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

[edroger3]

Big Hero 6 will close its run near 220M$. Considering the gross of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph in past years and seen the great echo created by Frozen on Disney Animation, this doesn't seem like a great performance. The same can be said about the results overseas : at the moment BH6 hasn't been so strong in all major markets in which it came out except Japan, while getting some good performances in smaller markets. At this point must hope for a great result in China to overcome at least the WW gross of Tangled.

The biggest problem? I think Disney has never really believed in this movie (Perhaps they was too busy to milk their new ice cow). The marketing before and during the opening was even worse than that of Frozen, that was saved first by a monstrous word of mouth and then by the success of the soundtrack and by the repeated views, while for BH6 almost nothing of this is happened.

[FrozenUnicorn]

Big Hero 6 will close its run near 220M$. Considering the gross of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph in past years and seen the great echo created by Frozen on Disney Animation, this doesn't seem like a great performance. The same can be said about the results overseas : at the moment BH6 hasn't been so strong in all major markets in which it came out except Japan, while getting some good performances in smaller markets. At this point must hope for a great result in China to overcome at least the WW gross of Tangled.

The biggest problem? I think Disney has never really believed in this movie (Perhaps they was too busy to milk their new ice cow). The marketing before and during the opening was even worse than that of Frozen, that was saved first by a monstrous word of mouth and then by the success of the soundtrack and by the repeated views, while for BH6 almost nothing of this is happened.

I honestly think that it's starting to seem like other animated films (or maybe even films in general) are just put in the category of being "not-Frozen."

[Chriss]

Frozen had an incredible run and the hype was immense. It's unfair to ask of BH6 to harvest much more from those fruits. Disney Animation is only good for so much, they're not Pixar.

[Melvin Frohike]

Interstellar hurt BH6 in terms of the media/press coverage. It was the hyped movie of its release, not Big Hero 6. Even when BH6 became #1 on the box office, headlines were like "Interstellar underperforms", "Why Interetellar did not do great" instead of "Big Hero 6 take the box office".

Interstellar and, I think, perhaps ironically, Frozen.

Did we really need 2 pages of discussion about Frozen?

 

This poor movie can't even get a break on its own thread...

See what I meant above? And yes, I was a part of that.

 

 

Congrats on the oscar nomination. The exclusion of LEGO movie was a surpirise.

I was surprised, but not that surprised, as earlier in this thread I did say of the movie: "it is hardly the type of movie that I'd expect the voters to go for." By that I meant I didn't think it would win the Best Animated Feature Oscar, but I did think it would be a contender, in all honesty, given all of the critical hype for it, in addition to its blockbuster DOM gross. However, this wasn't as surprising, to me, as last year's snub of Pixar's Monsters University in a field in which the likes of Despicable Me 2 and The Croods received nominations.

 

 

Frozen had an incredible run and the hype was immense. It's unfair to ask of BH6 to harvest much more from those fruits. Disney Animation is only good for so much, they're not Pixar.

This is true in that as a baseline Pixar still seem to have a larger fan base, and will therefore tend to have higher grosses on the average currently, but I'd hardly say that WDAS is "only good for so much"--they've been good for more before and may well be again. For the long run, I'm more concerned about Pixar being able to maintain their reputation at this point.

[Jonwo]

I honestly think that it's starting to seem like other animated films (or maybe even films in general) are just put in the category of being "not-Frozen."

 

Most studios would be thrilled with a $200m+ gross. I imagine WDAS is very happy with how BH6 did, you can't expect every film to do Frozen like numbers, it's unrealistic.

[FrozenUnicorn]

Most studios would be thrilled with a $200m+ gross. I imagine WDAS is very happy with how BH6 did, you can't expect every film to do Frozen like numbers, it's unrealistic.

True, but what I mean is, there wasn't much announcement about, for instance, BH6 crossing the $200m mark, and it seemed to fall under the radar.

[Sir Tiki]

True, but what I mean is, there wasn't much announcement about, for instance, BH6 crossing the $200m mark, and it seemed to fall under the radar.

