Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hair Apparent...

Lots and lots of money, I mean hair...







First off, I want to issue an apology to the Disney Marketing Department...

I was wrong. You did a great job bringing in the butts to see this film. That doesn't mean I like your campaign or wouldn't have preferred to see something different, but it clearly worked and I can't deny that.

Biggest opening in Walt Disney Animation Studios history:

69 million over the five day Thanksgiving Day weekend.

49 million opening weekend.

82,800,000 globally so far.

Looks like the Lamps big brother finally made good on the third try!

Congrats all around, Marketeers...

34 comments:

Rinzler said...

Eff Tangled. Bring on Tron Legacy.

Jones said...

It worked *in spite* of the horrible campaign, not because of it. (I just want to believe that, although I should now better - just look at Rinzler´s comment, and you know what I mean...)
However, still a long way to go given the total production and marketing costs.

Jones said...

P.S. 49 million over the opening weeekend is about twice as much as PatF made - but Tangled cost considerably more than twice as much. So maybe it´s too early to open the champagne bottles.

Anonymous said...

We went with four generations of the family. From 80 year old great grandpa to the birthday-girl three year old, everyone loved it. My other, who saw first run Snow White as a young girl, said this was her favorite Disney feature. Congrats to the crew at WDAS!

Anonymous said...

I just hope this doesn't mean we'll see more of this kind of marketing in the future.

bsmith13 said...

I saw three movies this weekend. Tangled was by far the best one I saw.

Darrell said...

I'm interested in seeing "Tangled" on DVD, but I'm rather angry that it beat the Thanksgiving records of Toy Story 2. I'd be SHOCKED if Tangled was better than TS2. Funnier? Maybe. Better in terms of plot? HECK NO.

I, on the other hand, am going to see "Tron Legacy" in theaters.

Anonymous said...

How much money would the movie have made without Harry Potter 7? Congrats to WDAS!! Unfortunately here in Europe we still have to wait a week to see Disney's new feature.

perfectly flawed said...

Cheers to Walt Disney Animation, a well deserved weekend for them. The Christmas season and good word of mouth will most likely bring more people to the film in the coming weeks.

And cheers to the marketing department! I thought the film would do just decent during opening weekend, but I didn't predict that it was going to be that close to Harry Potter! I know I was a minority who actually supported their new and innovative ways to market their film. Sure it was pretty different from what we have known from the past, but you guys gotta come to the realization that we live in a different time, and public taste has changed drastically since the last golden age of Disney Animation. One has to change with time. Change is constant. The point of marketing is to bring in the viewers, and it seemed like they reached their objective by using new mediums. Mission Accomplished.

Anonymous said...

Eff Rinzler. Bring on... anybody else.

Anonymous said...

Eff Tron Legacy. It's tracking very badly.

Anonymous said...

I guess it picked up an A+ from cinemascore, essentially an exit polling for audiences that has a very good track record for being correlated to movie success. The first A+ this year.

Its only real competition left is Narnia, and there is a very good chance the series will continue its downward spiral.

Disney Animation may finally have a financial hit on their hands!

Bob and Rob Professional American Writers said...

A great day for WDA!

Black Parade said...

Fair play to Disney - not done too bad with Tangled since it was being written off as good as failed even a week ago.

I do wonder if the public is becoming more confident in the Disney animation brand name now that they are stringing together a few strong and better focused products.

If only I didn't have to wait for this film to arrive on these shores.

J said...

Looks like Disney Animation may have some new muscle on their side.

This film was being set up to fail as hard as it could just so Disney could write it off and be done with it. Now look at the results. Perhaps Pooh will get a stronger backing and we'll see something popping up in the 2012 release schedule.

On a side note, does this doing well and Princess Frog doing poorly put the final nail in the coffin for 2D Animation? I hope not. Perhaps if Pooh does well we'll see more lower budget 2D films and more high budget 3D films.

Jtsalien said...

I also think it succeeded in spite of its marketing. It neglected one of its target markets. It went after the Dreamworks fan, rather than the Disney fan. I can't help but think some people who expected a Dreamworks type movie were pretty disappointed when they saw Tangled.

myparkmyrides.blogspot.com

Darrell said...

Eff all the Tron Legacy haters. My friend who had been pretty skeptic about it saw a TV spot and now he wants to see it too.

If "Tangled" continues to hold up well, I *guess* I might see it... but really, I'm just not that interested in it (except for the humor).

Anonymous said...

Disney's big mistake for dropping Narnia. Prince Caspian beat Prince of Persia by 200 million worldwide which was what Disney replaced it with. I believe Disney is going to be shooting themselves even more when they see how Narnia 3 does and yes it will beat Tangled's weekend gross easily.

Nicholas F. said...

3-D ticket prises = Higher opening
This doesn't equal greater attendance.
They may have brought in some people but as someone who works at a movie theater I know firsthand that the marketing has not brought in the people.Most people had no idea its even a musical. The marketing stunk plain and simple. Walking into a showing on Thanksgiving I was mortified that it was not nearly as full as it should have been. Its all in the glasses.

Anonymous said...

I don't think there's any one reason why Tangled has had a significantly better opening most recent Disney animated flicks. It's most likely a combination of a number of factors such as:

- 3D: The kids love 3D. Also, Tangled inherited the 3D screens that were initially meant for Harry Potter 7, before it went 2D only.

- Flynn Rider: Playing up the Flynn Rider character in the marketing gave the film a different impression than Princess and the Frog's marketing, which aimed more at tradition, rather than fun.

