Strange world is the latest film from Walt Disney Animation and focuses on a legendary family of explorers and the three generations who must put aside their differences to go to a mysterious land to save their world from resources. The film is heavily inspired by pulp science fiction stories of the 1930s and 1940s Journey to the Center of the Earth, John Carterand King Kong.
Strange world is the animation studio’s 61st film, and was released in theaters on November 23, 2022 over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Disney released many movies over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend that went on to become box office hits, usually well into the Christmas season, and Strange world seemed to be another potential hit for the studio.
To the surprise of many, and to the dismay of Disney, Strange world did not light up the box office like previous animated films and instead bombed on its opening weekend. Strange world opened to just $4 million on its opening day, and by the end of its five-day Thanksgiving weekend, it had grossed just $18.6 million, well below the $30 million industry insiders had expected. The film is one of the biggest animated box office bombs in Disney history, as the film has a budget of between $135 and $180 million and could reportedly cost Disney $100 million in lost revenue.
Strange world also scored a B CinemaScore, the lowest a Disney animated film has ever received since being tracked by CinemaScore (which is really surprising). Word of mouth about the movie doesn’t seem to point to a long box office run and many are wondering what happened. This is why Strange worlds bombed at the box office.
Strange World’s Poor Marketing Campaign
Disney released several blockbusters over the Thanksgiving weekend. The back-to-back box office releases of Beauty and the Beast in 1991 and Aladdin in 1992 made the holiday weekend a must-have for Disney. In recent years, the studio has released Frozen, Vaiana, Ralph breaks the internet, Frozen 2and the Pixar animated movie Coco over the holiday weekend and they were all blockbusters. Notably all of those had heavy marketing pressures and all were released under Disney CEO Bob Iger.
In 2020, Bob Chapek was named CEO of Disney. Chapek was a controversial figure among many, and a notable part of his tenure as CEO of Disney was his disinterest in animation. While all the Disney and Pixar animated films released under his tenure were also released after the COVID-19 pandemic, he seemed to prioritize them less than, say, the Marvel Studios films or other would-be blockbusters. Strange world was no exception, as very few trailers had been released for it and its marketing seemed to be overshadowed by Disney’s two other major holiday movies, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: the way of the water.
Chapek was recently fired as CEO and Bob Iger returned to Disney to take charge of the company. It will be interesting to see how Iger reinvests in Disney Animation and whether the brand can reclaim its dominance at the box office.
Disney Animation has had a rough time with Sci-Fi
The story all around Strange worlds box office underperformance may sound familiar to anyone who remembers Thanksgiving weekend in 2002 Dear Planet, which went on to become one of the biggest animated box office bombs in history. It grossed $16.5 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday, just $2 million less Strange worlds five-day Thanksgiving trek. Treasure planet opened number four behind it Die another day, Harry Potter and the secret roomand Santa Claus 2, similar to how Strange world was crushed at the box office Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
A year earlier, Walt Disney Animation had dipped its toes into pulp science fiction with the release of Atlantis: the lost realm. Although that’s not the box office bomb Treasure planet or Strange world was, the film underperformed massively. Walt Disney Animation’s three attempts at entering the world of classic pulp science fiction were box office bombs, while their more modern titles feature aliens (Lilo and Stitch), video games (Wreck it Ralph) and superheroes (Big hero 6) performed better with the public.
Animated movies have struggled at the box office lately
Animated movies used to be one of the most reliable blockbusters out there, especially over Thanksgiving weekend, which is why Disney has opened a new movie every year during the holiday. In 2016, four of the top-grossing films of the year were animated films (find dory, The secret life of pets, Zootopiaand To sing) and in 2010 half of the top 10 were animated films (Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Shrek forever after, How to train your dragonand Confused). But since the COVID-19 pandemic, family films have struggled to get audiences back to the cinema.
There have been some animated blockbusters such as Sing 2 performing well over the holiday season in 2021 and recently Minions: The Rise of Gru broke records for the 4th of July weekend. But those are these exceptions. DC’s League of Super Pets performed below expectations, even with Dwayne Johnson’s star power behind it. Encanto performed decently when it opened in theaters, but was lower than other Disney animated films, and it wasn’t until it reached Disney+ that it became a sensation online. This year in particular, Disney suffered another sci-fi animated box office disappointment with the release of Pixar’s Light year. Disney itself may have hurt both Light year and Strange world as a result of decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public can wait for Disney+ for Strange World
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney decided to release many of its films on its Disney+ streaming service. While movies like Raya and the Last Dragon were put behind a $30 paywall like Pixar’s animated movies To blush, Souland Luke were all released at no additional cost to the streaming service. Encanto played in theaters for just a month before the studio put it on the streaming service in time for Christmas.
This may have influenced the public’s perception of Disney animated films. It may have led audiences to associate Disney animated projects with streaming, or any Disney animated film that is released theatrically will be available on Disney+ in a short amount of time, thus suppressing the urge to go out and see it in theaters. , is reduced. With how much it costs for a family to go to the movies, waiting for Disney+ may be the cheaper option for many. Strange world will most likely hit Disney+ early in the new year, but without the iconic music that elevated it Encanto there is a chance to become a pop culture phenomenon Strange world will come and go and could spell the end of the Disney Animation Revival era.