#Worldwide gross collection

[djarshaddj]

Leo Box Office Collection: Day Wise, Worldwide Gross Collection Report, Budget, Screen Count and Verdict

Leo Box Office Collection: Thalapathy Vijay, Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, and Arjun led the much-anticipated Tamil action thriller “Leo,” which debuted on the global screens on October 19, on the special occasion of Dasara. The S. S. Lalit Kumar and  Jagadish Palanisamy-produced film was the 3rd installment of “Lokesh Cinematic Universe” (LCU), followed by Karthi, Narain, and Arjun Das…

[allmovies4eu]

Vaazhai Box Office Collection Day 1 Friday, Hit Or Flop, Budget, Cast And Crew, and Release Date

Vaazhai Box Office Collection Day 1 Friday

Vaazhai Box Office Collection Day 1 FridayVaazhai Worldwide Gross CollectionsVaazhai Movie BudgetVaazhai Movie Hit or FlopVaazhai Movie Cast and CrewVaazhai Movie Release Date Vaazhai Box Office Collection Day 1 Friday: Vaazhai is an action drama Tamil language biographical movie and the movie Vaazhai is directed by Mari Selvaraj. Raghul R., Nikhila Vimal, Ponvel M., and Kalaiyarasan are playing…

[eretzyisrael]

By Sheldon L. Freilich

It is with profound concern that I address the recent plans for an anti-Israel protest in front of the Zekelman Holocaust Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

This deeply disturbing and offensive protest desecrates the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Drawing false parallels between Israel’s defensive actions and the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators is not only historically inaccurate but also promotes dangerous antisemitic rhetoric.

The anti-Israel Coalition Against Genocide, its partner Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and other Palestinian groups are spreading vicious falsehoods accusing Israel of committing genocide. JVP attributed the Oct. 7 massacre to “Israeli apartheid and occupation and United States complicity in that oppression.”

On Oct. 7, Israel was invaded by 3,000 Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians who slaughtered 1,200 Israelis simply because they were Jewish. Women were raped and mutilated in front of their families, some are being kept as sex slaves in Gaza. Babies were burned in ovens and decapitated while Hamas terrorists laughed. The massacre was reminiscent of the Hebron massacre of 1929, in which Jews were slaughtered simply for being Jewish, long before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Kenneth Levin, a Harvard University psychiatrist, has said that there are two reasons for Jewish self-hatred: One is a type of Stockholm Syndrome in which “population segments under chronic siege commonly embrace the indictments of their besiegers, however bigoted and outrageous.” The second is that Jews may blame themselves for their predicament: “Everyone hates us so we must be doing something wrong.”

The Holocaust is a reminder of the consequences of unchecked hatred and violence. Exploiting this sacred memory to push a political agenda disrespects the victims and diminishes and trivializes the gravity of their suffering. The actions of these groups feed into the narratives of antisemites who seek to delegitimize and demonize Israel, further endangering Jews worldwide. As a child of Holocaust survivors and proud Zionists, I find these actions despicable.

Accusations of genocide against Israel are a gross misrepresentation of reality. Israel’s military actions are defensive measures against terrorist organizations, including Hamas, which continuously threaten the safety and security of Israeli civilians. By equating these actions with genocide, protesters ignore the legitimate right of a nation to protect its people.

Protests at Michigan’s largest Holocaust museum justify violence against Israelis and Jews by falsely portraying them as perpetrators of heinous crimes. This dangerous rhetoric incites hatred and violence, contributing to rising antisemitic incidents globally. These libelous protests distort historical facts and promote a false narrative that fuels antisemitic sentiments, misuses the memory of the Holocaust to criticize Israel unjustly and feeds into dangerous and false allegations of genocide.

The Coalition Against Genocide, JVP and their supporters are morally corrupt. All community members and leaders need to denounce this protest and its sponsor groups. It is our collective responsibility to protect the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and to ensure that their suffering is not trivialized or misused. Let us stand together against antisemitism, for truth and for Israel’s right to protect itself.

[slackville-records]

On this date in 1969, "Easy Rider" was released.

"Easy Rider" was the third highest-grossing film of 1969, with worldwide gross $60 million, including $41.7 million domestically in the US. Along with "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "The Graduate" (1967), "Easy Rider" helped kick-start the New Hollywood era during the late 1960s and 1970s. The major studios realized that money could be made from low-budget films made by avant-garde directors. Heavily influenced by the French New Wave, the films of the so-called "post-classical Hollywood" came to represent a counterculture generation increasingly disillusioned with its government as well as the government's effects on the world at large and the establishment in general.

