More Turbulence At Disney

[DisneyJedi]

Ugh! I am SO mad that.... I wish Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel hadn't BECOME a movie to begin with! It's all their fault that Disney's being overshadowed again AND that this could probably spell out the other future hand-drawn films' fates!

[Rudy Matt]

The polarization of the country regarding the health care bill isn't helping this movie at all. Terrible timing. Not the fault of poor Musker and Clements.

Anyhoo, they took a gamble, and they crapped out. The mood of the country was against them - same thing happened to Dumbo and Bambi.

[Just.A.Friend]

Ugh! I am SO mad that.... I wish Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel hadn't BECOME a movie to begin with! It's all their fault that Disney's being overshadowed again AND that this could probably spell out the other future hand-drawn films' fates!

Its a combo of all the recent big time releases.. Avatar has gained much more than Chipmunks..
but.. Princess and the Frog has still gained about 55-60 million in the US. Worldwide releases have barely started where it matters. Its still got time.

The polarization of the country regarding the health care bill isn't helping this movie at all. Terrible timing. Not the fault of poor Musker and Clements.

Anyhoo, they took a gamble, and they crapped out. The mood of the country was against them - same thing happened to Dumbo and Bambi.

Absolutely has little to nothing to do with anything. If it was up to the 'health care bill,' movie going attendance would drop for everything, not just one movie. Have you seen Avatar's or Chipmunks' numbers?

Let's face it.. US movie sales are going to get as high as they're going to get, maybe reach around 75 million or so. They aren't just going to jump up again. The only way this might happen is if it wins an Oscar or something and buzz gets out.. sort of like Slumdog did last year.

I'd say its up to merch, DVD sales, and worldwide ticket sales.
And it wasn't a flop. It made decent money. Especially put in merch sales and then there's still plenty of time left for everything else. Disney expected more out of it, and so do most of us. I believe it should have done better, yes, but understand why it wouldn't.

There's always Snow Queen to help pull this puppy around.
2D animation is going to stick around for a little while longer at least at Disney.

[DaveWadding]

The polarization of the country regarding the health care bill isn't helping this movie at all. Terrible timing. Not the fault of poor Musker and Clements.

Anyhoo, they took a gamble, and they crapped out. The mood of the country was against them - same thing happened to Dumbo and Bambi.

Can I ask you a serious question?


Are you on drugs?

[pap64]

The polarization of the country regarding the health care bill isn't helping this movie at all. Terrible timing. Not the fault of poor Musker and Clements.

Anyhoo, they took a gamble, and they crapped out. The mood of the country was against them - same thing happened to Dumbo and Bambi.

And what does this have to do with anything?

[DisneyJedi]

I have a quick question.

Is it really necessary for a movie to earn back twice its budget? The reason I ask is because I have one example of a movie that "flopped" because it earned back its budget, but did not get twice the money it cost.

[pvdfan]

I have a quick question.

Is it really necessary for a movie to earn back twice its budget? The reason I ask is because I have one example of a movie that "flopped" because it earned back its budget, but did not get twice the money it cost.

Yes it is. The budget for the movie only includes production cost. It does not including any marketing or public relations cost as well.

Also, each week after the first week, the movie studio no longer gets 100% of ticket sales. It's why some t heathers (AMC maybe?) offer the $5 movie club after 3 or 4 weeks. If they can offer a movie for dirt cheap, even at $5, they are still making a better profit off ticket sales.

[Margos]

The polarization of the country regarding the health care bill isn't helping this movie at all. Terrible timing. Not the fault of poor Musker and Clements.

Anyhoo, they took a gamble, and they crapped out. The mood of the country was against them - same thing happened to Dumbo and Bambi.

And what does this have to do with anything?

No, guys, I think I understand what he's saying. It's like, many Americans feel like we're in a time of crisis, like during WWII, and don't necessarily want to go see the "happy little princess movie."
It really is the same thing that we hear from time to time as part of the reason why some of today's beloved classics, "Dumbo" and "Bambi" flopped in the box office. I wouldn't jump down his throat so quickly, as there does seem to be some sort of logic to what he's saying.
Anyway, if history repeats itself, TPatF will be considered a timeless classic in a few decades. In fact, let's start ignoring the original box office amount right now and speed up the process!

[akhenaten]

xmas weekend estimates...princess at number 7.looks like it might end with brother bear numbers.

http://boxofficeguru.com/weekend20.htm

[estefan]

I took the whole "health care plan" comment as tongue-in-cheek.

The problem with that theory is that Alvin and the Chipmunks has already made more money than The Princess and the Frog. The week-end estimates are in and already, Alvin has made almost $15 million more than Frog.

http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

All I have to say about this is "WHAT THE (BLEEP) is wrong with America?" Seriously? The Princess and the Frog is an excellent film done with so much professionalism and heart and soul and then this cheap cash-grab of a film comes along and steals its audience away. Say what you will about the Disney executives, but the people who made The Princess and the Frog set out to make an amazing, beautiful film in a format that American animation studios barely use anymore and they completely and utterly succeeded. Alvin and the Chipmunks is a complete corporate cash-grab concieved of by suits in an office and by people who admit they only made the film for the money (something David Cross freely admitted to when the first film came out). Now, what does it say about the world that this "thing" makes 77 million dollars on its first five days of release?

