It is fair now to say that Strange World was a failure, not only at the box office, but also on Disney+. And while Bob Iger may find it more palatable to blame it on straying from core franchises, it may be more accurate to ponder core values.
Just when you thought it was safe to take your kids back to the movies, Disney decided to give many parents a reason to stop. Even though the worldwide pandemic was subsiding in 2022, a desire to move family entertainment squarely into a strong-left worldview was a Disney-developed strategy that ultimately kept kids away from big screens. Now we are discovering that the commitment to keeping kids away from movies like Strange World and Lightyear didn’t stay just with the theaters. Instead, families opted out at home as well. Considering North American Disney+ subscriptions were stagnant in the last quarter (allowing a loss in India to create the first Disney+ subscriber downturn in the company’s history), having stinkers like Strange World is no way to drive enthusiasm.
To understand just how bad it was, let’s turn to the fact that in just its third week on the platform, Strange World was overtaken by a movie that had been out for an entire year.
Nielsen Streaming Rating 9 – 15 Jan 23
–#Bluey breaks into top 10 overall.
-In its 3d week on #DisneyPlus #StangeWorld is outperformed by #Encanto.@wdwpro1 @ValliantRenegad pic.twitter.com/QLfEW0Gx3v— MAC (@NowItsKnown) February 9, 2023
One might have argued in the past that Lightyear was an anomaly. Perhaps Strange World was just poorly written. And maybe Disney was off their rocker to pull Turning Red at the last minute from a theatrical release. However, all three movies have a similar refrain which is becoming to big to ignore.
The values and the world view of San Fransisco, of Seattle and of New York, they’re just not consistent with the majority of North America (and beyond). That might be right and it might be wrong. But from a market standpoint, Disney has put their content into a frame that can best by described as ideological and divisive. For children’s animated features, we’ve now seen the results. Minions make everyone happy, while Disney flounders with vapid virtues.
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