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Disney has seemingly lost its touch. That’s not to say that the animation side of things has been all bad, but it appears 2022 has painted a clearer picture that the turmoil at the House of Mouse is something to be aware of. We reported that the company lost big on Lightyear, but Strange World was also a colossal flop that could make rebounding far more complex.
Related: Disney Lost a Ridiculous Amount of Money on ‘Lightyear’
Disney is usually at the top of the animated game, which makes this situation odd. The usual case is Disney and Pixar are battling it out for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, but they only had Turning Red in 2023 to carry on that tradition last year. Why? Well, fans were not buying into Lightyear and Strange World.
We would have to agree that Lightyear was a total miss. Though Chris Evans is a beloved actor, especially considering he has been under the Disney banner for many years as Captain America, he just couldn’t save that movie—the odd premise of wanting to make Buzz Lightyear a more tangible character didn’t make much sense. The silliness of Toy Story was missing, and audiences must have felt that same thing.
Deadline released reports about the biggest box office bombs, and both mentioned Disney features were on that list. Lightyear lost Disney a whopping $106 million. Between promotions and money spent to release Lightyear, it cost $373 million. The Pixar film would only get back $267 million, leaving it to lose big.
It could be because Lightyear was banned in China for featuring a same-sex couple for the first time in a Disney movie or simply because people don’t want to see some realistic version of Buzz Lightyear. It was not a good fit for Pixar and the animation-loving community. That $106 million loss led to the moving being #3 on biggest losses in 2022.
Coming in at #1 is Strange World. Though the premise and the cast should have made the movie a hit, it fell flat. Strange World was Disney’s attempt to combine science fiction with their usual fantastical animation elements, but something was missing. That something missing led to a massive loss of $152.4 million. The animated feature cost $317.4 million to promote and release, though the overall profit for the film was a meager $165 million.
Lightyear and Strange World flopping in 2022 could make it seem like Disney has a hefty battle back to the top of the animation mountain. Companies like Illumination seem to be taking over, especially after their massive success with the Super Mario Bros Movie.
However, Disney is trying to combat their failure by releasing more exciting titles. For instance, Elemental looks quite good, though everyone is naturally worried. If that movie fails to capture audience interest, will it mean Disney is done in the animation sector?
Related: ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ Defeats ‘Frozen 2’, Disney No Longer the Top of Animation
Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, stated that the company plans to return to its roots, which includes making Toy Story 5. However, producing another sequel that many people didn’t ask for could be risky and place Disney in a much more precarious position. Either way, the company needs to find some sure footing to get back into fans’ good graces.
Do you think Disney lost their touch? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!