Apparently Disney spent $180+ million on a movie called Strange World. It's looking set to lose $100 to $150 million after doing only $28 million globally over the entire 5 day Thanksgiving weekend. It was expected to do $40 million in the US alone. It's projected by some to do $40-$50 million total.

Supposedly it hasn't been advertised well, and that is the reason many are giving for it bombing so hard. I couldn't say since I never really watch TV and stream just about everything. The fact it isn't mentioned here at all might lend some credence to that. The other reason being given is that it has a really obvious and heavy climate change heavy theme with gay main characters. It's basically a woke wet dream of liberal politics and inclusion, and it isn't shy about it

I don't know which one is correct, but after Lightyear, that kind of budget for this kind of movie seems like a horrible idea. It's very obviously going to be niche because of the unmistakable political bent, and it's not a part of some established franchise with a base to draw from. It's also a very out there movie, with very little, if anything, that's universally relatable. This thing seems almost destined to bomb, and I can't believe it was greenlit. I have to wonder if execs saw what was coming and decided not to advertise it to a) not throw good money after bad and b) give it an out.

ETA Also, F16 hasn't picked this up yet either, and it wasn't discussed at all prior to release (at least that I saw). I can buy the lack of advertising theory, but even if it was pushed I don't see it being successful. It's just way too niche and unrelatable for most.

Saw some commercials for it watching football. Zero interest generated by the advertising (including my 11 & 9 year olds).

On Hulu live it was on at least 1 commercial break and hour. My 4 and 8 year old didn't bat an eye or seem interested at all.

Anything by Disney bombing.

Saw several commercials for this and until your post had zero idea it had a gay character or was about climate change.

It looked like a new spin on Journey to the Center of the Earth with a generational family twist.

Nothing from the commercials looked funny or compelling. That's probably why it's bombing.

Aggie_Journalist said:

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Saw several commercials for this and until your post had zero idea it had a gay character or was about climate change.

It looked like a new spin on Journey to the Center of the Earth with a generational family twist.

Nothing from the commercials looked funny or compelling. That's probably why it's bombing.

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Yeah, I saw about 100 spots for it over the past months and couldn't tell you anything about the plot or characters... which is always a bad marketing sign.

Went to see it. 8 year old thought it was ok, 4 year old didn't like it.

Making the MCs family mixed race was done solely for wokeness, making the young MC gay was done entirely for wokeness - it had absolutely zero influence on the story.

The story line was live with what you've got and "humans are bad and destroy things" also "horse and buggy over electricity."

OnlyForNow said:

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Went to see it. 8 year old thought it was ok, 4 year old didn't like it.

Making the MCs family mixed race was done solely for wokeness, making the young MC gay was done entirely for wokeness - it had absolutely zero influence on the story.

The story line was live with what you've got and "humans are bad and destroy things" also "horse and buggy over electricity."

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I see that Disney has been overrun by Big Amish.

I've seen multiple billboards for this along highway 59 in Houston. I thought about taking my 5 year old son to see it but it didnt look good at all. We went and saw Puss in Boots which was really fun.

Their streaming vs. theatre choices lately have been really bizarre, probably why the CEO switch.

Hocus Pocus 2 and Disenchanted would have made a lot more sense at the theater than Lightyear and whatever this thing is.

The Collective said:

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I bumped a thread in f16 if you are so inclined in hopes of giving a place for the political points regarding this movie to breathe.

The RT score is alright at 75%.

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The Entertainment Industry is allowed to constantly bombard us with both subtle and overt political messages and lecturing, but must not comment on this on the Entertainment forum.

Let the woke on their salary from starbucks support them. It can burn!

It's a weird sickness that convinces people that gay characters and mixed-race couples only exist because of "wokeness" (whatever that is) and not because gay people and mixed raced couples exist in the real world.

Y'all really need to get help. You'll enjoy life much more when you get over this strange obsession.

When it's written into a kids story, for the sole-purpose of being different it's patronizing and obvious of why it's there.

Aggie_Journalist said:

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It's a weird sickness that convinces people that gay characters and mixed-race couples only exist because of "wokeness" (whatever that is) and not because gay people and mixed raced couples exist in the real world.

Y'all really need to get help. You'll enjoy life much more when you get over this strange obsession.

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I think it's because it's so forced. The demographics being featured are such a small percentage of the population. Yet commercials and tv and movies would have you believe it's every other person or couple.

Never heard of this movie.

maroon barchetta said:

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Aggie_Journalist said:

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It's a weird sickness that convinces people that gay characters and mixed-race couples only exist because of "wokeness" (whatever that is) and not because gay people and mixed raced couples exist in the real world.

Y'all really need to get help. You'll enjoy life much more when you get over this strange obsession.

