The Walt Disney company is one of, if not the leading juggernaut in the entertainment industry from theme park endeavours to the IP monopoly they have over the business world it’s to avoid the company. Given their 100 anniversary it’s fun to see the highs and lows of the company’s history however I feel 2023 is the year when the house of mouse has come upon hard times once again or at least shows a shift in consumer consumption.
Recently the newest animated feature Wish (2023) has released to mix reception but more importantly it has been another streak in movies that bombed for the company along with The Marvels (2023), Indiana Jones and the Dail of Destiny (2023), The Haunted Mansion (2023), Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (2023) and Elemental (2023) all failing to turn in a profit. Now Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3 turned a profit and was well received critically but I want to talk about what’s changed and why the Walt Disney company has had a rough year.
Blockbusters
A key factor in what has hurt Disney this year is the number of blockbusters coming out within 2023 and in the sea, it’s been harder to keep up with the competition. Spider-man Across the Spider verse (2023) and TMNT Mutant Mayhem (2023) have been building an innovating on their animation style and pushing boundaries for the medium. Wish and Elemental look good and a lot of talented people worked on them, but they look exactly like how you would expect with no spark that makes them stand above the other films and tv releases this year.
In the movie department timing has also not been in Disney’s best, Indiana Jones 5 suffered from both a bloated budget and being stuck in development hell while banking on a franchise for an older generation, now I love Indiana Jones but it’s harder to adapt and use nostalgia in the same context as Star Wars which is what was attempted along with trying to compete with the monsters known as Oppenheimer (2023) and Barbie (2023) releasing together and destroying the box office. The note was The Haunted Mansion, a rebooted IP horror film aimed for family audience could of worked but they chose to release the flick in August rather than October which could of boosted its box office if it was the alternatives for families instead of Saw X (2023) and Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023).
Reliant on IP’s
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and Star Wars have been massive hitters for Disney, with billion after billion records being made though after Avengers Endgame (2019) it’s clear that things have slowed down as the lack of directions has left fans disinterest instead of hyped up. Whilst the thread of the multiverse has kinda themed the universe together it’s clear that this lack of direction is more off putting than appealing along with the double of content thanks to Disney+.
The live action Disney remakes has also halted down after so many massive releases with The Little Mermaid (2023) being the first one in a while to not cross the 1 billion marks. It’s been frustrating watching these poorly try to recapture the magic of their older films while adding very little to redefine them other than it’s in a different medium. Along with the drama of the upcoming Snow White remake, it seems these might be slowing down in the production chain.
Disney+
The final contributor to this modern decline of Disney is of course the streaming service Disney+. The streaming wars are certainly in an interesting position right not especially with the amount on the market. Disney+ has certainly had some drama with quantity over quality hitting most of the recent MCU and Star Wars shows along with the Covid-19 drama where you could pay extra to watch cinema films. With the price and subscription along with cinema tickets rising, it begs the questions why would a family go out to the cinema when in sometimes in a months’ time the film will be on the streaming service anyway.
