Disney’s Little Mermaid caused $5 million in damage

Disney’s action version of Little man The film lost nearly $4.9m at the box office last year, according to an analysis of recently released documents that show the film cost more than its production budget, with costs reaching $355.1m (£270.6m). gave

The film is a remake of Disney’s beloved 1989 animated film, which won two Oscars for its catchy score and song, “Under the Sea.” The remake stars Halle Bailey in the title role alongside a cast of computer-generated characters who contribute to the film’s grandeur.

The latest applications cover the year up to August 31, 2023, which is three months after the film’s release and a longer period after filming in July 2021. The year before release is usually when intensive visual effects work is done, and financial reports show that $35.4 million (£27 million) was spent on the film during this period. It is not paid Little man was widely criticized for its gruesome undersea creatures.

They were created by British visual effects firm Framestore and had big boots to fill. The cuteness of the original animated characters has become one of the reasons why they are a fan favorite, while their computer-generated counterparts alienate many viewers.

“There is something about these images that provokes an uncomfortable response,” he wrote Vox. “Maybe it’s the long, long shots on their ‘smiling’ faces, or their unnaturally twisted little mouths. It’s almost as if something sinister is hiding under the skin of the computer animals – and that’s even before they start singing and dancing.” “

It helped the film earn a critical score of just 67% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The audience was more appreciative and awarded it 94%, although it did not become a blockbuster show.

According to Disney, it grossed “$570 million at the global box office,” which was respectable, but a far cry from the $1.7 billion haul of its live-action version. Lion King in 2019 and 1 billion dollars Aladdin It was built in the same year.

It’s widely accepted that studios get about half of theatrical releases and exhibitors keep the rest, according to an analysis by film industry consultant Stephen Fakes. He interviewed 1,235 film professionals in 2014 and concluded that, according to studio data, theaters hold an average of 49% of films. It will give Disney an estimated $285 million Little man which is a drop in the ocean, because the extraordinary effects of the film have been achieved at great expense.

Film budgets are usually a closely guarded secret, as studios’ financial statements typically combine the costs of all their productions without specifying the amount for each one. Films shot in the UK are an exception and Little man was one of them.

Studios filming in the UK can benefit from the government’s Audio Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), which gives them cash compensation of up to 25.5% of what they spend in the country.

To qualify for reimbursement, at least 10% of the capital costs of production must relate to activities in the UK. To demonstrate this to the government, the studios are keen to set up a separate production company in the UK for each film they make there. They must provide publicly available financial statements that focus on how much each painting costs to make. The documents show everything from the number of employees and salaries to total expenses and cash compensation levels.

Companies usually have codenames so that they don’t attract the attention of fans when they apply for a license to film on location. Little man was produced by Disney subsidiary Sand Castle Pictures, and its financial statements shed light on the British government’s windfall as well as the $355.1 million spent on making the film.

It blows the estimated budget of the film out of the water. Deadline claimed that Little man had a “production cost of $250 million” and there’s a good reason it went over that.

According to reports, filming was supposed to begin in the UK between late March and early April 2020, but was delayed several times due to the pandemic. It finally began in January 2021 at Pinewood Studios, just outside London, but was temporarily suspended six months later due to multiple crew members contracting COVID-19. The filings say the budget overruns were “primarily due to the impact of COVID-19,” and they also reveal the tactics Disney has adopted to combat it.

The first was cash compensation, which came to $65.2m (£49.7m), bringing the film’s net take down to $289.9m. Subtracting that from Disney’s $285 million contribution from theaters, the film’s box office result was a $4.9 million loss.

Box office share isn’t the studio’s only return from a film, so offsetting it from expenses on a financial statement doesn’t show whether it made a profit or a loss. “Other income will come from the production (such as DVD/Blu Ray sales, merchandising, etc.). This does not reflect the actual profitability of the film,” said a Disney spokesperson.

However, the financial statements also do not show the marketing costs of the film, so if home entertainment sales and merchandise sales are added to theater viewings, marketing costs must be deducted from them. Disney doesn’t disclose its marketing costs per film or its home entertainment and merchandise revenue from each picture, so it can only be estimated, giving an unreliable result.

According to Disney, Little man was hugely popular with 16 million viewers in just its first five days on its streaming platform Disney+. However, it’s impossible to say exactly how much subscription revenue the platform generates, as Disney only discloses total direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue, which includes Hulu and ESPN+, as well as Disney+. .

Investors have been hungry for a deeper look, and recently, thanks to a data leak by Wall Street Journal. It stated that internal charts show that Disney+ generated more than $2.4 billion in revenue in the quarter to March 30, 2024, which is about 43% of the DTC division. Disney has been contacted for comment Journal report and any response will be included in the update.

Even Disney can’t say how much of that revenue it made Little manor any specific movie, in that period or any period, because Disney+ subscribers don’t pay per movie. They are billed monthly or annually and get access to the entire studio library and all new content released during their subscription period. This means that without evaluation it is impossible to attribute customer fees to specific productions, which is again unreliable.

In contrast, the $4.9 million loss at the box office is calculated using only Disney’s data. The film’s $355.1 million production cost comes from its documentation, as well as $65.2 million in cash compensation, while a total of $570 million is listed in Disney press releases. However, it does not stop here.

All of these components are directly related to the production process of any film made in the UK, however Little man He also gave a helping hand in terms of time. The filings add that its income was matched by $12.9m (£9.8m) of other operating income, including a UK government grant of $4.2m (£3.2m) in 2021 to help struggle with the impact of the pandemic.

This pushed the picture back into the black, but not because of its theatrical release or because of its lower costs. Addressing both of these points is the only way to be sure that the film will make a profit, and that it hasn’t lost the attention of Disney CEO Bob Iger. It explains why he said last year that the studio had to “cut costs on everything we make, because while we’re very proud of what we have on screen, it’s gotten to the point where it’s incredibly expensive.” Little man is the proof of it.