- Thanksgiving: Gotta take the family to something.

- Harry Potter: Apparently there have been complaints from parents that the latest Potter film is too dark for little kids. Tangled was the antidote to that.

- Preview Screenings: There were a lot of preview screenings in October and November. One of the best ways to market the movie is to just show people the movie.

- The Much-Derided Marketing: Obviously people other than us internet-dwellers found it amusing. It was certainly different than the normal marketing for a princess flick.

But ultimately I think it was the right movie at the right time. The Movie Gods were pleased by Tangled and decided to help it.

Darrell said...

Yeah, but the Movie Gods didn't help "Bolt" too much like they should have. And (although I don't care much yet) they didn't help Princess and the Frog even though many probably think they should have. And although "Inception" has grossed a darn lot, I think it should have crossed the billion mark.

Anonymous said...

The Movie Gods are fickle.

Cory Gross said...

So trusting Blue Sky and all y'all, I did deign to give Tangled a chance.

It was okay.

There were some nice visuals. The story and characters weren't as obnoxious as I was expecting, though I could have easily done without Eugene's narration. Overall, not as bad as I was expecting but not one I would bother getting the DVD for.

Anonymous said...

Hi Honor,

I have to say that I enjoyed Tangled.

Though I still have a soft spot for Bolt, and I really can't say that I mind that Disney will be taking a break from fairy tales.

By the way Honor, have you seen the following article?
The directors of Tangled give their side of the story on the title change;

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/11/24/tangled-rapunzel-nathan-greno-byron-howard/

Since you were one of the first people to leak to the masses the title change and curse the hell out of the marketers (and practically incite an online riot on the subject), I thought you might want to hear the directors' side of the story.

And you might want to tell Floyd Norman that the title change wasen't "beyond stupid" like he thought.
The title made sense for the story that they told.

Anonymous said...

Agree with your original comments, Honor! I said as much after the failure of PATF...the brand was being too strongly associated with little girls for its own good. This time around, they didn't change the film itself (other than the title). They changed the way people perceive the film before they go to see it, and it worked! And the effect was not just more boys. It even meant more girls who might not too much emphasis on princess-isness. Well done! Third time's a charm...Disney Animation is back...and I have great hopes for the next decade.

- Tasman

Anonymous said...

I saw Tangled - twice - and I liked it. Mother Gothel definitely stole the show for me. She's the best Disney villain since Maleficent, in my opinion.

While I very much enjoyed the film, and thought it had a solid storyline with solid characters, it didn't leave me with the same magical, feel-good feeling that Princess and the Frog instilled in me (and continues to do so time and time again).

It's a shame that the 90s-style of Disney animation (e.g., PatF) is over. I really appreciate the sincerity of a fairy tale film like PatF. Tangled was definitely more contemporary, but PatF was sweet. I guess sweet is out and funny is in, and that's fine. But I agree with what others here are saying: Hopefully this doesn't mark the end of hand-drawn features. Here's to a strong showing for Pooh, and hopefully, Disney will realize it can and should continue to do fairy tale films. Perhaps we'll see King of the Elves, Jack and the Beanstalk, and maybe even Snow Queen afterall?

Congratulations, WDAS, on your 50th animated feature and your biggest debut yet. Stick with what you know, just continue to do it well. Plzkthx.

Snegurochka said...

Alan Menken said in his last interview with the success of Tangled, there will be a re-evaluation of the project SNOW QUEEN in Disney Animation, as there are many artists in Disney that want and desire 'Snow Queen' in CGI.

Menken admits that the story of Snow Queen is very complicated but only find a story worthy of its protagonist.

Read here: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/11/24/alan-menken-tangled/



It's about the TANGLED OST, but the interviewer asks if Snow Queen will be traditional animation.

;)

Darrell said...

"Mother Gothel's the best Disney villain since Maleficent in my opinion."

Have you watched ANY Disney movies since then? Meet the Robinsons' villain is far better. And what about The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast? O_O

Sigh... too bad that not everyone likes a villain who surprises us (e.g.: Doris in Meet the Robinsons, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast) enough to like them more than Maleficient. Seriously, the movies from Walt's time are DEAD. I don't even know why they re-release them anymore.

Anonymous said...

^They're re-released because they SELL, dummy. People still love them. They're at the heart of everything Disney markets, including the theme parks. Get a clue.

Anonymous said...

I'm not gonna lie, it's a nice change of pace to analyze why a Disney animated movie had a great opening weekend, rather than a bad one.

I hope it's a trend that continues.

Anonymous said...

Darrell needs help... and some movie knowledge.

Darrell said...

What sort of movie knowledge?

Anyway, I made up my mind. I'm going to see "Tangled" this weekend, considering that EVERYBODY loves it so much, and it did look a bit funny.

Anonymous said...

As I said here earlier, I still have a soft spot for Bolt, and I noticed something...

According to Box office Mojo;

The worldwide gross for Bolt was 309,979,654 dollars.

The worldwide gross for Princess and the Frog was 267,045,756 dollars

(Its too early to compare Tangled to them)

Make no mistake, I did enjoy TPATF, though I still liked Bolt better.

I just thought that the characters in Bolt were very sweet and endearing, and I'd love to see the characters used again.
Given the fact that Bolt turned out to do pretty well and better that Princess and the Frog (and did well critically.) I really am hoping that someday we will see the Bolt characters again sometime.

If Disney can buy Marvel, then anything is possible.

Hueboxx said...

Nope, the marketing was awful. It worked against the film, totally. It was work of mouth that saved this film from flopdom.