Big Hero 6 | November 7, 2014 | Now available on home video

[Jonwo]

Tarzan beat Toy Story 2 in the overseas boxoffice which is impressive. Both came out in the same year.

 

Tarzan is one of my favorite WDAS films. It will never truly be forgotten because the Tarzan character is so popular worldwide.

 

Visually, Tarzan is one of my favourite WDAS films. If there is any films that should be rereleased in 3D, it's Tarzan and it's holds up well despite being 15 years old.

 

I'm shocked it made more than Toy Story 2 OS although it's a well known character so maybe not too surprising. 

[AJG]

Tarzan beat Toy Story 2 in the overseas boxoffice which is impressive. Both came out in the same year.

Tarzan is one of my favorite WDAS films. It will never truly be forgotten because the Tarzan character is so popular worldwide.

Compared to many Disney characters, Tarzan doesn't get much exposure at all.

IIRC Disney lost the rights some time ago, and now don't do anything with those characters. I remember there being an issue when the Estate that owns Tarzan wouldn't allow the character to be in one of the Kingdom Hearts games, the character also isn't in Disney Infinity.

Edited November 11, 2014 by AJG

[Jonwo]

Compared to many Disney characters, Tarzan doesn't get much exposure at all.

IIRC Disney lost the rights some time ago, and now don't do anything with those characters. I remember there being an issue when the Estate that owns Tarzan wouldn't allow the character to be in one of the Kingdom Hearts games, the character also isn't in Disney Infinity.

 

The stage musical version which was a flop on Broadway was a huge hit in the Netherlands and Germany, show the huge appeal of the character so Disney can still use their version of Tarzan in that medium but it's strange that the EBR estate wouldn't allow Disney to have him in Kingdom Hearts or Disney Infinity. 

[Spidey Freak]

 It will never truly be forgotten because the Tarzan character is so popular worldwide.

 

I actually think that is the reason it has been relatively forgotten as compared to the other Renaissance Giants. Tarzan is such a well-known name with so many different versions, adaptations and pop-culture references that Disney's film gets lost in the Tarzan boy inspired jungle.

[Melvin Frohike]

I doubt it. I didn't have any crying kids or anything. The film got thunderous applause at my screening. This is not like HTTYD2.

I didn't mean anything that severe--I just want the movie to have superlative WOM, especially since it didn't open as big as I was hoping it would (only a few million below the low end of my range, which was $60M, but I had expected more).

 

The reason that I am predicting the very high multiplier is the contrast between the quality of the ads and the quality of the movie.

Although there are legitimate reasons to complain about how Disney markets some of their animated features, one thing they've done very well is getting enough people to come on OW without spoiling much, and letting the movies sell themselves, which boosts WOM.

 

Also I think a large part of the movie's periphery audience saw IS this weekend (a lot of my friends (early to mid 20s) saw IS this weekend but plan on seeing BH6 next weekend.

That seems to be true, and interestingly it seems, anecdotally, that the two movies split the audience more than many, myself included, had anticipated, with some fathers opting to see Interstellar instead of Big Hero 6 with the rest of their families (in effect partially orphaning children who are watching a Disney movie, which like so many others involves orphans ).

 

On the other hand I do know that the prediction is a bit out there but this film was just so much better than expected.

I sure hope that the GA feels the same way, and if they do, then $300M might still possibly be in play, even though numerically speaking it is extremely unlikely. In fact I've mentioned this figure a couple of times myself in this and other related threads, but that was when I expected its OW gross to be as big as $75M ($60-75M was my final range). Even $10M more than it actually grossed would have made $300M a distinct possibility, but it is what it is. To gross that much now would mean that the movie took the GA almost completely by surprise. I'd love for this to happen and don't think that the possibility should be dismissed, but it's a long shot at best. If it does happen, then feel free to gloat about it all you want--that wouldn't upset me at all.

 

 

The Lego Movie did good considering it was released in February, it did do very well in places like the UK where it did over £30m and I imagine Warner Bros was happy with how it did considering the mixed success they've had with animated films in the past.

The Lego Movie's DOM gross was very good by any reasonable standard, and for this year it was outstanding. It also did very well, comparably even, in the English-speaking portion of the OS market, but just about everywhere else it did rather poorly overall in comparison, which was the point.

As for WB being happy, absolutely they are (although tweaks might be made for more OS appeal in any sequels), especially since the movie (supposedly) only cost $60 million to produce.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Melvin Frohike

[druv10]

I would love for BH6 to win the Best Animation at the Oscars. 

[Melvin Frohike]

Aside from WIR, The Lion King and Aladdin, I think the last successful boy centric WDAS was Tarzan, it's overlooked compared to the other 90s film but people forget it was very successful grossing over $400m WW.