The movie's "groundbreaking" soundtrack featured The Band, The Byrds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Steppenwolf. Editor Donn Cambern used various music from his own record collection to make watching hours of bike footage more interesting during editing. Most of Cambern's music was used, with licensing costs of $1 million, triple the film's budget.

Bob Dylan was asked to contribute music, but was reluctant to use his own recording of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," so a version performed by Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn was used instead. Also, instead of writing an entirely new song for the film, Dylan simply wrote out the first verse of "Ballad of Easy Rider" and told the filmmakers, "Give this to McGuinn, he’ll know what to do with it." McGuinn completed the song and performed it in the film.

Originally, Peter Fonda had intended the band Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young to write an entirely original soundtrack for the film, but this failed to materialize for two reasons. For one, Cambern edited the footage much more closely to what were only meant as temporary tracks than was customary at the time, which led to everyone involved finding them much more suited to the material than they had originally thought. On the other hand, Dennis Hopper increasingly got control over every aspect over the course of the project and decided to throw CSNY out behind Fonda's back, telling the band as an excuse, "Look, you guys are really good musicians, but honestly, anybody who rides in a limo can't comprehend my movie, so I'm gonna have to say no to this, and if you guys try to get in the studio again, I may have to cause you some bodily harm." (Wikipedia)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I'll be brief about the Pixar expose... It's a lot for me to think about.

Disney requiring every movie of theirs to make $600m worldwide or else it's a big ol' flop (see how they 180'ed on ELEMENTAL after release) is a shit model, and it needs to go bye-bye. Not every animated movie, or movie for that matter, can just magically pull that out of a hat. Especially in such a wildly different marketplace post-COVID outbreak.

Despite Pete Docter being less like John Lasseter, that old pyramid-like system is still very much a thing there among other complications. Also kinda surprising that he, despite being CCO, functioned as a co-director on INSIDE OUT 2 during its final laps. I know that he conceived and directed the original INSIDE OUT, but CCO usually means you're too busy to direct.

Pixar should be part of The Animation Guild. They're one of the few big studios that aren't. Redundant of me to say, but yes, it's true.

It seems like INSIDE OUT 2 needed some rewrites and some tune-up, and the writer and actor's strikes happened about a year before release... They really should've delayed it, then. I know the movie went on to be a summer smash, though it probably would've done pretty great as a fall release, BUT... If they needed time, they needed time. No more of this crunch stuff.

The stuff about the laid off employees... Inexcusable. Especially that utterly weird shit about them not being allowed back to get their belongings in case of awkward feelings or whatever? The hell is THAT?

Absolutely loser behavior from corporate Disney about LIGHTYEAR, and mandating Pixar to tone down queer stuff or anything that could be interpreted as queer. (Makes those recent Pete Docter interviews make more sense, about telling "universal" stories. I was pretty sure Bob Iger had a gun to his head.) All that stuff about INSIDE OUT 2 with Riley and Val? I mean, it was pretty obvious from the trailers even... But still, I wonder what kind of layer Riley having a crush on Val would've added to the film's story, how that factors into her trying to be cool like them and kinda neglecting her friends. I still really dig the movie, but that could've added to the story they were telling.

To go on about LIGHTYEAR, I've already written about why I feel that film didn't reach audiences, but I will say... Unfortunately, I do think queerphobia did play a small part in its dismal legs at the box office. Not enough to sink the movie, I think it would've sunk anyways because of what that movie was. I think it still would've had trouble even if it were an original $200m-costing sci-fi adventure story and not a Buzz Lightyear movie... But, I work at a movie theater, and I remember some customers demanding refunds over that nanosecond barely-visible kiss. And also over cousin studio's STRANGE WORLD because the son is gay and has a crush on someone. I think audiences being queerphobic factored into it a little bit, but it was not as much of a thing as Disney would like to think it is.

So I feel, to repeat myself and to be a broken mp3... Maybe Disney wouldn't struggle so much if their movies didn't cost astronomical amounts of money. Pixar's on average hover around $175-200m... That's not sustainable. Spend less, allow for more creative risks, and screw the out-of-touch conservative audience that gets their collective panties in a peppermint twist over two men in the background of a movie looking at each other. Instead of having to rely on the grosses of those particular bigoted audiences here and all around the world, maybe don't pump hundreds of millions into these movies so that they CAN succeed in case a bunch of people get all upset about some gayness? So that the creators can take risks and not have to compromise key parts of their stories for an audience that isn't worth chasing? Not everything has to be a blockbuster behemoth. This is a big part of what's stagnating almost all of Disney's theatrical product, and animation is particularly getting hurt by it all.

