Credit: DisneyIf you’re a regular cinema buff, you’ll already know that recent Disney movies have been doing poorly at the box office. While Elemental might have scored well with critics and audiences, it’s not exactly making bank for either Disney or Pixar. Naturally, this isn’t going to bode well for the studios.
Elemental is one of many Disney movies to suffer the same effect, as other movies like Turning Red, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Treasure Planet all had a positive relationship with audiences but dodgy box-office numbers. These Disney movies developed an audience after releasing on home video, so why doesn’t Disney take advantage of that factor and bring them back to theaters for a limited time?
Classic Disney Movies Could Get Audiences Back in Theaters
Elemental and more Disney movies are suffering from what some call the “Treasure Planet Effect,” meaning they were great films that couldn’t compete because they were released simultaneously with other animated blockbusters. If that is really the case, wouldn’t they make more money with a re-release now that they’ve amassed a wider audience?
Before the invention of streaming services like Disney+, movie theaters were the only place to see the latest motion picture. If you didn’t see a movie while it was in circulation, you missed it. Walt Disney went against the grain and re-released many of his classic films, generating more profit for his studio without spending much on new material.
Snow White, Fantasia, and Alice in Wonderland are considered some of Disney’s greatest contributions to cinema, but they did much better on re-release than when they first premiered. The psychedelic counterculture of the ’60s generated a much bigger appreciation for the latter two, resulting in substantial financial success. So what’s stopping Disney from doing the same with some of their “flops?”
Related: ‘Wish’ Continues to Honor Classic Disney Animated Films
Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and even The Black Cauldron all have a cult following, and an audience would undoubtedly be willing to pay money to see them on the big screen. While Disney is funneling their money towards live-action remakes, it might be the case that a series of re-releases could remind both the studio and its audience of what made them so magical in the first place.
What Disney movies would you want to see in theaters again? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!