Disney has been in turmoil in recent years after flopped films following another box-office bomb continues to be the trend. Whether these be animated movies or live-action franchises such as Marvel Studios and Star Wars, nothing has been exempt from failure.
Fans and critics have been very expressive about what they hated in these projects, and in most cases, it’s either the story was really bad, the execution was lame, or they are just plainly uninterested in the narrative.
Disney Executive Blames Fans For Company’s Box-Office Bombs
Puck News’ Matt Belloni shared his conversation with an unnamed Disney head and revealed that he points his fingers at the audience on the disastrous fate of Brie Larson’s The Marvels and Daisy Ridley’s Star Wars.
“Everyone says, ‘It’s the movies, stupid,’ which is an easy thing for people to say. More appealing movies are a great way to jump the political issues. But more and more, our audience (or the segment of the audience that has been politicized) equate the perceived messaging in a film as a quality issue.”
The executive continued to blame the fans for wishing better films. Interestingly, the Disney boss also remarked that people would often mask their preference in movies with comments claiming how terrible the plot is when in fact, there’s a hidden discriminatory agenda.
“They won’t say they find female empowerment distasteful in The Marvels or Star Wars [the latest trilogy starring Daisy Ridley], but they will say they don’t like those movies because they are ‘bad.’ So ‘make better movies’ becomes code for ‘make movies that conform to regressive gender stereotypes or put men front and center in the narrative.’ ”
It does not help that Disney accuses its audience of the company’s failure. CEO Bob Iger even admitted via Bloomberg that he is “overwhelmed and exhausted” with all the problems he’s facing, including unimpressive box office results and cultural backlashes.
What does it mean when Disney’s streamer, Disney+, is reportedly losing subscribers and millions of dollars? It means their contents are no longer worth watching. Fans are consumers, so it is absolutely not their fault if they reject unappetizing sustenance.
Disney Can Still Make It Right If They Want To
There is still hope for Disney to recover from the profit loss incurred by The Marvels and Star Wars. Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine proves to be a popular movie choice among fans, and then, there’s the highly anticipated sequel to Moana.
Disney could resolve the issue without blaming anyone but themselves. Over the past decade, their projects were mostly unoriginal remakes or reboots, sequels or spinoffs to franchises that didn’t even ask for it, and overpriced budgets for films no one is invested in.
The overwhelming political agenda and woke culture found in newer projects are certainly what makes a potentially great movie less compelling. If the higher-ups only listen to the pulse of the crowd, they will not be complaining about this in the first place.
In any case, The Marvels and Star Wars are streaming via Disney+.