Negotiations are resuming for fairer conditions for animation workers and employees, so this expose coming out was what we needed... Let's hope some progress is made this month!

...

[the-odd-ducks]

Unyielding Spirit: Why The Pursuit of Happyness is a Must-Watch Masterpiece

The Pursuit of Happyness is a heartwarming and deeply inspiring film that resonates with audiences through its powerful portrayal of perseverance, determination, and the human spirit's unyielding resilience. Directed by Gabriele Muccino and released in 2006, the film is based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman who faces insurmountable challenges in his quest to provide a better life for himself and his young son.

Box Office Collection

The movie was a commercial success, grossing over $307 million worldwide against a modest budget of $55 million. The film's strong performance at the box office is a testament to its universal appeal, as it struck a chord with audiences across different cultures and backgrounds. Its success was also fueled by positive word-of-mouth and critical acclaim, making it one of the most memorable films of the year.

Popularity

The Pursuit of Happyness gained widespread popularity for its moving story and the exceptional performances of its cast. The film's relatability and emotional depth helped it gain a lasting place in the hearts of viewers. Over the years, it has remained a favorite for many, often cited as a must-watch for those seeking motivation or a reminder of the power of perseverance. The film's popularity also extends to television broadcasts, streaming platforms, and home video sales, where it continues to find new audiences.

Star Cast

Will Smith delivers a career-defining performance as Chris Gardner, capturing the character's struggle, determination, and love for his son. Smith's portrayal earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and solidified his reputation as one of Hollywood's most versatile and talented actors.

Jaden Smith, making his acting debut, plays Christopher Gardner Jr., Chris's young son. Despite his age, Jaden delivers a mature and heartfelt performance, perfectly complementing his real-life father's role.

Thandie Newton plays Linda, Chris's wife, who eventually leaves him due to the pressures of their financial struggles. Newton’s portrayal adds complexity to the story, highlighting the strain that economic hardship can place on relationships.

The Message

The core message of The Pursuit of Happyness is one of hope, determination, and the relentless pursuit of one's dreams, no matter the obstacles. The film emphasizes that success is not defined by wealth or status but by the effort and persistence one puts into overcoming challenges. It also sheds light on the harsh realities of poverty and homelessness, particularly in the context of the American Dream, while also offering a powerful message about the importance of family and the sacrifices parents make for their children.

Chris Gardner's journey from being homeless to becoming a successful stockbroker is a testament to the idea that no matter how bleak the circumstances, with enough determination and hard work, anything is possible. The film also encourages viewers to cherish their loved ones and to remain hopeful, even in the darkest of times.

Why Everyone Should Watch It

The Pursuit of Happyness is more than just a movie; it's an emotional and motivational experience. It teaches valuable life lessons about resilience, the importance of never giving up, and the power of a positive attitude. Will Smith's performance, coupled with the real-life story of Chris Gardner, makes the film both inspiring and relatable.

Whether you're facing personal challenges, seeking motivation, or simply looking for a movie that will move you emotionally, The Pursuit of Happyness is a must-watch. It serves as a reminder that success is not guaranteed, but the pursuit of happiness is a journey worth taking, no matter the odds. The film's emotional depth, powerful message, and stellar performances make it a timeless piece of cinema that resonates with viewers of all ages.

Read the original book from which the movie was inspired

The Pursuit of Happyness (US)

The Pursuit of Happyness (IN)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Why are we so fascinated with aliens?

Robert Smith is convinced the aliens have won. "The invasion has happened—it's all over," says the University of Alberta space historian who teaches a course on the history of extraterrestrials.

It's not so much that Smith believes in their literal existence, only that aliens have staked their claim in the human imagination.

"Look at the TV listings on any given night, and it's clear they are everywhere," he says. "The number of programs with extraterrestrials is striking."

Just last month, the seventh film of the Alien franchise, "Alien Romulus," was released in theaters worldwide. The series has gripped the collective imagination since 1979 and is showing no signs of slowing down. Romulus has grossed more than $225 million worldwide so far, making it the third-highest-grossing film in the series.

