You’ve probably noticed by now that Disney isn’t doing so well these days, or at least that most of their recent films haven’t performed very well with the public. In contrast, rival films made for much, much less are topping the charts.
Here in the last decade or so, Disney has undoubtedly made millions, particularly in its Marvel Cinematic Universe. I mean, for a while, it seemed that the only really popular films were those with a Marvel background, making character names like “Thor,” “Iron Man,” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” once again household names.
But that was when the economy was stronger, when inflation was not sky-high, and when the price to see new movies wasn’t something you had to save for.
Now, things are different. Not only is the economy not in good shape, but people just aren’t as interested in going to see films put out by an increasingly woke company, particularly ones that are as disastrous as Disney’s “The Marvels.”
Of course, this is bad news for Disney, as it’s not their first complete flop (for Marvel movies or anything else) in recent years. In fact, according to box office numbers, “The Marvels” has the second-largest second-weekend drop-off in MCU history.
And considering Disney put a whopping $200 million (some say $274 million) into making the flop, this is particularly bad news.
Meanwhile, a rival film, created with less than half that budget, is earning just as much at the box office.
Enter Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.”
It is estimated to bring in about $45 million after its opening weekend. “The Marvels” brought in $46.1 million.
And considering the former spent only half of what Disney did on their film, it means their margin of profit will be much higher.
Basically, they’ve done much more with much less, and it’s paying off.
Unlike Disney, Lionsgate has made some sound investments, or at least not blown so much money on things that won’t really matter in the long run. Maybe Disney could learn a thing or two.