 

I think the problem was that a lot of Big Hero 6's potential opening weekend press went to opinion pieces on Interstellar's "disappointing" opening, with a side note that said "oh yeah, and a Disney cartoon opened too". That just kind of sucked the air out of the room, and prevented BH6 from really establishing itself with the press. Penguins flopping a couple of weeks later didn't help either, as it kept attention off of BH6 doing well and back on to DreamWorks' continued financial woes.

 

EDIT: Dingdong123 beat me to it:

 

Interstellar hurt BH6 in terms of the media/press coverage. It was the hyped movie of its release, not Big Hero 6. Even when BH6 became #1 on the box office, headlines were like "Interstellar underperforms", "Why Interetellar did not do great" instead of "Big Hero 6 take the box office".

And yes, NATM3, Annie, POM and to a lesser extent ITW did hurt BH6's holiday box office chances. It could have probably double its daily numbers these holidays if it wasn't for those movies. But the fact that BH6 is still doing magnificent speaks for its astounding performance and WOM.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Sir Tiki

[FrozenUnicorn]

I think the problem was that a lot of Big Hero 6's potential opening weekend press went to opinion pieces on Interstellar's "disappointing" opening, with a side note that said "oh yeah, and a Disney cartoon opened too". That just kind of sucked the air out of the room, and prevented BH6 from really establishing itself with the press. Penguins flopping a couple of weeks later didn't help either, as it kept attention off of BH6 doing well and back on to DreamWorks' continued financial woes.

EDIT: Dingdong123 beat me to it:

True, I see your point there. I actually forgot that Interstelkar and BH6 opened the same day. (I've seen IS but not BH6)

[Melvin Frohike]

No, Belle's Stockholm Syndrome doesn't count!

Wait, isn't Stockholm syndrome when a hostage, supposedly as the result of a psychological survival mechanism, sympathizes with and even adopts the criminal/deranged perspectives of their captor(s)? I don't recall Belle being so afraid that she "snapped" and irrationally started to take Beast's side. It seems more like she wanted to go home the whole time, stubbornly refused to comply with his demands, and chastised him for his poor behavior, while it was Beast who eventually changed his own perspective. If anybody had Stockholm syndrome in this movie, it would seem to be Beast. No, not really, but he comes closer in some ways.

[Dan9]

FFS, the movie was a success.

[Bulldawg626]

Big Hero 6 will close its run near 220M$. Considering the gross of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph in past years and seen the great echo created by Frozen on Disney Animation, this doesn't seem like a great performance. The same can be said about the results overseas : at the moment BH6 hasn't been so strong in all major markets in which it came out except Japan, while getting some good performances in smaller markets. At this point must hope for a great result in China to overcome at least the WW gross of Tangled.

The biggest problem? I think Disney has never really believed in this movie (Perhaps they was too busy to milk their new ice cow). The marketing before and during the opening was even worse than that of Frozen, that was saved first by a monstrous word of mouth and then by the success of the soundtrack and by the repeated views, while for BH6 almost nothing of this is happened.

Frozen's an anomaly.

 

It shouldn't be taken as the standard and it's REALLY unfair to try and hold BH6 to what Frozen did.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Bulldawg

[FrozenUnicorn]

Wait, isn't Stockholm syndrome when a hostage, supposedly as the result of a psychological survival mechanism, sympathizes with and even adopts the criminal/deranged perspectives of their captor(s)? I don't recall Belle being so afraid that she "snapped" and irrationally started to take Beast's side. It seems more like she wanted to go home the whole time, stubbornly refused to comply with his demands, and chastised him for his poor behavior, while it was Beast who eventually changed his own perspective. If anybody had Stockholm syndrome in this movie, it would seem to be Beast. No, not really, but he comes closer in some ways.

Haha, I've never heard anyone say before that Beast/Adam comes closer in some ways to Stockholm Syndrome. XD

[Melvin Frohike]

I think the problem was that a lot of Big Hero 6's potential opening weekend press went to opinion pieces on Interstellar's "disappointing" opening, with a side note that said "oh yeah, and a Disney cartoon opened too".

