the pricing does vary around here depending on which AMC theater you go to in the metro (there's 7 I believe) and what day of the week but for a regular showing I don't believe we have any that are $15 or above. Dine-In isn't that high either but the more specialized theaters I do think can get up there. Still your pricing is crazy!

I can see why A-list would be worth it to you. We're fine with Premiere level and the yearly charge. I wish I had more excitement towards Disney's movies in recent years to see them in theaters but it just hasn't panned out that there's ones we must see. Jungle Cruise we did see in theaters and that theater was more crowded, lots of laugh on that one but it was also based on an attraction though mixed with original content. Encanto was another good movie and an original one that we saw in theaters IIRC. I just can't get excitement out of Little Mermaid here to see it in theaters when what I'm really craving is completely new storylines and Disney's studio just isn't putting those out. Then again LucasFilm is also so saturated and Pixar is iffy at times (loved Coco and Inside Out though). Wish...that movie has piqued my interests although it leans on the tried and true princess-esque storyline.

 

[Disneychick13]

Its struggle is not domestic - it's worldwide. Outside of the US, Little Mermaid has had a catastrophic open. It's unlikely to break even theatrically b/c the world outside of the US did fully reject it. Who knows why, since they don't really follow US/Disney issues, so that's not likely why they are skipping it.

It is very interesting. That the movie is doing very well domestically but basically tanking internationally. Maybe things will change in the coming weeks. I know in general the critical reviews have been very mixed although universally Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy have been lauded for their performances. So it kind of stands to reason will those rave reviews be enough to bring in more people or are a lot of people content to wait for the movie to stream.

 

[Disneychick13]

Yeah and the pricing does vary around here depending on which AMC theater you go to in the metro (there's 7 I believe) and what day of the week but for a regular showing I don't believe we have any that are $15 or above. Dine-In isn't that high either but the more specialized theaters I do think can get up there. Still your pricing is crazy!

I can see why A-list would be worth it to you. We're fine with Premiere level and the yearly charge. I wish I had more excitement towards Disney's movies in recent years to see them in theaters but it just hasn't panned out that there's ones we must see. Jungle Cruise we did see in theaters and that theater was more crowded, lots of laugh on that one but it was also based on an attraction though mixed with original content. Encanto was another good movie and an original one that we saw in theaters IIRC. I just can't get excitement out of Little Mermaid here to see it in theaters when what I'm really craving is completely new storylines and Disney's studio just isn't putting those out. Then again LucasFilm is also so saturated and Pixar is iffy at times (loved Coco and Inside Out though). Wish...that movie has piqued my interests although it leans on the tried and true princess-esque storyline.

It’s got to be a lot for me to go to the theatre to see a movie. The marvel stuff I always do. The other Disney/Pixar stuff not so much (although I went for Avatar 2). The new Elementals movie looks absolutely dreadful and I can’t imagine even watching it streaming. I would love for Disney to come out with a new “princess” movie. That’s what might bring me back to the movie theatre to see a Disney film.

 

[BrianL]

It’s got to be a lot for me to go to the theatre to see a movie. The marvel stuff I always do. The other Disney/Pixar stuff not so much (although I went for Avatar 2). The new Elementals movie looks absolutely dreadful and I can’t imagine even watching it streaming. I would love for Disney to come out with a new “princess” movie. That’s what might bring me back to the movie theatre to see a Disney film.

It's not exactly a "princess" movie, but Wish will be a musical set in a fantasy kingdom. The main character is not royalty and the King appears to be the villain. That's out in November. Hopefully that will hit a little better - if it has a catchy song it should.

I think Elemental looks pretty good myself. I am lookking forward to seeing it.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Its struggle is not domestic - it's worldwide. Outside of the US, Little Mermaid has had a catastrophic open. It's unlikely to break even theatrically b/c the world outside of the US did fully reject it. Who knows why, since they don't really follow US/Disney issues, so that's not likely why they are skipping it.

Actually it's foreign gate is estimated to be 65-70 million for the weekend. That's less than optimal but hardly a full rejection and not catastrophic. Add that to its domestic haul and world wide figures are going to be 180-190 million or so just this weekend. That's going to be #1 world wide. TLMM is well on its way to profitability.

