Over the years, various studios face backlash for different reasons and this time, Disney has a controversy on their hands as many claim that the reason Strange World flopped during its release on Thanksgiving is because of its lack of advertising as compared to other titles, and its goal of inclusion.
Disney's Strange World Controversy: Why Did The Movie Flop?
From the very start, it has been quite expected that Disney would be in trouble for Strange World as the release of the movie over Thanksgiving only bagged around $20 to $30 million which is quite a bad start and it could only get worse from thereon as the movie projects a $100 million loss for the studio.
In a report from The Hollywood Reporter, so far, throughout the 43-year history of Disney Animation, all of its titles got no less than A- on CinemaScore and for the first time, with Strange World, Disney Animation got a B.
While there are a lot of things that could have contributed to the flop of Strange World, a possible reason could be its lack of advertisement, something that has been apparent since the start and people online even called out Disney for it. Here are some of the comments:
The timing of its release affected the box office return of Strange World, too, given that it came out when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still in theaters, and that could have contributed to the reason why the movie flopped.
READ MORE: Bob Iger Returns To Replace Bob Chapek As Disney CEO
The audience also got a mixed reaction on the movie about bringing in Ethan Clade, a biracial gay character whose presence has been praised by some because of its promise of representation and inclusion with his LGBTQ+ identity being a huge part of his narrative.
On the other side of the coin, there are those who couldn't accept that Disney released a movie with a gay lead, even mocking Disney for their goal of inclusion and representation. While it is already 2022, having a movie that calls for social justice or political correctness like Strange World could lead to a flop.
Strange World features the voice of Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, Dennis Quaid as Jaeger Clade, Jaboukie Young-White as Ethan Clade, Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, and Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal.
Strange World is now out in theaters.