Lightyear | 6/17/22 | Disney/Pixar | PUPPY INTERVIEW FRIDAY SO NO REASON TO SEE MOVIE NOW. FLOP INCOMING

[BadOlCatSylvester]

10 hours ago, filmlover said:

Thank you for being a voice of reason.

 

They're not likely to make any final decisions until after Sonic 2 opens. And even then, Disney just joined CinemaCon at the end of April and they wouldn't rob them of a possible in-person appearance from Icon Evans (which doesn't happen if the movie goes straight to streaming).

In that case they'll simply wait until after CinemaCon to announce the inevitable shift.

[filmlover]

1 minute ago, BadOlCatSylvester said:

In that case they'll simply wait until after CinemaCon to announce the inevitable shift.

They won't. By the end of April the movie's marketing will be in full swing and their decision about how it's going to be released will have already been finalized. They also know they would face more backlash than any of their previous D+ pivots considering this movie (unlike those original, and therefore "risky," titles) was made primarily to make money in theaters.

[Potiki]

1 hour ago, Seth Irskens said:

Pixar needs to sue and not leave disney. If this report is confirmed on Wednesday.

Pixar is Disney, they will not sue because they can't.

 

At worst there may be an employee walkout but even that seems unlikely as this has nothing to do with money or bad working conditions. 

 

Some employees may choose to leave (which I would welcome in general to be honest, it is always good to have competition) but if they want theatrical none of the other major animation studios are really assured of offering that as Universal, Warner, Paramount and Sony have all sent or sold animated movies to streaming during the pandemic. We will see what the Skydance/Apple partnership does in terms of theatrical but that is still an unknown but I'd imagine a short window at best due to TV+

[Porthos]

17 minutes ago, BadOlCatSylvester said:

In that case they'll simply wait until after CinemaCon to announce the inevitable shift.

 

If EC is adamant that it's staying in theaters, maybe there's a reason why (and they just can't tell us in so many words).

[lab276]

Biggest pandemic animated movies in Australia

 

Peter Rabbit 2 22m

The Croods 2 21.6m
Sing 2 19.5m

Space Jam 13m

Tom and Jerry 10.8m

Raya and the Last Dragon 10.2m

Trolls World Tour 9.4m

Encanto 6.3m

 

🤔

 

[ThomasNicole]

While talking about Lightyear, Chapek said again it's coming on June but didn't mentioned theaters.

 

He mentioned theaters for MCU and Avatar tho.

 

Honestly, i'm fully expecting this to be another D+ movie, they clearly don't care, PIXAR deserved so much better.

[Eric is Quiet]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:44 PM, EmpireCity said:

It is 1000000% not going to Disney+.  It is theatrical only.  

Do you have a source? Do you actually have the insider knowledge that it will be theatrical no matter what? Because everything else has been very, very coy when it comes to if the film will be theatrical only, which we haven't gotten with other films. And it's well-documented, in my eyes, that Disney has a waning interest in theatrical revenue.

[EmpireCity]

9 minutes ago, Eric Says Trans Rights said:

Do you have a source? Do you actually have the insider knowledge that it will be theatrical no matter what? Because everything else has been very, very coy when it comes to if the film will be theatrical only, which we haven't gotten with other films. And it's well-documented, in my eyes, that Disney has a waning interest in theatrical revenue.

 

Yes, I have a source and will absolutely confirm that it is theatrical only.  Also, if you aren't watching, Bob Chapek continues to get beat up from all sides.  His ad tier of Disney+ move is largely being seen as desperation and a cheapening move to try and shore up his subscriber numbers.  He also is getting beat to shit today over the Don't Say Gay controversy.  

 

There are people at Disney that very much have a giant interest in theatrical revenue and realize that the way forward is to maximize it, not minimize it.  

 

Feel free to bump this and get your glory over me down the road if Lightyear ends up anything other than a theatrical release.  

[HouseOfTheSun]

1 minute ago, EmpireCity said:

 

Yes, I have a source and will absolutely confirm that it is theatrical only.  Also, if you aren't watching, Bob Chapek continues to get beat up from all sides.  His ad tier of Disney+ move is largely being seen as desperation and a cheapening move to try and shore up his subscriber numbers.  He also is getting beat to shit today over the Don't Say Gay controversy.  

 

There are people at Disney that very much have a giant interest in theatrical revenue and realize that the way forward is to maximize it, not minimize it.  

 

Feel free to bump this and get your glory over me down the road if Lightyear ends up anything other than a theatrical release.  

Like the source that told you Pixar was going to go to war publicly and that people wanted to break off and make their own animation company, hmm? 