When he isn't tracking every detail of the James Webb telescope, launched in December of 2021, for an upcoming book on the subject, Smith is reviewing his notes for a senior seminar called "The History of the Extraterrestrial Life Debate." According to him, it's the only course in the world that probes "the existence, nature and possible significance of extraterrestrial life from the ancient world to today."

Smith contends aliens have been invading our imagination at least since the ancients. The Greek philosopher Epicurus—who first came up with the idea that the universe is made up of atoms—speculated about other worlds, as did the Roman poet Lucretius.

In the second century CE, Lucian of Samosata wrote what is considered the first work of science fiction, a satire called "A True Story" about inhabitants of the sun and the moon fighting over the colonization of Venus.

"There's always been this fascination with what you could call the other, often very similar to us but sometimes different or even wildly different," says Smith.

"The extraterrestrial becomes a kind of mirror, and by trying to understand how people see extraterrestrials, we're also learning about what people think it is to be human."

Even the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages considered the possibility of aliens as a manifestation of God's power, says Smith.

"If you attended a medieval university … one of the topics you would likely have examined would have been other worlds, because if you said there were no other worlds, it was regarded as limiting God's power."

The popular fascination with aliens took off with the publication of "Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds," by French author Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle in 1686, says Smith. Considered the first scientific blockbuster in publishing history, it was read by many people at the time and is still in print today after almost 100 editions.

The best English translation of the text, according to Smith, was done by a former U of A English professor and science fiction writer, H.A. Hargreaves, in 1990.

Considered one of the first major works of the Enlightenment, it was partly inspired by Copernicus' revolutionary discovery that Earth revolved around the sun, rather than the other way around. That shift in cosmology allowed for the possibility of other solar systems, and therefore other worlds.

By the 18th century, "The great majority of educated people probably believed in life on other worlds," says Smith.

The popularity of "Conversations" and the idea of extraterrestrial life increased well into the 19th century, fueling a hot debate between two major intellects of the age—scientist David Brewster and Anglican minister and philosopher of science William Whewell. That debate "spawned a huge body of literature," says Smith, including perhaps the most famous alien invasion tale of all time: H.G. Wells' 1897 "War of the Worlds," which left its indelible mark well into the 20th century.

Wells' novel was widely seen as a reflection of anxiety over British imperialism. The author once said the story was prompted by a discussion with his brother about the brutal British colonization of Tasmania; he wondered what would happen if Martians treated England the same way.

War of the Worlds tapped into a fundamental human fear, famously manifested when the 1938 CBS Radio version narrated by Orson Welles reportedly caused panic among some listeners who didn't realize it was fiction.

For the most part, says Smith, interest in aliens dropped off slightly in the first half of the 20th century as astronomers surmised that solar systems were relatively rare. But the mania picked up again with the space race of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

"As soon as we sent a spacecraft into space, we were thinking about the implications of that," says Smith. "Remember, the Americans actually celebrated their bicentennial in part by looking for life on Mars (with the launch of Viking 1 in 1976)."

Since then, interest in aliens has been relentless and pervasive, with a flood of movies attesting to our fascination with all things extraterrestrial, from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Star Trek" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" to "Alien," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "The X-Files" and "Dr. Who." And that barely scratches the surface.

After taking the long view, does Smith believe in the existence of extraterrestrials? He prefers to defer to the great science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. "Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

IMAGE: "Alien: Romulus" — the seventh film in the long-running franchise — is the latest example of how humans depict extraterrestrials as objects of both fascination and dread. Credit: Disney

[denimbex1986]

'Thanks to Mario, J. Robert Oppenheimer and M3GAN, Universal Pictures ranked as the highest-grossing studio at the 2023 box office.

The company’s slate — a range of 24 films that included “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer” and “M3GAN” — collected $4.907 billion in worldwide ticket sales. Universal’s victory is notable because it marks the first time since 2015 that Disney was not the global box office leader...

...for the first time in a long time, Disney didn’t have one of the top three movies — those spots belong to Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” ($1.4 billion) and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion) and “Oppenheimer” ($950 million). It’s also the first time since 2014 (except for the pandemic-stricken 2020 and 2021) that none of Disney’s movies crossed the $1 billion benchmark...'

[top100countdown]

Top 100 Coolest People of All-Time

85. SAMUEL L. JACKSON

Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time.

#samuelljackson#pulpfiction

[movie-track01]

#DeadpoolandWolverine has collected $438.3M worldwide.

