Context is everything. When a movie comes out and grosses, let’s say, $345 million or $262 million worldwide, usually that’s good. It’s a lot of money. But when those movies are from franchises whose previous installments have made over $1 billion, $300 million or so starts to look much less impressive.
$345 million and $262 million, by the way, are the current global box office totals for Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action remake of Moana, both of which were released by Disney this summer. Neither has lived up to box office expectations and, on a recent earnings call, Variety reported that Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro admitted as much. However, he explained that Disney movies can’t be judged solely on box office receipts. “Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana, our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company,” D’Amaro said. He continued, “The Mandalorian and Grogu drove healthy growth in retail sales for the Star Wars franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well,” D’Amaro said. “And the live-action Moana is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most-streamed movies of all time.”
