LogFAQs > #925045023

Completely agree on your assessment.

I think the issue is that Star Wars SHOULD have been a perennial release for them, but they squandered the goodwill that they first engendered with the Abrams film. The audience is quite fickle and prone to chewing itself up and killing momentum quickly. The smarter move, I think, would have been films that push the edges of Star Wars further out with less Force-sensitive material. Rogue One seemed to be a perfect example of where Star Wars could go. Of course, you could ALWAYS turn it around with Star Wars. I think fans are still starved for the types of movies they want out of the franchise.

Disney+ easily could be the big pioneering prospect in the streaming service world. Now that the battle lines are drawing themselves, HBO Max and Disney+ make it very clear that there will be a war between the largest production studios, and that everyone needs to pick sides. Hulu is functionally in symbiotic partnership with Disney, Warner is going to consolidate its material with HBO Max it sounds like, Netflix is out on its own and forced to go more independent now, and Amazon is going to be pushing in with Lord of the Rings as a big anchor for a more realistic investment into its streaming platform. It's the opposite of the glut of streaming services we got at E3 this year, all of which I SUSPECT will end up dead within 5 years or at least only subsisting on a very small amount of support. The consolidation honestly doesn't bode well for moviegoers; resources being devoted to the streaming side of entertainment means less premium money-driving content is being pushed for cinemas. A perfect example? Exactly what was announced for Disney+ at E3.

Disney was supposedly going to push a new Indiana Jones, but that's been pushed back. I suspect that, domestically, that's a 300 million dollar property still. Jungle Cruise and Cruella both feel like they won't pull audiences like the films of this year. Cruella, especially, has to contend with the idea that there was already a 101 Dalmatians remake that focused signficantly on a live-action rendition of the character. It's too bad Disney didn't push other villains after Maleficent, such as Jafar and Hades. There's definitely a market for Greek mythology, with films of fairly poor quality and abysmal word of mouth still drumming up strong box office scores. A Disney tie-in and that monster of production behind it? I think you could start a decent live-action FRANCHISE with the material available.

In any event, the most interesting aspect of this year is how decimated the box office is outside of Disney. You gotta wonder if studios were gun shy on the year itself since Disney stole a lot of prime real estate, and if they believe they can open more competitively next year. Or will next year be an even WORSE year than this year? If streaming services are eating up the market for theatrical films right now, just wait until next year.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful