If you’ve been to the movie theater at ALL this year, then you know that 2023 has been a big year for the box office!
AMC Theaters
It seems like there have been a dozen different blockbuster films in the past several months…or at least, films that were likely intended to be blockbusters. But of all the major film releases in 2023, not every one of them has been successful. In fact, Disney has had some pretty major project flops this year.
It’s no secret that production costs have been pretty astronomical for Disney in recent years, with film budgets getting more elaborate and expensive. But with those increased budgets, Disney is also raising the bottom line — meaning that they’re taking bigger risks at the box office to break even on production costs.
AMC Theater for ‘The Little Mermaid’
So far in 2023, there have been four major projects that cost Disney the big bucks but didn’t make as much in return. First up was Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was released in February. According to Variety, the movie had a production budget of about $200 million and an additional $100 million was spent on marketing. It was estimated that the movie would need to make about $600 million to break even with its theatrical release.
©Marvel
Next up was the live-action remake, The Little Mermaid. This princess film had a budget of about $250 million according to Deadline. There was an additional $140 million spent in marketing costs, but the film would’ve needed to make between $420 million and $489 million to break even — not including participations and residuals.
©Disney
Earlier in the summer, Disney released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in theaters as well. Variety reported that it cost $295 million to make before marketing, which is even more than the other two releases.
©Lucasfilm
But the fourth major project didn’t even hit the box office. Yahoo reports that the Disney+ series Secret Invasion had a budget of $212 million — that means it’s competing with films for its ranking in production costs.
©Disney
So with those massive budgets, how did the projects actually perform? Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania made $214 million at the domestic box office and $476 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. That means that if $600 million was the breakeven point, then Disney lost around $124 million on that film alone.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at AMC Theatre in Disney Springs
Box Office Mojo reports that The Little Mermaid performed significantly better, making $297 million domestically and $566 million worldwide. Even though those numbers were enough for the film to break even, it didn’t pass the threshold by much.
©Disney
Indiana Jones 5 performed the lowest of the three, making $172 million domestically and $370 million worldwide (Box Office Mojo). While Disney hasn’t released financial numbers on Secret Invasion yet, the show didn’t seem to have the same dedicated fanbase as other Disney+ releases like WandaVision or Loki, so we’ll be interested to see if it lived up to the cost.
©Lucasfilm
Ultimately, Disney spent more than $1 billion on those four projects alone, and none of them delivered in the way that was probably hoped. With continual box office flops, it’s more of a challenge for Disney to get out of its current financial hole. Because of this, CEO Bob Iger has shared that he plans to cut back on the costs put into producing films and TV series, focusing on quality over quantity, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
©Disney
We’ll be interested to see how Disney film and TV production budgets decrease in the future as the company changes its media strategy. Hopefully, this will mean more successful box office numbers for Disney overall.
Stay tuned to DFB for the latest news and updates on Disney movies and Disney+ series. We’ve got you covered!
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Too bad Disney doesn’t get rid of whoever is making these bad decisions!! John Q. Public could have told them NOT to waste money on these projects but of course they won’t listen!!! They were doomed before filmed.
In years past, many families went to the theatre for the next Disney film because it was , well . . . Disney! Expectations were high and attendance was almost automatic. Disney’s recent forays into high-stake politics and this cliff-diving rush to the “woke side” have left a bad taste in the mouths of those previous Disney families. Now-a-days, a Disney project is viewed more as a possible dark journey than an automatic thrill. A return to what the Disney label used to stand for is still possible, but it better come soon.
Will Snow White live action be bank or bust?????
Maybe it’s time to go back to the 1980’s model with moderate budget RomComs and comedies like Pretty Woman, Three Men and a Baby, Down and Out in Beverley Hills, and Ruthless People. One Marvel film a year. One Star Wars film every two-years. One Pixar and One Disney Animation Studio film each a year. And we’ll have one Avatar every two-years for a while.
Snow White should be another hit 🙄