2023 has proven to be a challenging year for Disney, marking the company’s 100th anniversary in the film industry. Despite this milestone, Disney has not achieved significant success, suffering a considerable decline in box office revenue. Out of the eight films released this year, seven have performed poorly in the North American market and globally.
Let’s take a look back at a tough year for Disney:
Superhero Highlights
(Image: Marvel Studios/Disney)
It is impossible to ignore that one of the most recognizable film franchises of the 21st century is Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since the release of Iron Man in 2008, the superhero lineup has attracted audiences year after year. However, in 2023, two out of the three Marvel films released have ended up underwhelming.
The first major disappointment occurred in February with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Despite featuring a star-studded cast including Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Bill Murray, the film, which had a budget of over $200 million, only earned $215 million in North America and $476 million globally, falling short of the $600 million needed to break even.
The second failure was The Marvels, released in November. Compared to the $1.1 billion gross of the first Captain Marvel in 2019, The Marvels is considered a box office bomb for 2023. Ultimately, it only managed to earn $46 million on its opening weekend and approximately $200 million in total revenue, making it the lowest-grossing Marvel film to date.
Disappointing Remakes
(Image: Disney)
This year, audiences have grown weary of Hollywood’s “reboot” films, including numerous productions from Disney.
For instance, even though heavily promoted and considered Disney’s “crown jewel,” The Little Mermaid underperformed upon its release in May, bringing in only $297 million in North America and $267 million globally, despite its hefty production budget of around $250 million. Compared to the live-action The Lion King released in 2019, which grossed $1.6 billion, The Little Mermaid fell flat and had to rely on international audiences to make up for its losses.
In the following month, Disney released Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny starring Harrison Ford. However, despite high expectations, the film only earned $174 million domestically and has yet to reach $400 million globally. This situation left the studio unable to recover nearly $300 million invested in the project, not including marketing expenses.
Disney wrapped up the summer with a reboot of Haunted Mansion, which grossed only $117 million worldwide. This was a significant flop, especially considering the film featured well-known stars such as Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto.
Animated Films Struggling Outside of Theaters
(Image: Disney)
Disney has historically produced a range of beloved animated films such as Frozen, The Incredibles, and Toy Story. However, 2023 marked a notable decline for the studio with the release of new animated features.
In June, Elemental brought in just under $500 million worldwide, a stark contrast to the $860 million earned by Inside Out in 2015. Furthermore, Inside Out had a production budget of only $175 million, while Elemental had an estimated production cost of $200 million.
Prior to the official announcements, it was reported that the film had failed, but Disney rebutted in August: “The film directed by Peter Sohn has grossed $400 million as of last week. In total, it earned $148 million domestically, which is about five times its opening weekend earnings in North America. This represents a rare achievement in the global box office landscape, where most audiences tend to purchase tickets in the opening weekend.”
Finally, Wish was released just before the Thanksgiving holiday, and Disney promoted it as the film “shaping a century,” celebrating the studio’s 100th anniversary. Unfortunately, Wish only managed to gross over $125 million globally, falling short of a substantial budget. In comparison, Disney’s previous release before Thanksgiving, Encanto, earned over $250 million during the post-COVID-19 box office era.
This disappointing year for Disney is expected to extend into next year due to changes in production management, reflecting the challenges of Hollywood’s evolving landscape. Inside Out 2 and Deadpool 3 are still set to release next year, but the live-action remake of Frozen has been pushed back to 2025.