It is going to be highest grossing 'R' rating opening weekend ever.

[djarshaddj]

Dream Girl 2 Box Office Collection Report: Day Wise| All Version| Worldwide Collection Report and Verdict

Dream Girl 2 Box Office Collection Report: Ayushman Khurana and Ananya Panday’s much-awaited sequel achieved a hit at the box office instead of facing massive competition against Gadar 2 and OMG 2. The film was released over 2250 screens worldwide and got a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), with a 2 hours and 13 minutes (133 minutes) approved runtime. Hindi…

[thereasonsimbroke]

The third installment of the #SonicTheHedgehog movie franchise is scheduled for release just in time for Christmas this year. There's been a lot of excitement building up, especially after composer #TomHolkenborg, also known as #JunkieXL, expressed his enthusiasm for the film in a recent interview.

Holkenborg praised the movie as exhilarating after watching a full cut of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He also mentioned his kids' excitement for the release, as they are avid fans of the series.

The movie, directed by Jeff Fowler and featuring returning stars Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey, is expected to follow the success of its predecessors, which collectively grossed over $724 million worldwide.

[ubuiltatimemachineoutofadelorean]

Back to the Future trilogy remains a beloved classic.

Back to the Future trilogy is zooming its way to Netflix next month at 88 miles-per-hour July 1, 2024,

The Back to the Future trilogy was both a financial and critical success. The first film, released in 1985, grossed over $381 million worldwide against a $19 million budget, making it the highest-grossing film of that year. The entire trilogy collectively earned approximately $936 million globally.

[doamarierose-honoka]

Thanks to a kick-butt start by "Kung Fu Panda 4" through its first two weekends, the DreamWorks franchise as a whole has passed a pretty major milestone. Across four movies, the animated franchise has now surpassed the $2 billion mark at the box office. Over 16 years and through several enemies, Jack Black's Po has endured multiple decades to help make this one of the biggest animated movie franchises of all time. Skadoosh.

"Kung Fu Panda 4" topped the charts through its first two weekends and has, thus far, taken in $187.1 million worldwide against a very reasonable $85 million production budget — by far the cheapest entry in the series to date. That has pushed the franchise to just over $2 billion collectively. The highest-grossing entry to date remains 2011's "Kung Fu Panda 2" with $664.8 million worldwide. Interestingly, that's also the only movie of the four that didn't open atop the charts when it debuted. In any event, this is great news for Universal Pictures and DreamWorks.

The films have averaged $501 million a pop globally against an average production budget of around $126 million. Those are returns that Hollywood will take all day long, especially considering that these animated films have a long lifespan on home video, with plenty of merchandising opportunities as well. In short, DreamWorks has made an awful lot of money since the first "Kung Fu Panda" hit theaters back in 2009.

Kung Fu Panda is breathing rare box office air

Overall, "Kung Fu Panda" now ranks number seven on the all-time global charts as far as animated franchises go at the box office. The rest of the top ten is made up by "Despicable Me" ($4.65 billion), "Shrek" ($4 billion), "Toy Story" ($3.27 billion), "Ice Age" $3.2 billion), "Frozen" ($2.7 billion), "Madagascar ($2.25 billion), "Finding Nemo" ($1.9 billion), "The Incredibles" ($1.8 billion), and "How to Train Your Dragon" ($1.6 billion). You'll care to notice that DreamWorks has several entries on that list, making it an extremely valuable asset to Universal.

Looking at the bigger picture, Universal has been the unquestioned king of animation in the pandemic era. Not only is DreamWorks under the studio's umbrella, but they also have Illumination as well. Movies like "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," last year's monster hit "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and even originals like "Migration" have been there to pick up the slack. Several of Disney's recent animated releases like "Wish" and "Strange World" have failed to deliver the goods, and Universal has stepped up to fill that void.

DreamWorks has further capitalized on this franchise beyond the big screen as well, with "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" airing for three seasons on Netflix. It's been a very successful run, and there may be more to come. At the very least, this movie's run is far from over and that total will grow a lot before it's all said and done, as it still has many territories left to open in around the globe. 

"Kung Fu Panda 4" is in theaters now.

[aliquickly]

"Demon Slayer" (鬼滅の刃, Kimetsu no Yaiba) is a popular Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. It follows the story of a young boy named Tanjiro Kamado who becomes a demon slayer after his family is slaughtered by demons, with his younger sister Nezuko being turned into a demon herself. Tanjiro's goal is to find a way to cure his sister and avenge his family.

