Disney continues to suffer the consequences of placing ideology over entertainment.
Just a few years ago, it was almost inconceivable that a lavish, Disney-animated film released to theaters over a long holiday weekend could be a flop.
However, that is precisely what happened to Disney’s latest offering, “Strange World.” The science fiction cartoon crumbled at the box office over the Thanksgiving weekend.
According to Variety, “Strange World” didn’t even reach the low expectations the studio had for it.
The film cost $180 million, plus marketing expenses. The Wednesday through Sunday box office was predicted as a modest $30 to $40 million.
After a terrible opening day of only $4.2 million, “Strange World” only earned $11.9 million during the weekend, and $18.6 million for the whole 5-day period. The film may end up losing $100 million in its run in theaters, Variety reported.
“Even with proper attention on Disney+ and home entertainment platforms, box office experts suggest it’ll be difficult to get the big-budget film into the black,” Variety reported. “Since ‘Strange World’ cost $180 million to produce and tens of millions more in global marketing and distribution fees, the film needs to gross roughly $360 million to break even, sources say.”
Here’s the movie’s official trailer. See if it appeals to you — or to kids you might take to a theater:
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The only recent Disney-related film that performed worse was during COVID. Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of “West Side Story” was released by 20th Century Fox, a studio acquired by Disney in 2018. The musical only made $10.5 million in its opening weekend, according to CNBC.
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The next lowest recent Disney film was 2021’s “Encanto,” which made $27.2 million over the weekend, and $40 million during the extended Thanksgiving holiday stretch.
Not only were tickets sales for “Strange World” weak in the United States, it only earned $9.2 million from 43 markets internationally, according to Variety. There were many markets where Disney did not even release the movie, such as the Middle East, Malaysia and Indonesia, Variety reported.
In those regions, Disney’s insistence on incorporating the LGBT agenda into what was supposed to be a family-friendly film conflicts with local standards.
If there was one aspect of “Strange World” Disney seemed to want to emphasize in its promotions, it was the fact this cartoon for kids featured an openly gay teenager. Sites like Yahoo and Distractify offered up puff pieces praising the movie for being trailblazing and horizon expanding.
Really this is nothing new for Disney, which was exposed in March for promoting a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda,” in the words of Latoya Raveneau, an executive producer for Disney Television Animation.
“Lightyear,” another surprising animated flop from Disney released in June, also leaned hard on its inclusion of gay characters.
What is new is doubling down on involving minors in the LGBT plotlines.
Disney appears to have learned nothing after getting on the wrong side of the Parental Rights in Education bill in Florida. By loudly opposing a bill that prevented teachers from sharing age-inappropriate content with students, Disney was seen as defending the grooming of children.
Movies like “Strange World” are more evidence of Disney’s obsession with exposing kids to sexual content, even when it hurts the company as a business.
There may be more to Disney’s troubles than its employees’ leftist activism, but the divisive and controversial stands the company has taken don’t help the bottom line.
The Disney brand has been damaged. In early November it was estimated Disney had lost $20 billion in market value.
Disney’s collapse led to CEO Bob Chapek being fired, and replaced with his predecessor, Bob Iger. It was viewed as an effort to get the company back on track.
But there is little sign Iger recognizes what may be driving Disney’s decline.
According to The New York Times, Iger was asked during a town-hall-style meeting of Disney employees on Monday about the company’s commitment to LGBT issues.
Iger replied, according to the Times:
“One of the core values of our storytelling is inclusion and acceptance and tolerance, and we can’t lose that. We’re not going to make everyone happy all the time, and we’re not going to try to … We’re certainly not going to lessen our core values in order to make everyone happy all the time.”
Sounds like Disney will have some more “Strange World” style flops in the future, until it embraces the reality of the saying, “Get woke, go broke.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