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I think it's because it's so forced. The demographics being featured are such a small percentage of the population. Yet commercials and tv and movies would have you believe it's every other person or couple.

Never heard of this movie.

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Why do you believe stories about mixed-race couples are being forced on you?

Why does it bother you that media focused on non-white characters is produced?

OnlyForNow said:

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When it's written into a kids story, for the sole-purpose of being different it's patronizing and obvious of why it's there.

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How, specifically, is it patronizing?

Do you believe that movies focused on white people are patronizing to other races? Or do you believe movies featuring white people should be considered "normal" and everything else should be considered "patronizing"?

Gaius Rufus said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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When it's written into a kids story, for the sole-purpose of being different it's patronizing and obvious of why it's there.

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How, specifically, is it patronizing?

Do you believe that movies focused on white people are patronizing to other races? Or do you believe movies featuring white people should be considered "normal" and everything else should be considered "patronizing"?

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Just to play devil's advocate, what is a movie celebrating white culture?

The only ones I can think of is Lifetime movies. And they are super cheesy.

I don't really care about minority/lbgtq characters in film, if it makes people feel good to be represented. I just think the messaging is a little flawed. For example, I thought the trans person in The Peripheral has been incredible so far, and they have spent zero time talking about what a victim they are. It's just a badass character played by a badass actor. But to each their own.

You and everyone with eyes and ears can tell it's being forced.

Think of a movie about college football in Texas that 70% of the time features Rice, SMU and UTEP. The remaining 30% is Texas, A&M, and Tech.

TBF, Disney executive producers have come out and said as much. Kind of hard to argue it isn't personally/politically driven when their own people are saying as much. There's nothing wrong with inclusion per se, but when it becomes a focal point at the expense of good storytelling, it's a recipe for failure.

This seems like something made for adults but wrapped in a kids' movie. It might as well be grape cough syrup. It's something kids aren't going to want laced with some sugar and artificial flavoring to make it palatable, but it still tastes like crap and they don't want it. That's not to say representation doesn't belong in kids' movies at all, but this movie seems like started there and then tried to create a story around it. It's like a woke person's idea of what a kids' movie should be instead of a kid's idea of what a kids movie should be. One of the cardinal rules of storytelling is to know your audience, and that kind of seems like it went out the window in favor of messaging.

Definitely Not A Cop said:

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Just to play devil's advocate, what is a movie celebrating white culture?

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Days of Thunder

Gaius Rufus said:

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OnlyForNow said:

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When it's written into a kids story, for the sole-purpose of being different it's patronizing and obvious of why it's there.

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How, specifically, is it patronizing?

Do you believe that movies focused on white people are patronizing to other races? Or do you believe movies featuring white people should be considered "normal" and everything else should be considered "patronizing"?

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Don't put words in his mouth.

For one, many consider it a form of tokenism. Take Finn in the SW sequel trilogy as an example. He was only a character because Disney was looking for a diverse cast. There's nothing wrong with a black lead in Star Wars, or any movie for that matter, but in that specific instance it really didn't fit. He had nowhere to go and nothing to be. Even John Boyega got pissed about the lack of character development and called them out on having a token black character so they could put a black guy on movie posters and talk about how diverse they were. The concept of a defecting storm trooper with a conscience could have been good, but it simply didn't fit in those movies with everything else going on and was very poorly executed. If anything it should have been its own movie similar to Rogue One, which also had a very diverse cast but didn't shoehorn in extra characters and plotlines to make it happen. Rogue One, and Andor, both have very diverse casts, and no one says anything about it because the narratives are so good and all of the characters fit perfectly. They're proof that as long as you focus on good storytelling and create a quality narrative and movie/show, no one cares what the cast looks like. Rogue One/Andor and the sequels are perfect examples of what diversity should and should not be on screen.

For two, in this instance, the kind of inclusivity and "queering" that some Disney execs have said they are engaging in is patronizing to parents. Discussions on sexuality, gay relationships, etc are discussions parents want to, and should, have when they feel it is appropriate for their kids, and a woke producer or writer's idea of when that is and how it should be approached are not universal. It's patronizing for them to use a movie or show as a platform to try to force/frame that conversation instead of trusting parents in their audience to parent and do that themselves. I know they think they're doing this good and noble thing to change the world for the better, but all they're doing is preaching to the choir and pushing people away with self-righteousness.

Definitely Not A Cop said:

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Just to play devil's advocate, what is a movie celebrating white culture?

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Wedding Crashers

Quito said:

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You and everyone with eyes and ears can tell it's being forced.

Think of a movie about college football in Texas that 70% of the time features Rice, SMU and UTEP. The remaining 30% is Texas, A&M, and Tech.

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So is Rice the Asians and UTEP the Hispanics? I'm confused by this allegory.