Hollywood is a constantly evolving landscape where new titles regularly compete to outpace the other. In terms of having that power to spew out content, Disney stands as an undisputed front-runner with its several franchises and studios such as Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm. However, the company also invests significantly in making independent productions, of which its latest outing stands in the form of Young Woman and the Sea starring Daisy Ridley.
The Joachim Rønning directorial made its theatrical debut just a few days ago and is still airing in theaters. In spite of this, the entertainment juggernaut has thrown a curveball at the audience as well as at the box office. Facing stiff competition, the flick is still holding itself in terms of ratings and reviews, but the state of affairs involving its finances neither appears good enough nor looks to matter to the studio.
Disney makes a strange decision for Young Woman and the Sea
Starring Daisy Ridley as Gertrude Ederle, Young Woman and the Sea tells the story of the American swimming champion and calls itself a biographical sports drama film. Narrating the inspiring tale of how the swimmer became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel in 1926, the film has garnered a mighty 97% audience score against an 85% critical appraisal on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless of this, Disney will not release the box office numbers for it.
A report by Deadline highlighted the studio’s decision to not disclose actual gross numbers as it wants to pitch it as an awards play. Not willing to damage its reputation by having box office numbers affect its ratings, Disney will only have the flick run in theaters for two weeks after which it shall move it to Disney+, where it was originally scheduled to drop but received a screening window owing to undisclosed reasons.
The unconventional decision also comes at a time when estimates have put the movie earning a meager $500,000 at the global box office, painstakingly low for a Disney movie. Additionally, it also marks one of the lowest-grossing yet highly-rated movies for the actress herself, who has found immense recognition following her Star Wars saga appearances.
Daisy Ridley is not done with Disney yet
The poor performance of her latest outing can be attributed to numerous factors. From limited screenings, sluggish marketing, and competition from the likes of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, IF, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. However, the film’s inability to cross past a million even after three days paints a sorry picture. Regardless of this current performance, Daisy Ridley will be sticking to Disney for a while now, especially for Star Wars.
The actress starred as the character of Rey, who took over the title of Skywalker at the end of the sequel trilogy in the face of rampant division among fans. Yet, Disney will be moving ahead with her character with a new movie set 15 years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Rumors hold the movie’s plot revolving around Ridley’s character starting a new Jedi Order, although much of the details still lie under wraps.
Young Woman and the Sea is now playing in theaters.
