🎬💔 Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Fall Flat, E Dey Add to Worries About di Brand
Di original animated film take just $29.5 million for di box office, e be di worst opening ever for Pixar for dia 30 years history. “The Flash,” from Warner Bros., also struggle. 💔📽️
Pixar don kolobi small damage as di big-screen brand.
Dis na one of di rather glum tori wey come out from di weekend box office, wey show say “Elemental,” wey be original Pixar film wey cost over $200 million, bin flop with just $29.5 million ticket sales for US. “The Flash,” wey be Warner Bros. superhero film wey cost about $200 million, also struggle as e bring in $55.1 million, according to Comscore, wey dey gather ticketing data. 💔💰📽️
“Hard to sugarcoat this,” David A. Gross, one film consultant wey dey publish newsletter on top box office numbers, yan.
Questions about di health of Pixar don dey scatter for Hollywood and among investors since last June, when di Disney-owned studio release “Lightyear” wey be disastrous. How Pixar, wey be di gold standard for animation studios for almost 30 years, go fit make mistake for one film wey dey about Buzz Lightyear, one of “Toy Story” characters? 🎬💔
Maybe families wey dey worry about pandemic no dey ready to return to cinemas yet. Or maybe, as some analysts dey reason, Disney don weaken di Pixar brand by using dia films to promote di Disney+ streaming service. From late 2020, Disney start to release three Pixar films online (“Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca”), wey dem no show for cinemas at all. Based on streaming standards, di three movies bin big hits. But di last time wey Pixar see box office success na for 2019, when “Toy Story 4” make $1.1 billion worldwide. 💻💰🎬
Attendance for “Elemental” for di weekend show say di brand get problem: E be di worst opening weekend for Pixar for US and Canada. Di previous worst na “Onward,” wey bring in $39 million ($46 million after adjusting for inflation) for ticket sales for March 2020, just as di coronavirus pandemic bin start to spread round di world. 💔🎟️
“Elemental,” wey be romantic comedy wey mix different cultures, make additional $15 million for limited release for abroad, according to Disney.
To try make Pixar movies dey shine for big screen again, di company organise premiere for “Elemental” for di Cannes Film Festival and for Los Angeles for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “We don train audience say dem go fit see dis films for Disney+,” Pete Docter, wey be Pixar chief creative officer, yan for interview with Variety, one trade news outlet. “We dey try make pipo sabi say dem dey miss better things if dem no watch am for big screen.” 🎬💪🌍
Films wey dey based on original stories dey find am hard to sell, especially now wey cinema ticket prices don dey high and di economy no dey stable. Pipo wan sure say dem go get value for di money wey dem spend. Di animated movies wey dey succeed well well now na di ones wey dey based on already established characters and franchises. 💰🎟️📽️
“If you no dey tell original stories, you no go fit create new franchises, and we bin try well well,” Tony Chambers, wey be Disney executive vice president of theatrical distribution, yan. E add say, “Original I.P. suppose work well well if dem wan blow nowadays.”
Plenty families turn up to watch “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) for April and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony) early dis month. Family movie budgets fit don dey exhaust by now, and movie watchers sabi say dem go fit watch “Elemental” for house soon. 🎬🏠🍿
Some pipo for Hollywood and Wall Street dey fear say Pixar once-dazzling creative spark don dey fade small. Di studio don suffer brain drain; dem fire 75 pipo last month sake of Disney-wide layoffs and cost cuts. (Angus MacLane, wey be di director for “Lightyear,” wey be 26-year Pixar veteran, na one of di pipo wey lose im job.) Pixar also dey under pressure to enter TV production to dey fill Disney+ shelves. “Di more movies wey you release, di less quality you fit get,” Terry Press, former Disney, DreamWorks and CBS Films executive, yan.
Reviews for “Elemental” dey mostly positive, but di level no reach normal level wey Pixar films dey get. Pipo wey buy tickets rate am with A for CinemaScore exit polls. “Audience score” for Rotten Tomatoes stand for high 91 percent on Sunday morning.
Disney yan for statement say di positive reviews don set dem up for strong run for cinemas through di school holiday period. Di next major animated film for families na “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount), wey no go show for cinemas until Aug. 2.
“The Flash” (Warner Bros.) get weaker reviews and pipo wey buy tickets rate am with B for CinemaScore exit polls, but e still rank as di number one movie for US and Canada. Di film dey show how di superhero use im powers travel back in time, and how im accident cause confusion. Batman and Supergirl also get im part for di film.
Part of di reason why “The Flash” no too do well na timing: E bin delay sake of di pandemic, and e finally show for time when late night shows, wey dey important for movie promotion, no dey show sake of one strike wey dey happen for show writers. Warner Bros. and dia DC Studios division also talk say too much superhero films dey make pipo tire, e dey affect di performance of some of dia movies wey dem base on comics, like “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Black Adam.”
Ezra Miller, wey play di Flash, bin get plenty personal wahala for 2021 and 2022 wey make some pipo no like am. (Di actor, wey no dey identify as male or female, don apologize last year and say e dey get mental health treatment. E no too do publicity for “The Flash.”)
