Strange World is the latest film from Walt Disney Animation, and it focuses on a legendary family of explorers and the three generations that must put aside their differences to go to a mysterious land to save their world of resources. The movie is heavily inspired by pulp science fiction stories of the 1930s and 40s like Journey to the Center of the Earth, John Carter, and King Kong.

Strange World is the 61st film from the animation studio and was released in theaters on November 23, 2022, over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Disney has released many films over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend that went on to be box office smashes, typically playing well into the Christmas season, and Strange World looked to be another potential hit for the studio.

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To the surprise of many, and the horror of Disney, Strange World did not light up the box office like past animated films and instead bombed in its opening weekend. Strange World opened to just $4 million on its opening day and by the end of the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, it had only grossed $18.6 million, well below the $30 million industry insiders were expecting. The movie is one of the biggest animated box office bombs in Disney history, as the film carrief a budget between $135 to $180 million and reportedly could cost Disney $100 million in lost revenue.

Strange World also scored a B CinemaScore, the lowest any Disney animated film has ever received since being tracked by CinemaScore (which is genuinely surprising). Word of mouth on the movie does not seem to be indicating a long box office haul and many are wondering what happened. This is why Strange Worlds bombed at the box office.

Strange World’s Poor Marketing Campaign

     Walt Disney Studios

Disney has released several box office hits over the Thanksgiving weekend. The back-to-back box office releases of Beauty and the Beast in 1991 and Aladdin in 1992 made the holiday weekend a must-have for Disney. In recent years the studio has released Frozen, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen 2, and the Pixar animated film Coco over the holiday weekend and all were box office hits. Notably, all those had heavy marketing pushes and were all released under Disney CEO Bob Iger.

In 2020, Bob Chapek was appointed CEO of Disney. Chapek was a controversial figure among many, and one notable part of his tenure as Disney CEO was his disinterest in animation. While all the Disney and Pixar animated films released under his tenure were also released following the COVID-19 pandemic, he did seem to prioritize them less than say the Marvel Studios films or other potential blockbusters. Strange World was no exception, as it had very few trailers released for it and the marketing seemed to be eclipsed by Disney’s two other big holiday films, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water.

Chapek was recently let go as CEO with Bob Iger coming back to Disney in order to take control of the company. It will be interesting to see how Iger reinvests in Disney Animation and if the brand can reclaim its box office dominance once more.

Disney Animation Has Had a Rough Time with Sci-Fi

     Walt Disney Pictures

The story surrounding Strange World’s box office underperformance may feel familiar to anyone who remembers the Thanksgiving weekend of 2002. That saw the release of Treasure Planet, which went on to become one of the biggest animated box office bombs in history. It grossed $16.5 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday, only $2 million below Strange World’s five-day Thanksgiving haul. Treasure Planet opened number four behind Die Another Day, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and The Santa Clause 2, similar to how Strange World was crushed at the box office by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

A year prior, Walt Disney Animation had dipped its toes in pulp science fiction with the release of Atlantis: The Lost Empire. While not the box office bomb that Treasure Planet or Strange World was, the movie massively underperformed. Walt Disney Animation’s three attempts at the world of classic pulp science fiction have been box office bombs, while their more modern titles include aliens (Lilo and Stitch), video games (Wreck-It-Ralph), and superheroes (Big Hero 6) performed better with audiences.

Animated Films Have Struggled at the Box Office Lately

     Disney/Pixar

Animated films used to be one of the most reliable box offices hits around, particularly for Thanksgiving weekend hence why Disney has opened a new film each year during the holiday. In 2016, four of the highest-grossing films of the year were animated films (Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets, Zootopia, and Sing) and in 2010 half of the top 10 were made up of animated films (Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After, How To Train Your Dragon, and Tangled). Yet since the COVID-19 pandemic, family films have struggled to bring audiences back out to theaters.

There have been some animated box office hits, like Sing 2 performing well over the holiday season in 2021, and recently Minions: The Rise of Gru broke records for 4th of July weekend. But those are these exceptions. DC’s League of Super-Pets performed below expectations even with the star power of Dwayne Johnson behind it. Encanto performed decently when it opened in theaters but was below other Disney animated films, and it was not until it hit Disney+ that it became a sensation online. Notably, this year Disney suffered another science fiction animated box office disappointment with the release of Pixar’s Lightyear. Disney itself may have hurt both Lightyear and Strange World due to decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Audiences May Wait For Disney+ For Strange World

     Disney 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney decided to release many of its films on its streaming service Disney+. While films like Raya and the Last Dragon were put behind a $30 pay wall, Pixar’s animated films like Turning Red, Soul, and Luca were all released with no additional charge to the streaming service. Encanto was playing in theaters for only a month before the studio put it on the streaming service in time for Christmas.

This may have impacted audiences’ perception of Disney animated films. It may have made audiences associate Disney animated projects with streaming, or any Disney animated film released in theaters will be available on Disney+ in a short amount of time decreasing the drive to go out and see it in theaters. With how much it cost for a family to go out to the movies, waiting for Disney+ might be the cheaper option for many. Strange World most likely will arrive on Disney+ early in the new year, but without the iconic music that elevated Encanto to a pop culture phenomenon, there is a chance Strange World will come and go and might signal the end of the Disney Animation Revival Era.