The mystery with Disney is what was the business decision behind inserting a same-sex scene in the kid’s film?
It is apparent the Disney Corporation — in regards to its dramatic releases — is going with a current slate of recycled properties. Disney+ is streaming the service and theaters are selling established characters and plotlines. A raft of origin stories have joined sequences and expanded storylines. The success of “The Mandalorian” birthed “The Book of Bobba Fett,” and the long-gestating “Obi-Wan” was given life. Now they are tapping into the goldmine of the “Toy Story” franchise to give us the origins story that is “Lightyear”.
There had been some pushback at this idea initially, partly because this was possibly diluting what is a beloved franchise, but also because it was revealed that longtime voice of the character Buzz Lightyear — Tim Allen — would not be brought back. Chris Evans would be the voice of this character. He finally got the opportunity to portray a superhero. (/sarc). But, then came a potentially more controversial piece of news.
The film will feature a scene in which two women characters, one male and one female, will interact. They will also share a kiss with a lesbian on the screen. After some complaints about gay content from previous productions, Pixar’s creative team made sure that the scene was included. Initial approval was given by Disney for the couple. But they didn’t want to be in an embraceOn screen, the company apologized and the sapphic Osculation was re-created in CGI glory.
Some foreign markets have reacted negatively to this addition. This week, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia had blocked the film from showing in its Kingdom due to the scene. It joins 13 territories, which include China, where the film will not be shown. It is not surprising that these countries are majority Muslim, which makes this response all the more predictable. Now the question is: How much financial impact will this have on my business?
Arguably, it could be negligible – at least abroad. Saudi Arabia is an emerging market that is not growing. Since 2018, they have allowed movie theatres in the country. They currently have just 50 movie theaters with less than 500 screens. It isn’t a large market for Hollywood. To date, the biggest Hollywood hit there has been “Spiderman: No Way Home,” which earned just over $11 million.
China, which is often overlooked, is by far the largest overseas territory. The question there is: Would “Lightyear” even have garnered a release on the Mainland? This is doubtful. Of the entire franchise, only “Toy Story 4” was released in China, and it scratched out just over $13 million. Because China only has a handful Hollywood movies per year, the backstory for one of these characters isn’t drawing much attention.
But what about domestically? Many market metrics may not be readily accessible so we will have to use pragmatic analysis. Some might believe that the celebrity-driven controversy surrounding the liplock will bring in free publicity for the film and help it to succeed. However, there are a couple of issues with this. The LGBTπ audience segment is not all that large, to begin with, so even if this was met with enthusiasm the expected returns are relatively small. Factor in the fact that this film is targeted at younger audiences, and your potential for interest will be diminished.
But keeping in mind that children’s interest and we need to factor in another immeasurable but likely response – how many families will be turned away by the announced inclusion of same-sex characters? It is a realistic expectation, and possibly one that could not only mitigate the positive returns from an increased LGBTπ turnout, but those refraining from buying tickets could exceed that market share.
This leaves us with one last question: What is the expected benefit for Disney by including this content in a kids’ movie? This will result in you losing potential audience overseas, as well as any future interest that you could have created. Domestically you will likely face a break-even point for attracted/repelled buyers. However, you also have the problem of the Florida parental rights laws and their sexual component that led to an embarrassing PR disaster for Disney.
Appeasing an online activist group, which is notoriously unpredictable when it comes down to business returns, would only be of benefit. Over the years, those web-based provocateurs promising support and boycotts have been more interested in making announcements than taking action. People who live online are more likely to search for your film content online. It is just as possible to compel them by pirating the title.
So in the end, yes – Disney will have animated lesbians kissing on screen. This is a lesser-known result for Disney.
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