The animation franchise has added another hit to its resume, and Disney can only sit back and wonder…
Hollywood’s pre-pandemic look continues and Hollywood keeps evolving. It was this anticipation that many people were looking forward to the Fourth of July weekend. This is partly to gauge how many people are coming back to the theaters this summer holiday. Another point of interest was the release of “Minions: The Rise Of Gru”, the sequel to the spinoff from the “Despicable Me” series, as the animation sector is still a question mark for much of Hollywood these days.
Illumination Studios’ title, which is an animation partner of Universal Pictures, was one the most anticipated titles of summer. It delivered, and I am so grateful.. The three-day debut for the family title has grossed an estimated $108.5 million, and it is expected to add at least another $20 million for today’s holiday frame. Although the complete slate of movies will not be counted until the next few days, it appears certain that Independence Day will surpass the pre-pandemic years’ $45-50m range.
These positive numbers are actually bad news for The Disney Corporation, the Hollywood Titan. Just how successful this weekend was underscores the just How disappointing! that studio’s major summer release has been. Initially projected to earn between $70-80 million on its opening weekend, “Lightyear” severely underperformed with a much softer $50.5 premiere. That total was nearly matched by “The Minions 2” on Friday alone. This weekend’s three-day performance exceeds the three-weekend total of “Lightyear”.
It was significant Many excuses were offered.The media has exposed the hollowness of these claims. There was speculation that families weren’t ready to see the movie in theaters or had been trained to view animated content at home via streaming services. Other possible reasons, with some validity, were the departure from the “Toy Story” formula, and/or replacing Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear – but these were known quantities ahead of the release and were considered for the predictions of its performance.
There was also speculation that Disney would face a severe backlash for entering the Florida legislative fray regarding parental rights. It did so in spite of having a reputation for positive PR. The inclusion of lesbian characters within the family movie, which may have been a distasteful piece of content for parents, was just as important.
Disney elected to spot-weld a same-sex kissing scene into “Lightyear” following the conflict in Florida, A move I never thought of.The release. It is clear that this decision was a significant one. That’s why the media had been enthusiastically reporting on it before the release. However, the coverage dipped after the movie’s disappointing opening. Few outlets, if any, were prepared to quote that.As a contributing factor.
This weekend’s box office returns of “Minions 2” are significant. It has outperformed most other openings in the franchise, and is now one of the best-selling animated titles of all time. It shows that families will go to the theater, and that they are motivated by this content. It also highlights Disney’s problems – problems that are being shown to be self-created.
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