Major studios and entertainment producers are still struggling to find a productive model for movies in the streaming era, andDisneyis not an exception. The Mouse’s company has been dealing with the problem for a while now, and with so many blockbusters bombing at the box office but garnering millions of views on Disney+, they are far from resolving the question of how to shoot and distribute films successfully, economically speaking, of course. In particular, with so many live-action remakes of classic animated movies being produced, the conundrum of where to premiere it is affecting the performance of each new film, independently of the critics and audience’s perception of them.
Whereas the paradigm was different before the pandemic hit, now, Disney seems to pay closer attention to what is released first in cinemas vs. what goes directly to its streaming service. The result has mostly not been good, partly because the return on investment from theaters is much more transparent than that from a direct-to-streaming movie. Yet, if the studio doesn’t develop a solution for this pickle soon, it might take some drastic decisions, like cutting these productions for a while. Here’s a brief history of why and how it has come to this.
Disney’s Jump to the Streaming Era and Its Effect on Film Releases
Long before the studio explored theidea of including ads, Disney+ was first released in November 2019 for a monthly/annual subscription in a limited set of countries, from the US to New Zealand. Suddenly, a substantial part of the immense content library of classics from the most famous entertainment company in the world became available as part of the extensive catalog through streaming.
Related:15 Best Classic Older Movies on Disney+ to Watch Right Now
Disney Plus' launch didn’t stop the company from continuing its busy schedule of movie releases in theaters. In fact, any relevant film was set to be premiered in cinemas, with occasional exceptions of direct-to-stream cases. Like many other major entertainment companies, this equation changed for good with the pandemic.
For a while, films that were already completed would premiere exclusively on Disney+, as cinemas weren’t an option. A curious case (or a short-lived experiment) wasMulan’s live-action reboot from 2020. Slated for theatrical release, COVID-19 pushed it away until it was added to the Disney+ catalog as “Premiere Access” content. This meant that viewers with an active subscription had to pay extra to watch the film, which clearly didn’t go well, as it was used for a few movies later on (with parallel theater releases).
What’s the Best Place for Live-Action Remakes From Disney?
After a few years, Disney has already recreated some of the studio’s most beloved movies with real-life actors and actresses. Titles likeAladdin,The Lion King, andPeter Panhave been retold through new perspectives, with varying results in terms of reception and box office. It would be unfair to say that Disney doesn’t look after the quality of its remakes as long as they sell movie tickets/garner views. However, earning money from ticket sales is still an important source of income for any entertainment company. It has been subject to disputes between the studio and actors, as it happened toScarlett Johanson’s legal battlewith Marvel for 2021’sBlack Widow.
The particular case for live-action remakes can be synthesized in two examples:Peter Pan & WendyandThe Little Mermaid, both from 2023, a particular year for blockbusters. For the former, the story of the boy who never grew up, one of Disney’s most adored franchises, the reboot skipped movie theaters, which ultimately raised questions of thestudio’s faith in the film’s performance, something that had already happened to the poorly-received 2022-version ofPinocchio.
In the case of Ariel’s feature film, the film did not go as well as expected while in theaters but was a massive hit in terms of viewership on Disney+. This doesn’t necessarily mean that cinematic releases flopped, but it does show that certain remakes do not bring people to cinemas as they used to, probably for many reasons, from the controversial changes to the obvious decline of moviegoing worldwide.
Related:Is Disney’s Snow White Live-Action Remake Destined to Fail?
The silver lining is that Disney still doesn’t have an answer to the initial question of where to premiere its live-action remakes. Not only are there consequences for choosing one over the other, but it probably is not as lucrative as the studio expects, something that can halt these types of productions altogether. Furthermore, turning these relevant IPs into mid-budget films to cut costs would actually impact both quality and audiences' perception of it, something Marvel has already suffered from. Until Disney finds a new formula for this, viewers can only expect future live-action remakes to be moreexperiments with mixed results.
