Two of the three biggest box office bombs of 2022 were both animated Disney movies that, when combined, lost the company more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
“Strange World” was easily the biggest bust of 2022 and lost Disney almost $200 million while receiving the lowest audience score in the history of Disney animated films with a “B” rating.
In total, according to Deadline, the film had a $317.4 million budget and earned just $73.6 million at the box office.
‘STRANGE WORLD’ receives a B on CinemaScore
Read our review: https://t.co/IgcA16bQH4 pic.twitter.com/7ltij0cwGg
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) November 24, 2022
“Lightyear” came in third on the list of biggest flops in 2022 as it lost $106 million at the box office earning the lowest CinemaScore of any “Toy Story” movie and a 74 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 90 percent and above received by every other film in the franchise.
The common theme between these movies and the reason that they both lost more money than any other animated film in Disney history is the showcasing of woke ideology that permeates both films.
“Strange World” is a story centered around a family of explorers that must save their own society by going on a journey to a treacherous, subterranean land. With a good storyline and an A-plus cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, and Gabrielle Union, the movie was sure to be a hit.
Instead, Disney pushed the envelope and featured the first openly gay main character in an animated Disney film. At one point, the 14-year-old character opens up to his grandfather about his same-sex crush on a classmate.
“Lightyear” also had all of the makings of a box office hit. The “Toy Story” franchise is one of Disney’s most successful and beloved stories until the company’s woke agenda took center stage.
The movie moved away from the normal “Toy Story” tone choosing instead to focus on a science fiction angle and featuring a same-sex kiss that was initially removed from the movie but reinstated prior to its release.
Pixar CCO Pete Docter commented on the financial and critical disappointment of “Lightyear,” according to The Wrap.
“We’ve done a lot of soul-searching about that because we all love the movie. We love the characters and the premise. I think probably what we’ve ended on in terms of what went wrong is that we asked too much of the audience. When they hear Buzz, they’re like, ‘Great, where’s Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex?’ And then we drop them into this science fiction film that they’re like, ‘What?'” Docter said.
Similarly, critics and executives defended “Strange World” focusing on COVID-19, foreign countries banning the movie for its on-screen LBGT representation, and poor marketing as the primary reasons that the movie flopped.
Film critic Christian Toto had a different take on the two colossal animated Disney failures, Fox Business reported.
“Hollywood doesn’t fully grasp the ‘go woke, go broke’ mantra, but some executives are getting the message. We’ve seen woke regrets at Netflix and Warner Bros .… Disney may soon realize that woke isn’t a money-making position. We have decades of wonderful, woke-free content for parents to consider,” Toto said.
Interestingly, the top-grossing movie in 2022 was “Top Gun: Maverick” and the top two animated films were “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” All three movies stayed far away from woke ideology and focused on creating a fun experience for moviegoers.
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