And of course TLMM will likely have a big merch haul too.

That kind of stuff never works. Online campaigns, boycotts - not enough people care about such things or likely even hear about them. Movies succeed or fail based more on marketing than anything else.

Boycotts are usually only effective if those boycotting make up a large percentage of the market niche and there is a readily available alternative just as good. When the product is a toilet water beer and those boycotting are your best customers, you're going to have to cave. When you're Disney and they are not, you don't. Disney has been boycotted in one way or another at least 10 times that I know of over the years. None have been effective.

 

[HopperFan]

It's not exactly a "princess" movie, but Wish will be a musical set in a fantasy kingdom. The main character is not royalty and the King appears to be the villain. That's out in November. Hopefully that will hit a little better - if it has a catchy song it should.

I think Elemental looks pretty good myself. I am lookking forward to seeing it.

Saw a longer Wish trailer yesterday. Visually beautiful and music seemed good. Looking forward to it.

I am not looking forward to Elemental, but will be going. Seems like it's just another Inside Out.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Actually it's foreign gate is estimated to be 65-70 million for the weekend. That's less than optimal but hardly a full rejection and not catastrophic. Add that to its domestic haul and world wide figures are going to be 180-190 million or so just this weekend. That's going to be #1 world wide. TLMM is well on its way to profitability.

And of course TLMM will likely have a big merch haul too.


Boycotts are usually only effective if those boycotting make up a large percentage of the market niche and there is a readily available alternative just as good. When the product is a toilet water beer and those boycotting are your best customers, you're going to have to cave. When you're Disney and they are not, you don't. Disney has been boycotted in one way or another at least 10 times that I know of over the years. None have been effective.

It's a $250M production budget. Normal break even for theatrical is 2-2.5X the production budget. With this open, especially overseas, it's looking like Mermaid will struggle and come under $500M WW. There is nowhere left to open except Japan, and since Covid, Disney has made nothing there.

This could be a $450Mish WW grosser, and thus a real disappointment for Disney corporate who will have to wait for after market to see this turn a profit.

It is what it is. The INT number is under Dumbo's opening weekend. That's the perspective.

Dumbo was
Box office Mar 29, 2019 $45,990,748 DOM $114,766,307 WW

So, as you can see, $69M INT for a movie that did really poorly itself, although it did show a big turn around in Europe after OW, thus saving its INT number (while never turning around DOM)...

 

[longboard55]

Saw a longer Wish trailer yesterday. Visually beautiful and music seemed good. Looking forward to it.

I am not looking forward to Elemental, but will be going. Seems like it's just another Inside Out.

I got inside info that Elemental is pretty good, looked like zootopia to me. The one that looks bad is Indiana Jones.

 

[BrianL]

Saw a longer Wish trailer yesterday. Visually beautiful and music seemed good. Looking forward to it.

I am not looking forward to Elemental, but will be going. Seems like it's just another Inside Out.

It does look a bit like Inside Out - but I love Inside Out so, it's working for me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It’s got to be a lot for me to go to the theatre to see a movie. The marvel stuff I always do. The other Disney/Pixar stuff not so much (although I went for Avatar 2). The new Elementals movie looks absolutely dreadful and I can’t imagine even watching it streaming. I would love for Disney to come out with a new “princess” movie. That’s what might bring me back to the movie theatre to see a Disney film.

Elemental has strong Inside Out vibes to me. Not quite the same exact premise but that you have these elements that could be connected easily to emotions that were in Inside Out, same color vibes like Inside Out although people commented from the previews to the actual movie Little Mermaid wasn't represented well from the trailers.

Marvel we usually see in theaters as well although we didn't see Black Widow and still haven't actually. We ended up watching Doctor Strange Into the Madness at home too.

I agree though as a general thing for us it takes a lot to see movies in theaters these days.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Saw a longer Wish trailer yesterday. Visually beautiful and music seemed good. Looking forward to it.

I am not looking forward to Elemental, but will be going. Seems like it's just another Inside Out.

haha I didn't even see your comment as I was typing out my response to another poster but glad I'm not the only one who thought the same with Elemental and Inside Out