Thanksgiving box office disappointing for Hollywood insiders

With Disney’s animated fantasy story “Wish,” the historical drama “Napoleon” and the dystopian prequel to the Hunger Games franchise, movie theaters across the country had a movie for every member of the family this past weekend.

But despite the variety of new releases, Thanksgiving box office receipts have been a bit disappointing for Hollywood insiders.

“We’re definitely getting there in terms of overall box office demand, but not quite at the levels that I think some industry observers were hoping for,” said Geetha Ranganathan, senior media analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence reported that this year’s box office is tracking at just under $9 billion — about 22% more than last year, but still 20% below pre-pandemic levels.

Much of this has to do with tightening consumer budgets, reduced marketing from actors due to Hollywood strikes and declining demand for franchises.

“It’s not so much about franchises, it’s really original content. Whether it’s a Barbie movie or an Oppenheimer movie, we’ve seen some movies that we never thought would do as well as they did. And the other side is that movies that do “As big a hit as the ones produced by Disney Studios — they weren’t quite as successful.”

The Hunger Games’ The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes debuted to $44 and $46 million, respectively, and Marvel’s The Marvels, which was released earlier in November, had the lowest debut of any film in the past 15 years.

“They’re all for the theatrical experience, as long as there’s something they’re really looking forward to and can get them excited about,” she said.

This December, audiences will once again have a diverse lineup to look forward to: the superhero franchise film “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “Wonka,” a prequel to “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” and “Migration.” , an animated children’s film and the biographical sports drama “Iron Claw”.

There’s something for everyone, but we won’t know yet if it will get everyone into theaters.

See more: Why aren’t there as many Thanksgiving movies as Christmas movies?

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