While Josh Spiegel, the author of Pixar and the Infinite Past: Nostalgia and Pixar Animation, speculates that Disney “were already running out of IP which might justify that nostalgia” in 2020, Movieguide® notes that Disney’s recent failures show that they have lost the confidence of their main audience, families. In previous years, Disney built off their success with sequels like 2019’s FROZEN II, which made over $1.4 billion worldwide. However, Chapek’s focus on streaming is not solely to blame, as Disney still boasts one of the largest catalogs of successful IP in the industry. “But now that Wall Street has reverted to judging the bottom line, there’s no such incentive to undercut theatrical and considerable post-theatrical revenue opportunities for the sake of subscription gains.” “When Wall Street was judging these companies based on streaming subscriptions, it made sense to drop top movies on the services,” ScreenMedia founder and chief analyst Colin Dixon told TheWrap. “Disney has muddied the brand so the consumer doesn’t know what film is going where. “Universal animated titles are all theatrical propositions and that’s really clear to the consumer,” an industry source told The Wrap. The report revealed that another possible part of the problem was former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s focus on Disney’s streaming platform Disney+. Disney’s “Encanto” ($256 million) earned one-third less in late 2021/early 2022 than Universal’s “Sing 2” ($407 million), while Disney/Pixar’s “Lightyear” ($226 million) eventually earned less than both of Universal animated films from this spring and summer: Illumination’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($937 million) and DreamWorks Animations’ “The Bad Guys” ($250 million).Īnd Disney can’t even blame pandemic conditions for the deficit since every studio faced the same issues with families reluctant to return to theaters and hybrid theatrical/streaming releases.ĭisney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” grossed under $160 million in early 2021 amid a hybrid release (in theaters and also on Disney+ for an extra $30) months after Universal and DreamWorks’ “The Croods: A New Era” legged out to $216 million under similar circumstances. The contrast in box office performance has been stark. Universal Pictures is responsible for family-friendly movies such as SING 2, MINIONS: RISE OF GRU, THE BAD GUYS, and THE CROODS: A NEW AGE.Īudiences have not only spoken with their wallets, but Universal Pictures movies’ also outperformed Disney for ratings on the industry’s most popular review sites, like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.Ī side-by-side comparison shows that with each release in 2020, 2021, and 2022, Universal Pictures is the clear winner. Rich Greenfield, LightShed 🔦 December 5, 2022 “I honestly think that not only are we challenging Disney Animation, but I would take our animation business over theirs right now… I actually think we have an animation system now that rivals if not surpasses Disney” 🔥 NBCU Jeff Shell BOLD quote this morning at investor conf “We have an animation system now that rivals if not surpasses Disney.” “I honestly think that not only are we challenging Disney Animation, but I would take our animation business over theirs right now,” NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell said on a recent conference call according to The Wrap. The Wrap looked back at animated movies released from 2020 to 2022, noting that Disney’s total gross for animated movies was “just over $1 billion worldwide,” while Universal Pictures earned $2.06 billion in the same timeframe. The one consistency between the two movies? Their focus on a progressive agenda over a creative story, uplifting and moral lessons, and compelling characters.

STRANGE WORLD earned just over $25M despite its estimated $180M budget, while the TOY STORY spinoff failed to impress with only a $50M opening weekend and a slew of negative reviews from mainstream outlets. While Disney’s Latest Animated Failures Surprised Some, Years of Movie Data Reveals A Traceable Downward TrendĪ recent dive into the past three years of animated releases revealed that Universal Pictures dethroned Disney as the paramount distributor for family entertainment years before the studio’s box-office bomb, STRANGE WORLD.Īfter Walt Disney Animation Studios’ STRANGE WORLD and Disney Pixar’s LIGHTYEAR failed to draw expected numbers at the box office, many fans wondered how the one-time undisputed leader in animated family films could fall so far, so fast.

Published: DecemPhoto by Maciej Ruminkiewicz via Unsplash

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