The manga was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from February 2016 to May 2020, with its chapters collected into 23 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. It gained immense popularity, becoming one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

"Demon Slayer" was adapted into an anime television series produced by Ufotable, which aired from April to September 2019. The anime received widespread acclaim for its animation quality, character development, and emotional depth. It helped propel the series to even greater heights of popularity.

The success of the anime also led to the production of a feature film titled "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train," which adapted the Mugen Train Arc from the manga. The film broke numerous box office records in Japan and internationally, becoming one of the highest-grossing films of all time in Japan.

The "Demon Slayer" franchise includes not only the manga and anime but also various light novels, video games, and merchandise. It has become a cultural phenomenon both in Japan and worldwide.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Interesting Statistic

Tweeted by Disney Animation Promos...

Before I start, I'll point something out here.

THE LION KING didn't gross nearly a billion dollars back in 1994-early 1995. That full total, which you can find on BoxOfficeMojo and various other sites, is made up of the original release (which itself stopped and re-started at one point), the 2002 IMAX-only re-release, and the 2011 3D re-release. The original 1994/95 take was around $768m, approximately... Which is still a monster total, and held the record for highest-earning animated movie until 2003, when Pixar's FINDING NEMO took the crown.

It's almost kind of... Rhythmic, in a way...

1990s... Movie that made $700m. 2000s, a movie that made little over... $300m... 2010s, big billion dollar hit and one of the highest grossing movies of all-time... 2020s... A movie that coughed up around $250m...

Wanna go back further? 1980s... Obviously, the biggest Disney animated feature at the box office - not counting any re-release totals - was THE LITTLE MERMAID, which made around $183m at the worldwide box office. That was an unprecedented total for an all-animated feature back in the day. Hybrid movie WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, a year and a half earlier, collected $329m worldwide. That same year, Don Bluth and Steven Spielberg's THE LAND BEFORE TIME made $84m worldwide, while the full worldwide total for Disney's OLIVER & COMPANY - released the same exact as the Bluth dino movie - has never been disclosed. The domestic take was $53m, a record at the time... LITTLE MERMAID was a big jump up from OLIVER and LAND BEFORE TIME... And things only got bigger and bigger, as evidenced by THE LION KING making over $700m worldwide. Animated movies in the mid-1990s were now sharing the big leagues with blockbusters like TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY and JURASSIC PARK, but also leggy sensations like FORREST GUMP.

The 1970s is where things get muddy, given limited box office data - especially worldwide data... But I *do* know that THE RESCUERS was the biggest at the time, and that the domestic take was somewhere around $16m. Nowhere near that top ten of 1977, for sure... Hey, did you know that THE RESCUERS was *massive* in Europe? Like, so massive, that it outgrossed STAR WARS that same year in both France and West Germany? That's wild, isn't it? A fairly slow-paced, slow-burn mystery movie with two mice made on a tight budget, beating out the big spectacle that redefined the escapist blockbuster landscape and the family film as a whole? French folk and Germans not trapped inside by the Iron Curtain seemed to feel so... France and West Germany always seemed to come to the rescue with Disney during the 1970s. The movies that did okay-ish over here, like THE ARISTOCATS and ROBIN HOOD, were blockbusters over in those territories. The secret weapon that kept Disney's animation division afloat during a period where it was in the danger of being shut down, and a period where it wasn't easy to convince Americans other than families and children to go see a Disney animated movie in the cinema.

Anyways, some context for the 1990s vs. the 2000s vs. the 2010s vs. this decade...

We all know the story. The '90s was the "Disney Renaissance", a mostly fruitful period where they came back with a wallop, and scored some of their most successful animated movies since the final years Walt Disney himself was among the living. THE LITTLE MERMAID proved to be Disney's biggest animated domestic hit in a long while, in terms of attendance, and did excellently worldwide. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING built upon that success, big time.

But then the grosses dwindled. Some audiences caught onto Disney kind of reusing the same musical comedy-adventure formula with each movie (such as with movies like HERCULES and MULAN), and some were turned off by what they felt was the studio biting off way more than they could chew (the misguided ambitions of POCAHONTAS and the darker but tonally all-over-the-map THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME). That said, Disney continued to score box office successes, take home some Oscars even (largely for musical categories), and get decent to good enough critical reception for most of the post-LION KING/pre-FANTASIA 2000 movies. By the time Disney switched it up with the genres, such as doing a zany buddy comedy with THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE, action-adventure with ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, and space opera with TREASURE PLANET... It was too late.