[Eric is Quiet]

1 minute ago, EmpireCity said:

 

Yes, I have a source and will absolutely confirm that it is theatrical only.  Also, if you aren't watching, Bob Chapek continues to get beat up from all sides.  His ad tier of Disney+ move is largely being seen as desperation and a cheapening move to try and shore up his subscriber numbers.  He also is getting beat to shit today over the Don't Say Gay controversy.  

 

There are people at Disney that very much have a giant interest in theatrical revenue and realize that the way forward is to maximize it, not minimize it.  

 

Feel free to bump this and get your glory over me down the road if Lightyear ends up anything other than a theatrical release.  

Then why aren't they saying "Lightyear is coming to theaters"? If they were so confident like you are suggesting, they would say so.

[BadOlCatSylvester]

You can tell from the investor meeting that they still don't really know what to do with this, hence the lack of mentions about a release outlet. They'll likely wait and see how Turning Red performs to make their final decision.

 

Another thing to keep in mind are the circumstances that Lightyear is being released around. Turning Red likely went to Disney+ because they badly need content for March until Moon Knight is ready for release. That decision was also made during the rampage of Omicron and the general backdrop of theatrical animation failing to reach profitability ever since society was turned on its head. Sing 2 did okay, but it was made for peanuts and $350M isn't exactly a large wad of cash. Not when we were getting billion dollar toons like Incredibles 2, both Frozen movies and the Lion King remake just a few years ago.

 

With Lightyear, while theatrical animation is still on life support, there aren't really any other hurdles for it. Disney+ has Obi-Wan running through June which should keep subscribers busy. Omicron isn't really a concern anymore, and there aren't any more megavariants on the horizon... yet.

 

It might still shift, but it's not an absolute certainty. Just my two cents.

[AniNate]

I really don't understand why everyone is trying to look for "hints" about its release strategy. Like, what is gained besides raising everyone's anxiety about it and the hollow thrill of "calling it"? This thread's gonna explode with outrage about an official Disney+ move if it does come regardless.

[EmpireCity]

2 minutes ago, Eric Says Trans Rights said:

Then why aren't they saying "Lightyear is coming to theaters"? If they were so confident like you are suggesting, they would say so.

 

They don't for Doctor Strange either.  Are you thinking that is going to streaming as well?  Disney stopped putting it on anything in the middle of last year.  

[AniNate]

I could've sworn Chapek didn't specify theaters for any of the movies he mentioned but I'd have to wait for the recording upload to verify.

[XXR & Friends]

Just now, EmpireCity said:

 

They don't for Doctor Strange either.  Are you thinking that is going to streaming as well?  Disney stopped putting it on anything in the middle of last year.  

In the shareholders call today, Chapek said specifically that DS, Thor and Avatar 2 would be in theaters. He didn’t say the same for Lightyear, hence our concern (if that’s what it can be called).

[EmpireCity]

3 minutes ago, PenguinXXR said:

In the shareholders call today, Chapek said specifically that DS, Thor and Avatar 2 would be in theaters. He didn’t say the same for Lightyear, hence our concern (if that’s what it can be called).

 

Well, if that does happen, NATO and theater owners are actually going to fight back.  They will be healthy enough that they can risk it more and they are largely pissed about Turning Red and others.  

[Eric is Quiet]

5 minutes ago, EmpireCity said:

 

They don't for Doctor Strange either.  Are you thinking that is going to streaming as well?  Disney stopped putting it on anything in the middle of last year.  

Tweet from the Doctor Strange account says "only in theaters"

 

 

Tweet from the Lightyear account does not say "only in theaters" nor "in theaters"

 

 

You don't find that the tiniest bit weird or off-putting? At all?

[EmpireCity]

8 minutes ago, EmpireCity said:

 

They don't for Doctor Strange either.  Are you thinking that is going to streaming as well?  Disney stopped putting it on anything in the middle of last year.  

 

To be clear on this, I'm talking about in any trailer marketing materials.  The trailers don't mention theaters.  

Edited March 9, 2022 by EmpireCity

[EmpireCity]

Just now, Eric Says Trans Rights said:

Tweet from the Doctor Strange account says "only in theaters"

 

 

Tweet from the Lightyear account does not say "only in theaters" nor "in theaters"

 

 

You don't find that the tiniest bit weird or off-putting? At all?

 

Oh, I find it off putting.  There is a war going on at Disney.  

[filmlover]

It's not going to D+ until they announce it's going to D+.

 

Besides, it looks like this is set to play in IMAX, which apparently was never the case for Luca or Turning Red, so there might be some sort of contractual obligation that they'll have to uphold that keeps it off D+ initially.