Yeah, that's a bit odd considering just how popular it really was. I get that being a Tarzan movie when there have been so many others may sort of weaken the Disney connection in many people's minds, but I remember people being very much aware that it was a Disney (WDAS) movie at the time. Maybe their amnesia is partly the result of the movie being sandwiched between much less successful WDAS movies, along with the fact that CGI movies began to take over the market shortly thereafter. Normally the last big hit would be better remembered, but because WDAS faded so badly afterward, I guess many people have to go back to The Lion King to recall that era.

 

I'm shocked it made more than Toy Story 2 OS although it's a well known character so maybe not too surprising.

Well, aside from Disney's, Tarzan movies have generally done VERY poorly all over the world over the last couple of decades. I think the reason it outgrossed Toy Story 2 OS is that the Toy Story movies are generally better suited for and liked in the English-speaking world, relatively speaking. The first two movies grossed more DOM than OS, and even the third, released during what I call the modern era, had a DOM/OS ratio of 39/61, which is high for animated blockbusters, especially a sequel (and would have been even higher if the movie hadn't been such a big hit in Japan and a huge phenomenon in the UK specifically).

 

Compared to many Disney characters, Tarzan doesn't get much exposure at all.

IIRC Disney lost the rights some time ago, and now don't do anything with those characters. I remember there being an issue when the Estate that owns Tarzan wouldn't allow the character to be in one of the Kingdom Hearts games, the character also isn't in Disney Infinity.

Disney had had a great relationship with ERB Inc., which owns Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs' other creations, during and for some time after making Tarzan, but this soured with how John Carter was handled, as well as that movie flopping.

 

I would love for BH6 to win the Best Animation at the Oscars. 

So would I, and I think it has a great chance even though the field is somewhat crowded this year.

[Joel M]

Well, aside from Disney's, Tarzan movies have generally done VERY poorly all over the world over the last couple of decades. I think the reason it outgrossed Toy Story 2 OS is that the Toy Story movies are generally better suited for and liked in the English-speaking world, relatively speaking. The first two movies grossed more DOM than OS, and even the third, released during what I call the modern era, had a DOM/OS ratio of 39/61, which is high for animated blockbusters, especially a sequel (and would have been even higher if the movie hadn't been such a big hit in Japan and a huge phenomenon in the UK specifically).

 

 

It wasn't just the Toy Story franchise. It took almost a decade for non-english speaking territories to embrace CGI and let it reach disney rennaissance status. Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notredame grossed more than Toy Story 1 OS. And Tarzan didn't beat just TS2 OS, it also beat Shrek, Monsters Inc and Ice Age. The first CGI that became huge everywhere was Finding Nemo. Here in Greece every CGI animation before Nemo was lucky if it made 1/5 of Tarzan's tickets.

[Melvin Frohike]

It wasn't just the Toy Story franchise. It took almost a decade for non-english speaking territories to embrace CGI and let it reach disney rennaissance status. Pocahontas and Hunchback of Notredame grossed more than Toy Story 1 OS. And Tarzan didn't beat just TS2 OS, it also beat Shrek, Monsters Inc and Ice Age.

You know what, even after all of these years this thought never once occurred to me. I've always attributed this to all of these early CGI movies being less culturally universal than WDAS', since the latter had been making animated features for the worldwide market for many decades, while the newer studios seemed to be more focused on appealing to the domestic market first (just doing what they knew best). I'll give some thought to this alternative perspective....

 

The first CGI that became huge everywhere was Finding Nemo.

In accordance with my own perspective, I felt that this was perhaps Pixar's most universally appealing animated feature to date (at the time).

I'll think about what you said, but note that virtually all of Pixar's movies, even to this day, are more popular in the English-speaking world, relatively speaking, than elsewhere, in comparison to WDAS' (while some other studios have managed to appeal more to non-English-speaking markets in the meantime). As a result, I still think that it's more about content than the medium--Pixar's movies are, to me, clearly made with more of an American perspective than WDAS' movies (with some exceptions such as WDAS' Wreck-It Ralph). Pixar's themes tend to be universal, don't get me wrong, but things like the style of humor and the way characters view things, say things, and react count for something, too.

It's like the difference I see between Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, for instance, even though both are from WDAS and both take place in a more or less modern setting--Big Hero 6 appears to me to have more universal appeal, and this theory will now be tested. If you want a known example, then Tangled sure proved to have more universal appeal (grossing far more OS despite grossing only a little more DOM), as I would expect it to. And at the opposite end of the spectrum The Lego Movie struggled much more in the OS market even with the CGI animation medium having gone mainstream worldwide these days--I think that this is clearly the result of the movie's style and content as opposed to the medium.

[Empire]

Saw this yesterday and I loved it. Right there with HTTYD2 as my favorite animated movie of the year. Great story full of emotion and the animation was great.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Empire

[druv10]

2 1 Big Hero 6 BV $5,159,128 -69% - 3,761 $1,372 $61,375,017 4

[Empire]

Oh and Baymax is.......