Those three movies came out in the early 2000s, a period when all-computer animated movies like Pixar's films and DreamWorks/PDI's spectacles were wowing audiences everywhere, and it also helped that the stories they were telling weren't the musical comedy-adventure romps that Disney Animation kept offering with each new movie. Pixar had buddy comedies TOY STORY 1 & 2, and Western-themed adventure A BUG'S LIFE, inventive workplace comedy MONSTERS, INC., and the perilous ocean adventure FINDING NEMO. PDI had the very PG ANTZ, and the very snarky and equally very farty SHREK. Audiences weren't moved by the trailers for movies like NEW GROOVE, ATLANTIS, and TREASURE PLANET... And they similarly ignored films like THE IRON GIANT, THE ROAD TO EL DORADO, and SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON. Beautifully hand-drawn movies, even if they changed up the stories a bit, just seemed same ol' same ol' to audiences. Throw a movie like SHARK TALE in front of them in 2004? Boom, big hit. As long as you were CG, competently made, and had some kind of edge, you were good to go in the early 2000s.

Hence why CHICKEN LITTLE of all things is the highest-earning Disney animated movie of the 2000s, if we’re excepting the hybrid collaboration film DINOSAUR, which only made about $20-something million more. This rather maligned 2005 movie even outgrossed the beloved LILO & STITCH, which made around $267m at the worldwide box office. That was a movie that had an enormous second life on DVD, and there was a brief Stitch-mania of sorts from around 2003-2006. A period where he was *everywhere*, to the point where he was as ubiquitous as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy... I was there, and I remember getting kinda tired of that little blue renegade, despite that I liked him and his movie. Very similar to how Disney aggressively shoved FROZEN front and center following its out-of-nowhere home run success, and trying to keep up with the demand for a movie they supposedly had muted confidence in when they were releasing it.

So the first half of the 2000s for Disney Animation was one 2D movie that did fine, and a bunch of movies that just didn't cut it. Even BROTHER BEAR, which made back its small East Coast budget, made $250m worldwide. That's a fine number, but when FINDING NEMO made $870m earlier that year... Yeah, things weren't looking great. Disney Animation switched to making all-CG movies, and while CHICKEN LITTLE made the most money of the pack, it was still pretty below what Pixar and DreamWorks racked up. MEET THE ROBINSONS was dumped, and BOLT was given a ho-hum release and consequently it just didn't make all that much for a 2008-release animated movie. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG ended the 2000s with a whimper, a 2D animated movie... and it sadly and predictably made less than $300m worldwide... and CG TANGLED, arriving one year later and starting off the 2010s for WDAS, collected nearly $600m worldwide.

The 2010s, with the exception of the 2D animated and left-for-dead WINNIE THE POOH, was like the 1990s. Hit after hit. WRECK-IT RALPH, FROZEN, BIG HERO 6, ZOOTOPIA, MOANA, a pair of sequels, etc. Oscars, too. Good critical reception. They were back to being a well-oiled hit machine that would've likely continued into this decade, if not for COVID-19 and the whole cinema landscape being upended...

The 2020s... The world shutting down, and the re-opening being very unpredictable before the release of a vaccine... Plus The Walt Disney Company also had a very sloppy CEO running the joint. Unlike Universal, who either waited things out (like delaying MINIONS Deux by two full years, and wound up with a monster gross for that movie) or tried experimental strategies with other movies (such as the strategy they tried for THE CROODS: A NEW AGE), Disney kind of screwed the pooch with many of their animated releases...

Disney largely seemed to be using WDAS' movies, and Pixar's movies too, more as a carrot to get people to subscribe to Disney+ during this lull period. And I will be fair, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON debuted before the vaccines really got out. That was in March 2021. I was 28 at the time, and didn't get my second Moderna jab until two months later. It was available for the elderly first, then middle-aged adults, then folks my age, then later teens and children. Maybe not the most ideal time to release a family movie, no matter what the strategy was. When I started going back to the movies in spring 2021, I didn't really order snacks much, I wore my mask when in the lobby. When Delta was cropping up, I kept my mask on, even in the auditorium. Omicron, I was back to working at said movie theater, so I was masked when with customers and out of the break room...