And Interstellar would also have dominated the headlines if it had opened in first place instead, so more generally speaking it just plain overshadowed Big Hero 6, which is both not-Nolan and not-Frozen (besides, how many animated features had much media hype last year?). Short of Disney doing a huge media blitz as they've sometimes done in the past or Big Hero 6 opening with $90+ million, the movie was never going to get the attention of the media. I suppose the good news is that a WDAS animated feature performing well is no longer news , but obviously this doesn't exactly help boost its box office performance.

 

That just kind of sucked the air out of the room, and prevented BH6 from really establishing itself with the press. Penguins flopping a couple of weeks later didn't help either, as it kept attention off of BH6 doing well and back on to DreamWorks' continued financial woes.

The only way Big Hero 6 was ever going to get any significant media hype, short of generating controversy, would have been to generate its own like Frozen had to. I thought it could do this more than it did for several reasons (e.g. Baymax, superheroes, cool technological stuff in this age of nerds and "makers"), but given the lack of hype and penetration into the pop culture, in addition to how animated features and family movies have generally performed in 2014 (poorly), I'm very happy with how the movie has done--could have been even happier, but oh well, I'll take this and be sincerely glad about it, and so will WDAS and Disney I'm sure.

[wileECoyote]

Big Hero 6 will close its run near 220M$. Considering the gross of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph in past years and seen the great echo created by Frozen on Disney Animation, this doesn't seem like a great performance. The same can be said about the results overseas : at the moment BH6 hasn't been so strong in all major markets in which it came out except Japan, while getting some good performances in smaller markets. At this point must hope for a great result in China to overcome at least the WW gross of Tangled.

The biggest problem? I think Disney has never really believed in this movie (Perhaps they was too busy to milk their new ice cow). The marketing before and during the opening was even worse than that of Frozen, that was saved first by a monstrous word of mouth and then by the success of the soundtrack and by the repeated views, while for BH6 almost nothing of this is happened.

It's doing fine. And it should clear Tangled WW. It just opened in Germany And South Korea and Germany with good numbers. UK Scandinavia and France are up next. With China, there should be enough to push it over 600 and maybe HTTYD 2. And that's despite a stronger dollar.

[Melvin Frohike]

FFS, the movie was a success.

Yes, but one that did it relatively quietly and without all that much to talk about, regarding box office, aside from people trying to convince others that the movie is, in fact, a success.

 

 

Frozen's an anomaly.

 

It shouldn't be taken as the standard and it's REALLY unfair to try and hold BH6 to what Frozen did.

No argument here, except that a fair number of us had been expecting/hoping for $250 million DOM (or maybe a little more to challenge for the #1 animated feature of 2014). I don't recall anybody here expecting $400+ million DOM to match/surpass Frozen--the latter is mostly used as an example (extreme for illustration) of what it takes to perform beyond the expectations of most.

 

 

Haha, I've never heard anyone say before that Beast/Adam comes closer in some ways to Stockholm Syndrome. XD

Even after 23 years, I can still surprise people with this basic observation. Actually, although Beast was under greater psychological stress, he no more had Stockholm syndrome than Kristoff did--I only said this (jokingly and rhetorically for contrast) because Beast was the one who had the big epiphany and changed his whole perspective rather than Belle, but that was because he had learned to care about somebody (the basis of love) besides himself, and it's not as though Belle had imprisoned and threatened to kill him or anything like that.

For Belle's part, she's a very nice girl for sure, but she was also a bit aloof, sometimes tricky (uses her wiles, too), and could be pretty tough when she needed to be--personally I fail to see why she is commonly associated with Stockholm syndrome. I guess people think "girl falls in love with captor = Stockholm syndrome," but this is an oversimplification and gross misrepresentation of the character, story, as well as the actual condition in real life.

[goldenstate5]

Big Hero 6 will close its run near 220M$. Considering the gross of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph in past years and seen the great echo created by Frozen on Disney Animation, this doesn't seem like a great performance. The same can be said about the results overseas : at the moment BH6 hasn't been so strong in all major markets in which it came out except Japan, while getting some good performances in smaller markets. At this point must hope for a great result in China to overcome at least the WW gross of Tangled.

