MovieChat Forums > Moana (2016) Discussion > Stop calling this movie a "flop"!!!

Stop calling this movie a "flop"!!!

posted 8 years ago by sul-uddin96
23 replies | jump to latest

Whether you call this movie a "flop" or is "underperforming" at the box office, you could not be more wrong. I'm hearing many people compare this movie's box office journey to that of 'Frozen' (2013), a movie that seems to have raised the bar as far as animated box office gross goes.

The difference between 'Frozen' and 'Moana' as far as box office goes are the times that they were released. 'Frozen' had a very easy year, both for Box Office and Awards Consideration goes... here's what I mean...

Box Office Gross

'Frozen' has had to compete with the likes of; 'Dallas Buyers Club', '12 Years A Slave', 'Her' and 'The Wolf of Wall Street'. The one thing 'Frozen' does not have in common with those films is that those are R-Rated live-action movies... 'Frozen' is a PG-Rated, animated feature.

Considering November/December is the time of year where families are able to see either festive/animated films... in 2013, 'Frozen' was the only one suitable for this group. It made easy money.

'Moana' has to deal with 'Trolls' and 'Sing'... two other animated alternatives, in case you have children who - for some reason - may not like Disney. Plus, aren't we forgetting the elephant in the room that is 'Rogue One: A STAR WARS Story'? Of course a "Star Wars" movie is going to dominate the box office, you really think 'Moana' has a chance?!

If 'Frozen' was released during Thanksgiving in 2015, it would do great for the first 2 and 1/2 weeks, until 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (2015) would steal its box office thunder. It is the first "Star Wars" movie in over a decade, so all the more reason for it to be more anticipated.

Awards Consideration

When Peter Travers reviewed 'Frozen', he said "In a year full of weak animated features, Disney's 'Frozen' takes the lead by default". It's biggest competition included; 'The Croods' and 'Despicable Me 2', all considered good enough for BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for the Animation category.

The other movies considered not good enough included 'Epic', 'Turbo', 'Monsters University' and, of course... 'Planes'! There wasn't that much tight competition for animated family films.

'Moana' however, is coming off the success of films including; 'Zootopia', 'Finding Dory', 'Kubo and the Two Strings', 'Trolls', 'Sing', 'The Secret Life of Pets' and believe it or not, 'Sausage Party' (say what you will, it can still qualify for "Best Animated Feature").

So, 2013 was very easy on 'Frozen'... meanwhile, since then, in 2016, it seems that other studios are seeing the benefit in the art-form, hence why 'Moana' may not be making "Frozen"-level money.

Just because 'Moana', like 'Frozen', is a Princess-style, musical adventure movie from Disney doesn't mean it has to make as much or more than 'Frozen'...

'Moana' is still a success! So stop jumping to conclusions!!!

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

I was predicting months before it's release that Moana would have a tough go at it being sandwiched between two competing animated musicals..Trolls and Sing.

My fears came true, unfortunately.

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

I just have to point out, Sing is not technically a musical.

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Puhleez...you've pointed this out before. Okay...it's almost always described as a "jukebox musical". The characters sing throughout. It is direct competition with Moana in almost every sense as was Trolls.

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

No, Trolls was a jukebox musical. Sing is not a musical just like Pitch Perfect is not a musical. I'm not saying it's not competition because of that, I'm just pointing that out. You know, being nitpicky and whatnot. :P

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

"Nitpicky", indeed.

😉

[–] A-Rey-of-Light 8 years ago

My fears came true, unfortunately.

In an alternate reality, maybe. This film is gonna blow past $200 million before the end of the year.

Adventure is out there!

[–] Thynight 8 years ago

It is not a flop by no means. I just got back from seeing it again, this time with my niece and nephews. The first time I saw it there was like 10 people there total. This time, on 12/28/16 well after it opened, there was probably 150. This movie is in it for the long run. I think it will stay in regular theaters another month or two.

I love the way you laugh.

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

How did your niece and nephews like it, Thynight?

[–] Thynight 8 years ago

They loved it. My niece said she almost cried when the heart was placed back. My nephews talked about it for a while which means a lot because the older one is really shy and hardly talks and the youngest is autistic and barely talks.

I also take them to Disney plays when they come our way and they agree Moana needs to become a play.

I love the way you laugh.

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Nice!

[–] Thynight 8 years ago

I should say Logan is 11, Tyler is 10 and Zoey is 8. I am 34 and the biggest kid of all.

I love the way you laugh.

[–] lilmarkuk 8 years ago

so far it is a flop the budget inc promo was about $250 million so far worldwide its only got $343 million and the studio only gets a cut of that money

its a BOXOFFICE flop

[–] QueenFanUSA 8 years ago

Yes...it's stil very much in the red when you consider marketing costs.

