Despite being Disney’s 100th anniversary film, and having almost ten years dedicated to its production, after premiering November 22 2023, Wish made less than half its predicted box office opening weekend and became one of Disney’s worst performing animated films. This isn’t an unfortunate fluke— for the last few years, Disney has experienced an apparent drop in audience support, with many potential roots causing this Dark Age of the studio. 

DISNEY+ 

Going out to the movies is a chore and if you are going with friends or family, horribly expensive. Compared to the 10 dollar price tag of Disney+, Disney’s streaming service, many would prefer to watch a movie in the comfort of their own home rather than in theaters, a preference made popular after Covid-19. Disney has adapted to this change, releasing six out of their 13 films released in 2023 straight to Disney+.

This tanks box office numbers, as more and more people choose to stay home and skip the theater date rather than support the movie in person. This, of course, doesn’t harm Disney, as they still receive revenue from their streaming services. However, the lack of box office revenue does no service to those who worked toward the movie’s production.

Many leases for voice actors, artists, and other workers state part of their pay is derived from box office numbers, so this is problematic behavior on Disney’s part. By releasing their movies straight to Disney+, they bypass this agreement and make more money, all while paying their workers less. If there is no motivation by Disney’s employees to make box office revenue, there is no motivation to put full effort into their art, which makes the quality of Disney’s movies tank tremendously.

A LACK OF CREATIVITY 

Disney’s new attraction to formulaic storytelling could also be a sign of a slow decline in movie quality. Out of their last 10 animated feature films currently available on Disney+, only two had established villains, while a whopping eight of those films had main conflicts regarding familial trouble instead. Having such back to back similar plot lines creates a lack of variety in their films, which bores audiences. 

Although within these films, there are a couple major successes like Frozen 2 and Encanto, many of the others were either box office failures. This begs the question of whether this formulaic way of writing actually has an effect on the performance of Disney. Spoiler alert: it does.

AN ABUNDANCE OF REMAKES 

The classic “live action remake” has become an unfortunate Disney brand in recent times. Out of their 21 live action remakes, 16 have been made in the past decade, all receiving fluctuating appraisals. Most controversy surrounds these live action films, many criticizing Disney’s lack of passion toward them. 

This lack of soul is not ignored by the public, as the three most recent live action films, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan & Wendy, and Pinocchio received a 67 percent, 64 percent, and 28 percent respectively. The latter received a particularly devastating backlash, and its mediocrity and lack of respect for the source material has been called as “hollow” as “Pinocchio’s likely wooden core,” according to one particular review. This sums it up neatly—remakes are now simply a quick grab at recognition and money, without the need to create risky stories with unique plots. 

CONCLUSION

Disney is not the gem it was ten years ago, and they have no one but themselves to blame. Perhaps if they decided to properly compensate their staff, take creative risks, and value the art they make over the money they make, they can climb out of the hole that they dug for themselves.