Orlando Swamp To Mega-Profitable Amusement Park(s)

Business Insider retells the story of Orlando, Florida being majorly transformed fifty years ago:

What Disney did in the 1960s, in terms of buying [Orlando-area] land in secret, could obviously never, ever happen again. This was a one-and-done type of operation in terms of how secretive it was. ... If they were doing that now, they would be on the FBI's watch list. ...

Michael Eisner had a bit to do with Disney becoming a gargantuan media company, as did Robert Iger. But the game-changer was thirty thousand acres of orange groves, pastureland and swampy bogs getting bought up by Walt Disney Productions more than a half-century back.

Without the amusement parks, Disney would never have become the Berksire-Hathaway of entertainment conglomerates, owning multiple studios, television networks and large swaths of real estate that circles the globe.

Newer Grinch

So Chuck Jones did it over a half-century ago, Jim Carrey did it in the 1990s, and now ...

Illumination Entertainment rolls out its version November 9th. The new intertion will likely have a Despicable Me/Minions tilt to it, which is probably a good thing from a commercial standpoint.

From a Suessian standpoint? We'll see.

March Of The Theater Grosses

"Red Sparrow" is the latest wide release with a major star to take on "Black Panther" ... and come up #2. (And "BP" has no crossed the $500 million mark in domestic box office.)

Peter Rabbit declines a smallish 21.6% and now occupies the fifth slot on the Box Office List. Aardman's Early Man nosedives 72.7% and now sits at the 21st position. Rabbit has collected over $84 million in four weeks while Early Man has taken in $7,737,449 in three. Yikes!

THREE DAYS OF BOX OFFICE

1) Black Panther (DIS), 4,084 theaters (+64) / $16.3M Fri /$30M Sat/ $19.4M Sun/ 3-day: $65.7M (-41%)/Total: $501.1M/Wk 3

2) Red Sparrow (FOX), 3,056 theaters / $6M Fri (includes $1.2M previews)/$6.7M Sat/ $4.3M Sun/3-day: $17M /Wk 1

3) Death Wish (MGM), 2,847 theaters / $4.2m Fri (includes $650K previews)/$5.2M Sat/ $3.5M Sun/3-day: $13M /Wk 1

4) Game Night (NL/WB), 3,502 theaters (+14) / $3m Fri /$4.8M Sat/ $2.9M Sun/3-day: $10.7M (-37%)/Total: $33.5M/Wk 2

5) Peter Rabbit (SONY), 3,607 theaters (-100) / $2M Fri /$4.7M Sat/ $3.2M Sun/3-day: $10M (-22%) /Total: $84M/Wk 4

6) Annihilation (PAR), 2,112 theaters (+100)/ $1.5M Fri /$2.4M Sat/ $1.75M Sun/3-day: $5.65M (-49%)/Total: $20.6M/Wk 2

7) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (SONY), 2,313 theaters (-206) / $1M Fri /$2.1M Sat/ $1.3M Sun/3-day: $4.5M (-20%)/Total:$393.2M/ Wk 11

8) Fifty Shades Freed (UNI), 2,614 theaters (-651) / $1M Fri /$1.5M Sat/ $750K Sun/3-day: $3.3M(-54%)/Total: $95.6M /Wk 4

9) The Greatest Showman (FOX), 1,407 theaters (-194) / $715K Fri /$1.2M Sat/ $755K Sun/ 3-day: $2.67M (-22%)/Total: $164.6M/Wk 11

10) Every Day (OR), 1,669 theaters / $455K Fri /$729K Sat/ $376K Sun/3-day: $1.56M (-48%)/Total: $5.3M/Wk 2

The Rocketeer

Disney Jr. launches a new show:

... Production on The Rocketeer, a new animated adventure series aimed at kids 2-7 and inspired by Dave Stevens’ comic book series. It’s set to premiere in 2019. ...

As stated elsewhere, Disney TVA requires show developers to jump through multiple hoops before a show is greenlit for production: there's the testing of elaborate animatics (almost shows in themselves). There are also focus groups of young kids. There is more testing.

All these things mean shows are in work a looong time. So congratulations to the development team for jumping all the hurdles and getting the new series on the air.