“Di superhero world na fantasy wey dey make pipo forget dia problems,” Mr. Gross yan. “Everybody suppose follow dey play along. Dis wahala no help matter.” 📽️💔💥
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🎬💔 Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Falls Flat, Adding to Worries About the Brand
The original animated film took in just $29.5 million at the box office, making it the worst opening ever for Pixar in their 30-year history. ‘The Flash,’ from Warner Bros., also struggled. 💔📽️
Pixar is facing some serious damage as a big-screen brand.
This is one of the rather disheartening stories coming out of the weekend box office, revealing that ‘Elemental,’ an original Pixar film with a budget of over $200 million, flopped with only $29.5 million in domestic ticket sales. ‘The Flash,’ a Warner Bros. superhero film with a similar budget of about $200 million, also struggled, bringing in a lackluster $55.1 million, according to Comscore, the ticketing data compiler. 💔💰📽️
“Hard to sugarcoat this,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers.
Questions about the health of Pixar have been swirling in Hollywood and among investors since last June, when the Disney-owned studio released ‘Lightyear’ to disastrous results. How could Pixar, the gold standard of animation studios for almost 30 years, have made such a mistake with a film about Buzz Lightyear, one of the beloved ‘Toy Story’ characters? 🎬💔
Perhaps families, still concerned about the pandemic, weren’t quite ready to return to cinemas. Or maybe, as some analysts speculate, Disney has weakened the Pixar brand by using its films to promote the Disney+ streaming service. Starting in late 2020, Disney released three consecutive Pixar films (‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red,’ and ‘Luca’) exclusively online, bypassing theaters altogether. By streaming standards, these three movies were runaway hits. However, the last time Pixar saw box office success was in 2019, when ‘Toy Story 4’ grossed $1.1 billion worldwide. 💻💰🎬
The attendance for ‘Elemental’ over the weekend only reinforced the hypothesis of a brand problem: It marked Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever in the United States and Canada. The previous lowest was ‘Onward,’ which brought in $39 million ($46 million after adjusting for inflation) in domestic ticket sales in March 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to spread worldwide. 💔🎟️
‘Elemental,’ a cross-cultural romantic comedy, made an additional $15 million in limited release overseas, according to Disney.
To restore Pixar movies as more than just content for Disney+, the company held premieres for ‘Elemental’ at the Cannes Film Festival and at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. “We’ve trained audiences to expect these films to be available on Disney+,” said Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, in an interview with Variety, a trade news outlet. “We’re trying to make sure people realize there’s a great deal you’re missing by not seeing it on the big screen.” 🎬💪🌍
Films based on original stories are finding it harder to succeed, especially at a time when cinema ticket prices are high and the economy is uncertain. People want to be sure that spending their money will be worth it. The animated movies that have been thriving are those based on established characters and franchises. 💰🎟️📽️
“If you don’t tell original stories, you can’t create new franchises, and we went all out,” said Tony Chambers, Disney’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution. He added, “Original intellectual property needs to work much harder to break through in today’s market.”
Families turned out in huge numbers for ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ (Universal) in April and ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (Sony) earlier this month. Family movie budgets may have already been exhausted, and moviegoers know that they will be able to watch ‘Elemental’ at home soon. 🎬🏠🍿
Some people in Hollywood and on Wall Street worry that Pixar’s once-dazzling creative spark has started to fade. The studio has experienced a brain drain, cutting 75 jobs last month as part of Disney-wide layoffs and cost-cutting measures. (Angus MacLane, the director of ‘Lightyear’ and a 26-year Pixar veteran, was among those who lost their job.) Pixar has also been pressured to expand into television production to fill the shelves of Disney+. “The more movies you release, the lower the quality you can get,” said Terry Press, a former executive at Disney, DreamWorks, and CBS Films.
Reviews for ‘Elemental’ were mostly positive, although not to the same degree as typical for a Pixar release. Audience members gave it an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls. The “audience score” on Rotten Tomatoes stood at a high 91 percent on Sunday morning.
In a statement, Disney said that the positive reviews “set us up for a strong theatrical run through the school holiday period.” The next major animated film for families is ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ (Paramount), which will not be showing in theaters until August 2.
‘The Flash’ (Warner Bros.) received weaker reviews and a cooler audience response, with audience members giving it a B grade in CinemaScore exit polls. However, it still ranked as the number one movie in the United States and Canada. The film follows the titular superhero as he uses his powers to travel back in time, inadvertently causing chaos. Batman and Supergirl also feature prominently in the film.
Partly, ‘The Flash’ suffered from timing: it was delayed due to the pandemic and finally released at a time when late-night shows, crucial platforms for movie marketing, are shut down due to a strike by show writers. Warner Bros. and its DC Studios division have also cited superhero fatigue as an explanation for the recent underperformance of several of their comic-based movies, including ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and ‘Black Adam.’
Ezra Miller, who plays the Flash, faced personal troubles in 2021 and 2022 that made some people sour on him. (The actor, who identifies as nonbinary, issued an apology last year and stated they were seeking mental health treatment. They largely avoided doing publicity for ‘The Flash.’)
“The superhero world is fantasy, escapist fun,” Mr. Gross said. “Everyone has to play along. This didn’t help.” 📽️💔💥
