Did Previous Pixar Streaming Releases Tank ‘Lightyear’ In Theaters?
After a brutal spring that cost Disney one chief communications officer, one special taxing jurisdiction, and the regard of thousands of employees and customers, CEO Bob Chapek finally got something out of Florida that he actually wanted: a contract extension.
But Chapek’s Florida win came alongside another potential concern: did the pandemic-forced decision to send a string of Pixar projects straight to Disney+ acclimate audiences to seeing family-friendly animated projects only on streaming? Even as films head back to theaters, are fans getting used to waiting just a short time to see them at home?
The questions have arisen because Toy Story spinoff Lightyear has notably underperformed as the first Pixar feature to debut in theaters since the pandemic hit weeks after Chapek became CEO.
Lightyear has received solid, if not great, critical reviews. But given Pixar’s sterling track record, that seems unlikely to have kept away Toy Story fans, never mind the millions of families figuring out what to do with the kids amid summer’s first heat waves.
Regardless, the box office has been decidedly underwhelming. The film’s opening weekend in mid-June attracted $50.5 million in domestic gross, way below industry expectations. Since then, it has grossed another $41.3 million from U.S. theaters.
Internationally, the film has attracted $64 million in box-office gross, for a worldwide total after nearly two weeks of $155.9 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Those sound like big numbers but are fairly miserable for a fabled studio’s signature franchise. Overall, Pixar films have generated a combined $14.7 billion in box office.
Admittedly, theaters are overstuffed with competing blockbusters right now. Top Gun: Maverick just crossed the $1 billion mark in box office after a month in theaters. Another high-profile sequel, Jurassic World: Dominion, out-dueled Lightyear for the top box office spot in their joint debut two weekends ago.
Last weekend was even worse, with Lightyear fifth in domestic gross, behind Baz Luhrman’s Elvis biopic, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic Park Dominion, and even low-budget horror film The Black Phone. That’s not a good sign for a family film that would normally be expected to have “legs” selling tickets for many weeks after its debut.
Have the herds of families who swear by the kid-friendly virtues of Disney+ decided they’d rather save the money on a theater visit for the whole family and wait for Lightyear to show up on streaming later this summer?
After all, Disney+ just debuted a bunch of attractive new shows — series like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ms. Marvel, and Baymax! — not to mention the feature Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The latter, yet another blockbuster Marvel sequel, debuted in theaters less than two months ago, grossing $950.3 million worldwide gross. Now it’s on Disney+, perfect for a family movie night, at home.
Why spend $100 or more on theater tickets, parking and concessions to see an imperfect Pixar film when you can wait less than two months and see it along with everything else on Disney+?
Don’t forget that the average theater ticket price was $9.19 in 2019 (the last year the National Association of Theater Owners compiled that information). Disney+ costs $7.99 a month, or $79.99 for a discounted annual subscription.
That means you could watch all of Disney+ for a whole year for less than a family of four would expect to spend during a single night at the theater. And Lightyear will likely be on Disney+ before the kids return to school in late August. Seems like a no-brainer decision for many families.
If that reasoning is widespread, particularly at a time of steep inflation and tighter wallets, it has implications for Disney’s many-layered distribution strategies, certainly those affecting the big-budget, family-friendly animated projects from crown jewel Pixar and the rest of Disney’s animation division.
Those projects in turn fuel other crucial parts of Disney’s vaunted “washing machine” of IP, begetting theme park rides, merchandise, books, music, live events, and further spinoffs, reboots, sequels and brand extensions.
As Disney keeps touting a goal of 230 million to 260 million streaming subscribers for its four online services by the end of 2024, it’s going to need some continued thinking about the interplay of shorter theatrical windows and streaming strategies if it’s going to maximize returns on one of its tentpole products.
So, congrats on the contract extension, Bob. But as the Lightyear questions multiply the complexities of streaming success in a Multiplatform world, once again we’re reminded that nothing in Florida is easy these days.