The biggest problem? I think Disney has never really believed in this movie (Perhaps they was too busy to milk their new ice cow). The marketing before and during the opening was even worse than that of Frozen, that was saved first by a monstrous word of mouth and then by the success of the soundtrack and by the repeated views, while for BH6 almost nothing of this is happened.

 

Well considering Big Hero 6 was not a Frozen sequel, I think it did very well. 

 

And come on, Frozen's initial marketing was pretty awful. Frozen was Frozen because it was Frozen.

 

Also Let It Go.

Edited January 27, 2015 by goldenstate5

[Dan9]

Yes, but one that did it relatively quietly and without all that much to talk about, regarding box office, aside from people trying to convince others that the movie is, in fact, a success.

 

 

Yes, but why does how much it was talked about regarding BO make a difference to whether it was a success or not?   And no one needs convincing... it easily made its money back, it's now making a great profit for WDAS, and it was an enjoyable movie meaning home video and merchandise sales will be strong for years to come. What is there that even needs debating? 

[phantom]

Yes, but why does how much it was talked about regarding BO make a difference to whether it was a success or not?   And no one needs convincing... it easily made its money back, it's now making a great profit for WDAS, and it was an enjoyable movie meaning home video and merchandise sales will be strong for years to come. What is there that even needs debating? 

 

The movie was a success. Period. But common people (those who don't track box office) doesn't know. The movie just come and go. And the question are; do you think BH6 will sell lots of merchandise (e.g. stuff toys, costumes, books, etc.)? Would they result to the increase numbers of tourist visits in Tokyo and San Francisco? Would kids flock Disneyland just to line up for BH6 character meet-ups? Would there be persistent demands for sequel? Would there be new rides to be made?

The movie was a one-time hit but not an investment.

Edited January 27, 2015 by phantom

[Dan9]

The movie was a success. Period. But common people (those who don't track box office) doesn't know. The movie just come and go. And the question are; do you think BH6 will sell lots of merchandise (e.g. stuff toys, costumes, books, etc.)? Would they result to the increase numbers of tourist visits in Tokyo and San Francisco? Would kids flock Disneyland just to line up for BH6 character meet-ups? Would there be persistent demands for sequel? Would there be new rides to be made?

The movie was a one-time hit but not an investment.

 

I don't think we're actually in major disagreement over anything, but I'll wade in my initial judgements anyway... 

 

1) Depends how you define lots. But yes, it will sell substantial amounts. As long as you don't judge success by 'will it sell as much as Frozen?'

2) Perhaps. Adults don't need convincing but it might spark a kid's interest in San Fran, maybe. I doubt they'll be too worried though... 

3) People flock to Disneyland with multiple ambitions, but I'd guess Baymax meet-and-greets would be popular especially if the tech was good. 

4) A factoid is that I had a preview screening where that question was asked and pretty much everyone said they'd welcome a sequel. But no I don't there'll be outrageous demand for it neither do I think a sequel will happen, mostly because that's not what WDAS is about.

5) Hard to say. Cars was considered Pixar's weakest IP but out of it Disney Imagineers created one of the best and most successful themed lands at any Disney park anywhere, and I doubt there was major demand for that IP before it happened. In my opinion I doubt BH6 would have any attractions inspired by it but it isn't impossible. And it's a very small piece of the puzzle at the end of the day anyway.

 

Disney probably don't need all of their movies to be masssive investments. The cushion they have allows them to explore creative avenues with more freedom without worrying about how to franchise it from the off. Still though, Big Hero 6 will probably pay off as a good investment; more than Wreck-It Ralph just nowhere near as big as Frozen or the other Disney Princess movies. Baymax in particular will probably be a long-term lingerer at Disney properties. 

Edited January 28, 2015 by Dan9

[kitik]

Visual Effects Society Awards are currently going on. Big Hero 6 has won 4 awards so far (with 1 more still possible)

 

 

http://deadline.com/2015/02/ves-awards-winners-2015-visual-effects-society-award-winner-list-1201366460/#

 

Most impressive so far is that it won for Outstanding Models in any media project, where it was going up against Hobbit and Transformers.