* This show isn't to be confused with the live-action Disney film also titled "The Rocketerr" that came and went a quarter-cntury ago during the J. Katzenberg era. The current "Rocketeer" is a totally different animal.

Silver Bear

So Bill Murray picks up a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival on behalf of Wes Anderson for Isle of Dogs. Mr. Anderson won for "Best Director", and the award seems appropriate, since Wes Anderson delivers viewing experiences that are often memorable*.

“I never thought I’d go to work as a dog and come home with a bear. I’m glad I was deputized to watch the house here in case anything like this broke out… I’d like to be one more person from America to say ‘Ich bin ein Berliner Hund‘” ...

So congratulations to Mr. Anderson. May his animated feature live long and break box office records.

* I haven't seen the movie, so I will assume it's as memorable as the other Anerson films I have seen.

Late February Domestic Box Office

"Game Night's" collected good reviews but only sold enough tickets to come in second to the gargantuan "Black Panther".

Two animated features are in the Top Ten, but Early Man falls to the bottom of the list:

Three Days of Ticket Sales

1) Black Panther (DIS), 4,020 theaters (0) / $28.8M Fri (-62%) /3-day: $104.1M (-48%)/Total: $396M/Wk 2

2) Game Night (NL/WB), 3,488 theaters / $5.6m Fri (includes $1M previews)/3-day: $15.1M /Wk 1

3) Peter Rabbit (SONY), 3,707 theaters (-18) / $2.8M Fri (-30%) /3-day: $12.1M (-31%) /Total: $70.8M/Wk 3

4) Annihilation (PAR), 2,012 theaters / $3.85m Fri (includes $900k previews)/3-day: $10.7M /Wk 1

5) Fifty Shades Freed (UNI), 3,265 theaters (-503) / $2.3M Fri (-59%)/3-day: $6.9M(-60%)/Total: $89.5M/Wk 3

6) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (SONY), 2,519 theaters (-281) / $1.3M Fri (-28%)/3-day: $5.6M (-29%)/Total: $387.2M/ Wk 10

7) The 15:17 to Paris (WB), 2,752 theaters (-290) / $995K Fri (-52%)/3-day: $3.54M(-53%)/Total: $32.1M/ Wk 3

8) The Greatest Showman (FOX), 1,601 theaters (-335) / $910K Fri (-31%) / 3-day: $3.4M (-32%)/Total: $160.7M/Wk 10

9) Every Day (OR), 1,667 theaters / $1M Fri (includes $115k previews)/3-day: $3M /Wk 1

10) Early Man (LG), 2,494 theaters / $353K Fri (-58%)/3-day: $1.4M (-55%)/Total: $6.5M/Wk 2

Coco, more or less gone from U.S. theaters but still pulling in money globally, has reached $732,302,948 in world box office.

Meantime, Ferdinand has earned $282,942,218, though only $82,569,409 comes from the U.S. and Canada. (When all the money has funneled into Fox/Disney, the picture should make a small profit.)

Director Exits Disney

This kind of musical chairs deal happens from time to time ...

Skydance Media has entered into a multiyear deal with Nathan Greno (Tangled) to direct the company’s upcoming animated feature film Powerless (working title). Under the agreement, Greno, an animation veteran, will also consult on projects currently in development. ...

There are, I think, a couple of things at work here.

1) Mr. Greno's feature project Gigantic, which was in development a long time, was put on the Mouse of Mouse's shelf several months ago. The studio only makes a few projects in a given year or three, and if your movie gets pushed off the runway, you will likely go to the back of the line with the next project. And do you really want to wait around for years waiting for another slot? Likely not.

2) Today, upper-tier animation talent has options. It isn't just Disney or Hanna-Barbera's low-budget feature department anymore. Lots of studios are now in the theatrical animation game. Some make product in north America, some make projects in Europe and Asia. Skydance Media has a production deal with Ilion Studios in Spain, but the development on Powerless will probably be done in Southern California. And Mr. Greno will (unless I miss my guess) put together a story and design team in Southern California, then take airplane trips to Spain as the project moves along.

Animation isn't a small, sleepy industry anymore. It's not exactly live-action, but it's closer to being "mainstream Hollywood" than it was when Disney Feature Animation was the only big-screen game going. Congratulations to Mr. Greno on signing on to a new field of dreams.