Is This the Beginning of the End of Woke Hollywood?

Maybe. It is a sad commentary that the success or failure of any film should depend on anything other than its quality, but that is what Woke Hollywood believed. ‘The Marvels’ Director Nia DaCosta Reveals Kevin Feige Lukewarm On Her Pitches For A Sequel, Says Success Of Female-Led Films Now Depends On “Whether Or Not The Movie’s Good”

What was it supposed to depend on?

“In terms of women-led films and women as superheroes in particular, and excitement around that, I think it’s really just about whether or not the movie’s good,” said the Candyman (2021) director.

The hat tip goes to The Dave Cullen Show and Finally! The Penny Drops! This is a worthwhile video, and it is only 7 minutes.

Now the whole "come see this movie and fight against [whatever]," was a genius piece of marketing. It even worked briefly. Disney was able to convince a lot of people that if you went to see Black Panther you were fighting racism. And the fact that it made a ton of money for Disney? "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." And that was a fairly good movie. Not great, but above average. Not as bad as Eternals, or a couple of other Marvel films.

But that bit of marketing seems to have lost its magic.

Personally, I will no longer give my money to Hollywood unless I am really convinced that it is to see a first rate movie. The movies are too long, and too expensive to waste time and money on inferior products. The few Marvel or DC movies that I have seen in the past few years via streaming, or when they were finally released on DVD made me glad I didn't waste money to see them in the theater. The aforementioned example, Eternals was one of several movies where I was really glad I didn't pay 10 or 12 bucks to see it in a theater. (2 or 3 bucks at Redbox was probably too much.)

Disney is bleeding money. First at the Box Office: Disney Loses BILLIONS at the Box Office.

The Walt Disney Company has had a rough time at the box office for a year and a half. Poor numbers with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), Strange World (2022), Lightyear (2022), and others have caused the studio to lose hundreds of millions with each film. This unfortunate trend for Walt Disney Studios seems to be staying on track with Haunted Mansion (2023). In fact, the film may lose the studio another $225 million, bringing Disney’s total to a nearly $2 billion loss at the box office over the past 15 months. [My emphasis. Z-Deb]

Disney is also losing hundreds of millions of dollars on streaming. Disney Bleeds $512 Million on Streaming Services as Hulu, Disney+ Prices Soar. That number is for their latest fiscal quarter. It was considered a "win," because they only lost half-a-billion dollars in the last 3 months, as opposed to the 700 or so million dollars they were expected to lose. In three months. That is 5.6 million dollars lost every day. But then they lost a billion dollars in the same quarter in the previous year.

I've heard rumors that the attendance at the parks is also falling off, and while I can believe that, I haven't found any definitive data. I haven't looked too hard, either. But why go to the parks? For more of the Woke messaging, which really is in the parks today? To partake in how much you love the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and spend thousands per night at the Star-Wars-themed Galactic Cruiser hotel? (If that last one is true, you better hurry, it is closing soon which will cost Disney another quarter of a billion dollars in write-offs.)

There are once again rumors that Disney is going to be purchased by Apple. That would face some major hurdles in this country and Europe from the regulators, but I think it will only hasten the demise of a once-great company. Not that they aren't doing a fine job of burning Walt Disney's legacy to the ground without the help of big tech.