Strange World Will Cost Disney $100 Million In Losses
Disney's "Strange World" left much to be desired after its opening weekend at the box office. According to Variety, the new computer-animated family movie only racked up $11.9 million on its opening weekend and only performed slightly better over the five-day holiday opening with a total of $18.6 million.
"Strange World" premiered in nearly 4,200 across the country, and the sci-fi fantasy still posted one of the worst ticket sales of any Disney movie in modern times. The international box office opening was also a pretty poor showing for the film, earning only $9.2 million across 43 markets. Disney did not release "Strange World" in Russia and China for geopolitical reasons as well as the "entire Middle East" because it features an LGBTQ+ character who would likely be a point of contention for censors in the region (per Variety).
With the very unimpressive start to its theatrical run, "Strange World" has a long way to go to have any hope of breaking even.
The movie needs to gross an estimated $360 million worldwide to break even
Some experts are already estimating that the film will have to earn a whopping $360 million worldwide to cover its production and marketing costs — it's thought that "Strange World" cost around $180 to produce and then add in tens of millions for marketing and distribution (via Variety). To put that into context, the recent hit "Encanto" earned $256 million worldwide on an estimated $50 million budget (via IMDB).
This latest animated film by Disney adds to a recent string of underperforming films since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. To find a comparable release to "Strange World," you'll need to look all the way back to 2002 and the release of "Treasure Planet" over the Thanksgiving weekend. The film only earned $16.6 on its opening holiday weekend and ended with $110 million at the worldwide box office, far short of its $140 million budget.
"Strange World" has a long way to go to make up for its dismal worldwide opening of only $27.8 million. Variety's sources estimate that Disney will lose $100 million when "Strange World" finishes its run at the box office. But some other experts think that number is low. Deadline's sources estimate that the film may even stand to lose $150 million. Disney has not released a date for when "Strange World" will move to Disney+, but many guess at late December 2022 or early 2023.