Disney Animation has not had the most remarkable theatrical success in the last few years with its original movies. According to Deadline, this Thanksgiving looks set to leave Disney with another bad showing, as based on yesterday’s figures, its new movie Strange World is headed for a dismal opening gross of $20 million over the 5-day holiday. This is in stark contrast to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is set to continue to dominate the box office with $55-60 million on its third weekend of release.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is very quickly blasting its way up the chart of this year’s highest-grossing movies. The MCU Phase 4 closer is currently sitting in 8th position on the worldwide table, taking just under $600 million so far. When it comes to its domestic performance, the movie will blast past Thor: Love and Thunder this weekend and within a week, should also pass Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to become the highest-grossing domestic Marvel release of the year.
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When it comes to the Jake Gyllenhaal-led Strange World, it seems unlikely that the film will even bother the top 20, with its opening projection coming it at just a fraction of its $135 million budget. While the movie has been hailed for its representation and diversity, the overall reviews have not been glowing. This is mainly thanks to backlash over the movie’s LGBTQ+ representation, which will not help pull in audiences sitting on the fence over whether to venture to cinemas or wait for the inevitable Disney+ release.
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Strange World is another example of Disney’s release strategy possibly harming its box office potential. Last year Encanto arrived in theaters without much fanfare but still managed to pull in over $40 million across the Thanksgiving weekend, which included $7.2 million on its opening night. However, when it arrived on Disney+ on December 24, Encanto really hit its stride, going on to have one of the biggest Disney soundtracks ever, which included the #1 smash We Don’t Talk About Bruno.
Strange World is looking to pull in only half of Encanto’s 5-day gross. The film’s inclusion of Disney’s first openly gay teen has been both praised for showing Disney’s commitment to LGBTQ+ representation and surrounded by backlash from those against the inclusion of gay characters in a children’s movie. Whether this has ultimately pushed some people away from the movie is unclear, as other reviews have simply said that the film just isn’t up to the standard of some previous Disney offerings.
There is a high expectation that Disney will follow the same route they took with Encanto, and release Strange World on Disney+ in time for the holidays. This in itself could have turned some audiences off rushing to see it in cinemas, knowing that they can see it within a month in the comfort of their own home.