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

Calling a film a flop when it has at least another month in the theaters in the US and hasn't even opened in various large markets is jumping the gun....a lot. Moana still has plenty of time to get the money it needs, and considering it was the only movie to increase in its earnings from the 26th to the 27th, I'd say its legs look plenty encouraging.

[–] nillindeiel 8 years ago

so far it is a flop the budget inc promo was about $250 million so far worldwide its only got $343 million and the studio only gets a cut of that money

its a BOXOFFICE flop

The widely/generally accepted rule of thumb is that a film should (ideally) make at least 2x it's PRODUCTION budget in world wide box office to be considered a success. Films that do not hit the 2x the prod. budget are generally considered flops.

Marketing is not figured in for a variety of reasons, first of all - studios rarely (if ever, these days) release what the marketing budget was. So anything that's reported is pure speculation/guesswork. Also, there are a number of factors that the general public is not privy to that can have offset any speculated marketing budget as well (promotional deals with 3rd party companies - such as toy companies, or fast food chains, etc... and other types of deals).

The most common numbers I see floating around for Moana's production budget are between $150-$160 million. If the budget is indeed within this range (and I acknowledge the fact that Disney has not released what the Prod. budget was), at over $340 million world wide, it has hit the 2x the production budget mark (is (currently) between 2.15x to 2.29x the production budget) and would NOT be considered a box office flop.

Nillindeiel

Agent Hill: ...Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back, by among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the 40's.... and a god.

Agent Ward: I don't think Thor is technically a god.

Hill: Well...you haven't been near his arms.

~Agents of SHIELD; Season 1 Episode 1 "Pilot"

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

Thank you for injecting some reason into these people. Though, if the past is any indication, they'll just ignore you and say something along the lines of "lolzers!!! it has to make 600 trillion to break even lol duh lol so it's like the biggest flop ever lolz!"

[–] Syrngfsse2 8 years ago

Its on track to make less than 600 million. Total budget was 300 milliom so it is indeed a flop.

[–] Zaphenzo 8 years ago

Oh my gosh, SHUT UP! Link or you're flat out WRONG!

Stop pulling numbers out of your butt and acting like they're fact. Moron.

[–] RoseRosenthal 8 years ago

I am aware that so many people hate Disney for some reasons. And they will despise all the movies from Disney when they have chance :) Not because they actually hate a specific movie :)

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] notthatnerdy 8 years ago

Slow clap.

[–] howdy2525 8 years ago

"moana" taught me (more) about pacific islander culture/songs/music and i luved that (i know it's not 100% accurate, but nothing's "perfect") - "sing" is cartoon animals participating in an "american idol"/"the voice"-type singing(/dancing?) contest, singing pop/rap songs from this decade and past decades - that doesn't teach me anything about the world/another culture like "moana" does (i.m.o.) - "moana" is a beautiful tropical escape, whereas "sing" is more of the boring-t.v.-show(since the '00s at least) "same" i.m.o. - and even though lin-manuel miranda, 36, is puerto rican american and not pacific islander/pacific islander american, half of latin america's coast is on the pacific ocean, so there definitely is a cultural connection between latinos on the pacific coast and pacific islanders, and of course puerto rico is also an island, hehe - there were some incredible, heartfelt lyrics in these songs i.m.o. - i always want to know exactly which lyricist is responsible for each and every line/word, hehe, though i know lin apparently did most of the lyrics for the songs i think - "i am moana" and "know who you are" especially amaze and inspire me - "shiny" kind-of took me out of the pacific islander world/head-space i was in, but it was a gr8 david bowie impression by jemaine clement, 42, and lin (impression of a david bowie song), and was a gr8 dedication to the loss of david bowie, 69, on 1/10/16 - i would actually like "moana" to "beat" the "fantastic beasts" in the u.s. box office (though i admit i haven't seen "f.b." yet), but coming in 12th in the u.s. box office so far, just after "fantastic beasts", is pretty gosh darn good, and better than "jason bourne", "star trek", "x-men", "trolls", "kung-fu panda", etc. - i wish we had more films like "moana" that taught us more about the many cultures of the world and not just cartoon animals ("lion king" was incredible, but there is no reason we can't have just as amazing of songs/music/plot/characters/actors/visuals, etc. for a major animated film starring actual african characters (and other global cultures), like they did beautifully in "moana", etc.)

[–] C-Younkin 8 years ago

For a five week old movie, for a film to be holding at making 7 million is pretty good. Let's see if Sing has that kind of legs cause I just don't see it as a movie many would want to go back to see. It's actually a pretty smooth ride through January all the way up to the Lego Batman film for any kids film because there really is nothing coming out for the kids again until then.

Trying to create a channel based on interpreting, reviewing, and even giving you something to laugh about film. Hope you enjoy what you see. Thanks in advance.

Review of the film here- https://youtu.be/02C0X1yPBF8