Beyonce Takes on Disney and Bob Iger (And Wins)

It’s been a bad year (almost two) for the Walt Disney Company.

Related: ‘Wish’ on Track To Be Disney’s Biggest Bomb of 2023

Although some have pointed to the falling stock price, decrease in park attendance, and potential boycotts, there is a bigger “tell.”

The box office.

Disney’s Recent Problems

Once upon a time, The Walt Disney Company produced nothing but hit after hit. With multiple studios under its belt, including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and more, it was raking in tons of money.

Until lately, that is…

In November, it is estimated that Disney lost half a BILLION dollars just at the box office. The Marvels and Wish both appear to be box office bombs that can be added to the list of Disney’s recent flops.

Related: Disney World and Disneyland Will Suffer Because of ‘The Marvels’

These recent flops include Lightyear, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Haunted Mansion, Elemental, and another half dozen or so. Before 2020, Disney made multiple films a year that broke $1 billion at the box office.

Related: Disney Getting Clobbered At the Box Office Again

Box Office Numbers

This past weekend, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé grossed $21 million at the box office. Meanwhile, Wish dropped 62%, bringing in only 7.4 million in its second weekend. The Marvels officially ended its box office run by bringing in $2.1 million.

Queen Bey is the new box office queen.

Beyoncé's #Renaissance concert film topped the domestic box office with $21 million in its opening weekend, slightly ahead of expectations. https://t.co/Db3lIlA6Tk pic.twitter.com/FETVM0C5ZN

— Variety (@Variety) December 3, 2023

It’s widely believed that when Wish and The Marvels are added together – each movie brought Disney a 200-300 million dollar loss.

As The Marvels leaves theaters, it is going down as the lowest performing MCU film.

The Disney Wish Bombs

While Wish remains in theaters, many at Disney may hope it has some legs throughout the holiday season. This refers to the idea that word of mouth will keep numbers up as people see the movie, tell friends and family, or see it a second time.

However, considering its first two weekends (which included the Thanksgiving holiday) has grossly underperformed, that may be unlikely.

As Disney Wish bombs, it’s actually on track to be one of Disney’s biggest flops, surpassing even last year’s Strange World.

Related: Florida Teacher Moves on After ‘Strange World’ Controversy, Announces Children’s Book

Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn direct the new Disney Wish movie. It also stars Ariana DeBose as the voice of Asha, Chris Pine as the voice of King Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as the voice of Valentino.

Wish currently sits at a 48% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving mixed reviews. Most of its criticisms come from it being considered bland, boring, and serving as little more than fan service to hardcore Disney fans.

Related: Disney and Marvel Actors Channel Beyoncé in the Beyoncé Drop Challenge

Meanwhile, Beyonce’s release, though making less than the Taylor Swift Eras concert movie, is still beating Disney (and Bob Iger).