[Jandrew]

Oh and Baymax is.......

 

Baymax is bae.

[Jonwo]

You know what, even after all of these years this thought never once occurred to me. I've always attributed this to all of these early CGI movies being less culturally universal than WDAS', since the latter had been making animated features for the worldwide market for many decades, while the newer studios seemed to be more focused on appealing to the domestic market first (just doing what they knew best). I'll give some thought to this alternative perspective....

In accordance with my own perspective, I felt that this was perhaps Pixar's most universally appealing animated feature to date (at the time).

I'll think about what you said, but note that virtually all of Pixar's movies, even to this day, are more popular in the English-speaking world, relatively speaking, than elsewhere, in comparison to WDAS' (while some other studios have managed to appeal more to non-English-speaking markets in the meantime). As a result, I still think that it's more about content than the medium--Pixar's movies are, to me, clearly made with more of an American perspective than WDAS' movies (with some exceptions such as WDAS' Wreck-It Ralph). Pixar's themes tend to be universal, don't get me wrong, but things like the style of humor and the way characters view things, say things, and react count for something, too.

It's like the difference I see between Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6, for instance, even though both are from WDAS and both take place in a more or less modern setting--Big Hero 6 appears to me to have more universal appeal, and this theory will now be tested. If you want a known example, then Tangled sure proved to have more universal appeal (grossing far more OS despite grossing only a little more DOM), as I would expect it to. And at the opposite end of the spectrum The Lego Movie struggled much more in the OS market even with the CGI animation medium having gone mainstream worldwide these days--I think that this is clearly the result of the movie's style and content as opposed to the medium.

When you look at animation studios like Illumination and Blue Sky,their films tend to better OS, the Minions have an appealing design and need little translating, same with Scrat.

[Mulder]

BH6 didn't really impress me but it had great animation.

[Melvin Frohike]

2 1 Big Hero 6 BV $5,159,128 -69% - 3,761 $1,372 $61,375,017 4

That is an outstanding Monday-after-OW for an animated feature in early November, although Veteran's Day today might have had something to do with this.

 

 

When you look at animation studios like Illumination and Blue Sky,their films tend to better OS, the Minions have an appealing design and need little translating, same with Scrat.

Precisely, while Pixar's movies are, in my view as an American with close immigrant ties (actually, I was born and lived overseas for a while, although I was always a US citizen), inherently more centered around American and more generally English-speaking cultures. And while WDAS' movies are definitely American, I perceive them as being less specifically so, and generally more universal--this has been true of most of their movies since the beginning, and continues today. Maybe CGI versus hand-drawn animation is a factor, too, but I've never needed this or any factor other than the above to explain the relative popularity of movies between the DOM and OS markets to my satisfaction.

[wileECoyote]

2 1 Big Hero 6 BV $5,159,128 -69% - 3,761 $1,372 $61,375,017 4

Should be #1 today.

Oh and Baymax is.......

Edited November 11, 2014 by WileECoyote

[Jonwo]

That is an outstanding Monday-after-OW for an animated feature in early November, although Veteran's Day today might have had something to do with this.

Precisely, while Pixar's movies are, in my view as an American with close immigrant ties (actually, I was born and lived overseas for a while, although I was always a US citizen), inherently more centered around American and more generally English-speaking cultures. And while WDAS' movies are definitely American, I perceive them as being less specifically so, and generally more universal--this has been true of most of their movies since the beginning, and continues today. Maybe CGI versus hand-drawn animation is a factor, too, but I've never needed this or any factor other than the above to explain the relative popularity of movies between the DOM and OS markets to my satisfaction.

Walt never really made an animated film for American audiences only, perhaps with the exception of Song of the South which was live action but the majority of his animated films were adapted from fairytales and books which originated from different sources. Likewise the live action films with a few exceptions.

If you look at what still holds up today, its characters like Mickey, the Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry etc all of which had universal appeal.

[Mojoguy]

BH6's biggest threats these next few weeks will be Mockingjay and Penguins.

[Fancyarcher]

Walt never really made an animated film for American audiences only, perhaps with the exception of Song of the South which was live action but the majority of his animated films were adapted from fairytales and books which originated from different sources. Likewise the live action films with a few exceptions.

If you look at what still holds up today, its characters like Mickey, the Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry etc all of which had universal appeal.

 

You know what I find funny about Disney and fairy tales is that everyone seems to think Pinocchio a fairy tale (the character even appears on Once Upon a Time for fuck sakes), specifically because of the kind of story it is and because of Disney's adaptation, when in reality it's not, it's a 19 century Italian novel originally written in serial format.

 

It couldn't be further from being a fairy tale.

 

I just find that kind of funny and strange to be honest.