Disney Could Be First Studio To Collapse Amid Box-Office Bombs
It seems as though Disney has been struggling lately in almost every area of its company. With Guests complaining about issues with the Parks, as well as the Disneyland Paris strikes, audiences have been complaining about the latest film and streaming releases from its entertainment studios.
Marvel has been struggling to hit with audiences, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion both major flops this year and fans apprehensive about The Marvels (2023), what was once Disney”s biggest studio has fallen. Pixar, too, has been struggling for the last few years since the 2020 pandemic, although the release of Elemental this year was a strange under-dog story that saw success after its theatrical release. And from Disney itself, the live-action Little Mermaid saw some decent success even though the live-action Haunted Mansion that was just released failed terribly.
Now, the string of Disney disappointments has solidified even further with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The fifth (and reportedly final) installment in the Harrison Ford-led franchise shocked audiences with its nearly $300 million budget before marketing costs. It”s become one of the most expensive movies of all time in an era where it seems as though each movie has a bigger budget than the one before it. Ever since the pandemic, it”s as though studios are competing to see who can have a bigger production, budget, and box-office failure, but this trend has been growing ever since the final Avengers movies were released.
It”s raised discussions of what studios are spending money on, complaints of poor CGI and VFX that are more expensive than practical effects, and now with the ongoing Hollywood strikes, fans are wondering why the movies have become so overblown. In comparison, both Warner Bros.”s Barbie and Universal Picture”s Oppenheimer smashed box-office records with much lower budgets than Indiana Jones ($150 million and $100 million, respectively), with both productions featuring more practical effects than CGI.
As it stands, Barbie has already made over a billion dollars in its theatrical release while Indiana Jones is set to lose almost a million before it leaves theaters. It”s possible that it could make some of that up when it”s released to streaming, but as Disney+ has already been confirmed as currently non-profitable, it doesn”t seem likely. As audiences are slow to return to theaters, even three years out from the worst of the pandemic, box-office grosses are lower even as delays, increased safety measures, and inflation have overinflated movie budgets.
Dozens of films slated for a 2024 release have already been delayed due to the ongoing actors and writers strikes. According to Variety, the delays on those productions have already cost studios as much as $2 million a month. As the strikes continue, this could cost productions even more money with even longer delays and a bigger span of time in which they would have to make up for.
Hollywood insiders, including Steven Spielberg, have commented on the inevitable collapse of the film industry as budgets soar ever-higher. With the repercussions of the strikes sure to affect Hollywood long after negotiations have resumed, it”s possible that that collapse could be even closer than fans think. And it”s entirely possible that Disney may be the first to fall.
Do you think Disney has started to fall as the biggest studio? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