Sorry to go on a rant like that, but never before has a box-office gross infuriated me more!

[akhenaten]

lets see of it this way...if bolt is oliver..then PATF is mermaid..mermaid only made 84 in its initial run..but its such a classic now and everyone remembers it n love it.

so regardless of how much patf makes..if its good, itll have a long run for generations to come..and maybe just maybe rapunzel will do batb numbers?

is everyone relieved now??

[Margos]

And if Rapunzel does BatB numbers.... And "The Snow Queen" does Aladdin numbers.... "Joe Jump" could do TLK numbers!? I find it unlikely, but......

[DisneyJedi]

xmas weekend estimates...princess at number 7.looks like it might end with brother bear numbers.

http://boxofficeguru.com/weekend20.htm

I'm not sure if that should be considered bad or good.

[IagoZazu]

Talk about a switch. Everyone on here was hoping PatF was the start of a new generation of traditional animation, and then this happens and the world seems to become undone. I like PatF and I'm also disappointed it didn't do so good, but I think people's expectations on the box office were too high.

But there's still hope. The merchandise for PatF is huge and I'm sure that the DVDs and blu-rays will sell good when they come out in March. It just disappoints me that they base all of its success on the box office and awards. I can't imagine Disney dropping 2D animation permanently. CGI doesn't have the kind of soul and sprit that 2D has, and Pixar would be left to rule because all of their movies are always successful. I'm not saying that I don't like Pixar, but I think they're outshining Disney.

All I can hope is that they better not do something to Snow Queen!

[akhenaten]

yea..but having a dismal gross means we wont be getting an excelent dvd/bd release.the most is 2disc with digital copy.

there goes my chance of seeing these as bonus features.

ron and john-director's featurette
john henry full short anamorphic
jim cummings - actor's featurette
new orleans disneypedia
randy newman - songwriter's featurette
disneyland tiana jubilee clip
and more...

[a-net-fan]

Does anyone think that the whole Racial Focus in this movies promotion did it more harm then good?? I had a co worker say something to me the other day that made me wonder about this.

[pap64]

Does anyone think that the whole Racial Focus in this movies promotion did it more harm then good?? I had a co worker say something to me the other day that made me wonder about this.

I don't know... There was a lot of turmoil at the beginning of its production, but it significantly slowed down by the time it was released. In fact, the media praised the movie for its portrayal of New Orleans and its people.

I was actually very aware of this, however. I knew the film faced extremely strong competition and that its grosses would be minimal unless the word of mouth was strong (and from the looks of things, it wasn't).

[Escapay]

this cheap cash-grab of a film comes along and steals its audience away.

I know you probably didn't intend it, but now I'm imagining CGI chipmunks literally taking people away from the theatre seats for The Princess and the Frog and chaining them to the theatre seats for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

But on a serious note, it's not really "stealing" if the person decides to buy a ticket for one movie instead of another.

Now, what does it say about the world that this "thing" makes 77 million dollars on its first five days of release?

Whatever their formula is, Disney should copy it?

Next thing you know we'll see The Princess and the Frog: The Croakquel, in which the now CGI-ified Tiana and Naveen are turned back into frogs by the vengeful brother of Dr. Facilier, and they must get the help of popular frogs like Kermit the Frog, Michigan J. Frog (on loan from Warner), and the Budweiser Trio.

Talk about a switch. Everyone on here was hoping PatF was the start of a new generation of traditional animation, and then this happens and the world seems to become undone. I like PatF and I'm also disappointed it didn't do so good, but I think people's expectations on the box office were too high.

Brings to mind an old proverb...

• Do not count your chickens before they are hatched

albert

[pap64]

In all fairness, Disney is partially to blame for fans having high expectations. Disney sold the movie as a GRAND event, one that marked the return to 2D animation. Disney did everything to make sure fans would be enthused enough to go out and see the film, and that includes plucking their heart strings with memories of the fab four and how this film would emulate them in nearly every aspect.

So because of this, both fans and the media made a BIG deal over it, leading fans to believe that this would be the start of a brand new decade in animation.

[a-net-fan]

Now, what does it say about the world that this "thing" makes 77 million dollars on its first five days of release?

Whatever their formula is, Disney should copy it?

Next thing you know we'll see The Princess and the Frog: The Croakquel, in which the now CGI-ified Tiana and Naveen are turned back into frogs by the vengeful brother of Dr. Facilier, and they must get the help of popular frogs like Kermit the Frog, Michigan J. Frog (on loan from Warner), and the Budweiser Trio.

[/list]

albert

UGH those numbers literally make me sick. I could barely make it thru the Chipmunks trailer ...I just cant imagine who would see that and say
"OH I HAVE TO SEE THAT ONE...IT LOOKS FWUNNY". EW I just cant imagine....