Two of the three worst-performing films at the box office in 2022 were animated Disney films, which collectively cost the company more than $250 million.
“Strange World” was by far the greatest flop of 2022, costing Disney nearly $200 million and receiving the lowest audience rating in the annals of Disney animated films, a “B” grade.
According to Deadline, the film had a total budget of $317.4 million and grossed only $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” ranked third on the list of the year’s greatest failures with a $106 million loss at the box office, the lowest CinemaScore of any “Toy Story” film, and a 74 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 90 percent or higher for every other film in the franchise.
The awakened ideology that penetrates both of these films is their common thread and the reason they both lost more money than any other animated film in Disney’s history.
The plot of “Strange World” revolves around a family of explorers who must travel to a perilous, subterranean land in order to save their own society. With a strong plot and an A-list cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, and Gabrielle Union, the film was destined for success.
Instead, Disney broke new ground by including the first openly homosexual primary character in a Disney animated film. At one point, the 14-year-old character reveals to his grandfather his infatuation on a classmate of the same gender.
“Lightyear” also possessed all the elements of a box office success. Until the company’s enlightened agenda assumed center stage, the “Toy Story” franchise was one of Disney’s most successful and cherished stories.
The movie departed from the typical “Toy Story” tone by focusing on a science fiction aspect and including a same-sex embrace that was initially cut from the film but later reinstated before its release.
According to The Wrap, Pixar CCO Pete Docter commented on the financial and critical failure of “Lightyear.”
“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” by citing COVID-19, foreign countries prohibiting the film for its depiction of LBGT characters, and ineffective marketing as the primary reasons for the film’s failure.
Fox Business reported that film critic Christian Toto had a distinct opinion on the two colossal animated Disney flops.
“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.
In 2022, “Top Gun: Maverick” was the highest-grossing film, while the top two animated films were “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.” All three films avoided enlightened ideology and instead focused on creating an entertaining experience for moviegoers.