I still hold that, because WDAS and Pixar's films are so goddamn expensive... that they should've held some of them like how Universal did with MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU... At the same time, they did need something to release... So I understand their RAYA strategy, and ENCANTO was to get a month-long theatrical run but Delta happened, and it being on Disney+ in a matter of weeks probably conditioned audiences who knew of its existence to wait. (When I saw ENCANTO on a weekday, two or so weeks into release, maybe 4 other people were in the auditorium with me?) ENCANTO was deus-ex-machina'd by just how well it did on Disney+ and how incredibly well the soundtrack did. Not a box office hit, but huge in the second life. It's strangely a tradition for Disney animated movies... PINOCCHIO, FANTASIA, BAMBI, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, SLEEPING BEAUTY, etc. All flops on their initial releases, big favorites afterwards...

By the summer of 2022, audiences had fully returned to cinemas, and not just for Marvel movies. MINIONS 2 made nearly a billion, and there were other big hits in TOP GUN: MAVERICK, JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION, and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2. Animated movies like THE BAD GUYS and DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS did quite well, but were lower budgeted, so their grosses made the grade. Did Disney take advantage of this resurgence for their 2022 WDAS offering? No... They just straight up left STRANGE WORLD for dead, they let it wither on the vine. Poor test screenings drove that decision, and audiences who did see it on opening week... gave it sour grades, too. Sometimes I wonder, what if RAYA came out in fall 2021, and ENCANTO this past fall? Could've been a blockbuster, pre-Disney+...

Just a sticky situation all around that could've been handled differently. Two movies impacted by how things were going in the world, and another that they straight up lost faith in...

Now it is mid-2023. Cinemas are very much alive and well, animation is benefiting from it, too... but audiences aren't made of money, so choices are narrower than ever before. WISH, along with the other not-sequel movies WDAS is making and releasing this decade, have an uphill battle to face. It's no surprise that ZOOTOPIA 2 and FROZEN III are in the works, partially because they're easy hits. Franchise favorites. They'll probably single-handedly make back the money RAYA, ENCANTO and STRANGE WORLD lost as theatrical titles. Expect at least another sequel to come out before 2030, likely a second ENCANTO. It's also no surprise that WISH is being marketed and positioned as this "definitive" Disney film, and being previewed as a sort-of "origin story" for all fantastical Disney animated movies. The teaser has a silly title card that says it was a story "centuries in the making"... They really want and need this thing to be their first bona fide box office success since... 2019's FROZEN II... And omitting sequels, since 2016's MOANA... Damn!

And I certainly hope it does well, it seems like the kind of movie that *would* come to the rescue when things aren't looking too hot. It's why I'm really curious to know what's after WISH, as in... Movies that aren't ZOOTOPIA 2 and FROZEN III, both of which seem to be deep in development and quite a while away. STRANGE WORLD's failure stung me because it happens all too often when Disney Animation tries on clothes that it doesn't normally wear in the post-Walt era. Like ATLANTIS, TREASURE PLANET, and MEET THE ROBINSONS before it, a sci-fi-flavored adventure movie with no musical numbers went belly-up. On the other side of the coin, Disney Animation - this past decade - scored hits with the video game adventure WRECK-IT RALPH, the superhero comedy BIG HERO 6, and the sorta police procedural/48 hours-almost-political conspiracy tale ZOOTOPIA. These balanced out the familiar musical comedy-adventures - TANGLED, FROZEN, and MOANA - quite nicely... So, I do hope that the post-WISH movies still play around and even experiment. I wouldn't want repeats.

With various complications out of the way, they now have to really battle for audience dollars and make the rest of this decade an upswing for them. Especially for leader Jennifer Lee, who assumed the mantle in 2018. Her tenure consisted of two sequels that were locked to do well to begin with, and then a couple of original movies that got affected by a worldwide crisis, and then a movie that was screwed. WISH should be her first not-sequel hit, a movie she apparently co-wrote, too. And a movie directed by her FROZEN partner, Chris Buck. Chris hasn't had a duff film there yet, his TARZAN made its money back in 1999, FROZEN and FROZEN II, need I say more? WISH likely continues his own little hit streak.

How well it does remains to be seen. Maybe a movie that comes out later this year, and not FROZEN III, is the surprise and takes the decade box office crown... Maybe not. Whatever happens, I hope WDAS claws its way out of the COVID-19 mess and keeps up with the other heavies.