On January 2nd, 2020, Deadline’s Nancy Tartaglione reported that Disney had earned $13.5 billion. All thanks to big releases such as Avengers Endgame, the end of Star Wars’ sequel trilogy, and The Lion King. However, three years later, news outlets now speculated Disney’s future as they earned $4.8 billion. An 8.7 billion decrease for the company.

This economic downturn isn’t a phenomenon that’s only happening to Disney. Several studios from across the film industry have suffered through several box office bombs. This isn’t even exclusive to the year 2023. Since COVID-19 vaccine becoming widely available, it has become a huge struggle to bring back pre-pandemic revenue streams. So the big question everyone across the filming community has is, why is this happening? The answer is quite a handful to explain.

The Hardships of Entertainment During COVID-19

When the lockdown happened, the way we communicated had to evolve, as we weren’t allowed to see anyone without possibly risking the health of others. The world had to adapt to being isolated from family, friends, and co-workers; seeing them behind a screen was the only way to do it. The world had adapted to Zoom meetings for doctor appointments, meetings, school, etc.

The pandemic affected the film industry, with plenty of upcoming releases moving from the silver screen to streaming platforms like Disney+ or Netflix. However, when we were finally allowed to go outside with some limitations, it was hard for everyone to return to the rhythm of being publicly social again. Gathering in a group to watch films in the theater was challenging to return to after getting comfortable with streaming new movies.

The Worth of A Theater-going Experience

Another problem the public faced was the economic issues plaguing many Americans. With the world facing geopolitical tensions, the economy dropped, and prices rose. Suddenly, the world had become more expensive to live in, let alone survive. So, if they wanted to go to a theater to experience a movie amongst several people, it had to be a film worth every dollar. The lack of resources to go to the theatre resulted in six films so far that have managed to cross a billion dollars since the new decade: Barbie, Top Gun Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Jurassic World: Dominion.

While Jurassic World Dominion is an odd case, the remaining five have a good reason for reaching that mark. Top Gun and Avatar’s sequels built up years of anticipation during their long production. No Way Home catalyzed Spider-Man film history, cementing Tom Holland’s version into Marvel history. The Mario movie was Nintendo’s second attempt to make an adaption of their video game mascot. Finally, Barbie was an example of lightning in a bottle, having excellent marketing, a choice of cast, and a director building up a following with her films. Each film is an event people had to experience, unlike projects like The Flash or 2023’s Little Mermaid, which, in the public’s eye, had no reason to watch or exist.

While I don’t see theaters going down under shortly, I see this changing the way studios tackle such releases. However, I hope that those in charge learn the right lessons instead of trying to fit ideas in a formula by playing it safe, telling the same story in the same genre with the same style. I believe that they should start taking risks, telling stories with a distinct flair without being afraid of being strange and unconventional. Let creative people take charge to give audience go-ers something they have never seen before. Let them tell a story, not to build up to something bigger; instead, let them tell a story they are passionate about.

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Works Cited
Barker, Stephen. “6 Movies That Have Made $1 Billion At The Box Office Since 2020, Ranked.” Screen Rant, August 23rd 2023, https://screenrant.com/billion-dollar-movies-box-office-2020/. Accessed April 25th, 2024.
Rubin, Rebecca. “Universal Overtakes Disney as Highest-Grossing Studio at 2023 Box Office.” Variety, January 2nd 2024, https://variety.com/2024/film/box-office/universal-overtakes-disney-highest-grossing-studio-box-office-1235859823/. Accessed April 23rd 2024.
Tartaglione, Nancy. “Disney’s Global Box Office Year: Mouse Roars To Record $13.2B.” Deadline, January 2nd 2020, https://deadline.com/2020/01/disney-global-box-office-year-record-2019-13-billion-1202819721/. Accessed April 23rd, 2024.