Disney’s dark fantasy ballet couldn’t get audiences in a festive mood<\/b>
\nThree weeks from now, Disney should be back to making box office money hand over fist with \u201cRalph Breaks the Internet,\u201d but it\u2019s always noteworthy when the top studio in Hollywood suffers a flop as big as \u201cNutcracker and the Four Realms.\u201d
Filmed on a pricey $130 million budget, \u201cNutcracker\u201d has posted a domestic opening this weekend of just $20 million and $58.5 million worldwide. With family films like \u201cThe Grinch,\u201d \u201cFantastic Beasts,\u201d and the aforementioned \u201cRalph\u201d headlining the rest of the November slate, all signs point to \u201cNutcracker\u201d dropping down the charts very quickly in the weeks to come.
\u201cObviously, while we try to put all our films in the best position to succeed, some might not connect as much as we hope,\u201d said Disney domestic distribution head Cathleen Taff.
Also Read: ‚Bohemian Rhapsody‘ Is the Box Office Champion With $51 Million Opening
It\u2019s the worst opening for a wide Disney release since the $18 million opening of \u201cThe BFG\u201d two years ago, and the third misfire for Disney this year alongside \u201cA Wrinkle In Time,\u201d which made $132 million against a $103 million budget, and \u201cSolo,\u201d which was the worst-performing \u201cStar Wars\u201d film ever with just $392 million grossed worldwide.
So why did \u201cNutcracker\u201d fall apart like a poorly constructed toy? Here are our factors:
1.) Release date
There\u2019s no guarantee \u201cNutcracker,\u201d which is based on one of the most famous Christmas stories ever, would have performed better if it had been released closer to the 25th of December. But it\u2019s possible that two days after Halloween was too early for moviegoers to get into a festive mood, even if holiday commercials are already popping up on TV.
Granted, Disney couldn\u2019t exactly move \u201cNutcracker\u201d into a better holiday spot. They already have \u201cMary Poppins Returns\u201d slated for a Christmas release, and that film is a sequel to one of Disney\u2019s most beloved films ever. Disney\u2019s abundance of riches on their slate ironically worked against \u201cNutcracker,\u201d pushing it into this early November slot.
Also Read: ‚The Nutcracker and the Four Realms‘ Film Review: This Sugarplum Is Rancid
2.) Name Recognition
That said, a Christmas film released in November can still be successful. Disney had that sort of success with Tim Allen\u2019s \u201cSanta Clause\u201d films, and next week, Universal is expected to bag a solid $55 million opening for Illumination\u2019s adaptation of \u201cHow the Grinch Stole Christmas.\u201d
But unlike \u201cThe Grinch,\u201d which comes from an animation studio that\u2019s building Pixar levels of goodwill with audiences and is based on a beloved Dr. Seuss tale, \u201cNutcracker\u201d is only loosely based on a 19th century folk tale and the Tchiakovsky ballet music that it inspired. Neither of those have built-in interest among family audiences like the other films coming out this month, making it harder for \u201cNutcracker\u201d to build pre-release buzz.
Also Read: Why ‚Bohemian Rhapsody‘ Is a Much Needed Hit for Fox
3.) Reshoots
\u201cNutcracker\u201d was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, but the film was sent back for a month\u2019s worth of reshoots by the studio with \u201cCaptain America: The First Avenger\u201d director Joe Johnston in charge. While casual moviegoers almost certainly didn\u2019t pay attention to that behind-the-scenes move, many critics noted in their reviews that the reshoots created a sense that the film didn\u2019t have a unified vision behind it.
\u201cWhile it\u2019s difficult to identify who directed what, it\u2019s even more difficult to shake the feeling that Johnston was hired to sand off the edges, and make this thing more internationally palatable as a product,\u201d wrote IndieWire\u2019s David Ehrlich.
\u201cThe compromised result is suspended between a childlike sense of discovery and a corporate sense of duty \u2014 at no point does it feel like the story and the graphics are talking to each other, or even in the same language.\u201d
Many critics made similar complaints about the lack of substance behind the dark fantasy visuals, leading to the film\u2019s 35 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Without strong reviews, \u201cNutcracker\u201d lost another means by which to ignite audience interest, leading to this weekend\u2019s muted results.
Also Read: Thanksgiving Box Office Preview: ‚Wreck-It Ralph,‘ ‚Creed‘ Sequels Expected to Top Originals
4.) Ballet?
It would be demeaning to ballet dancers to say that no one cares about ballet. Certainly, the film\u2019s dance sequences and the performance by the American Ballet Theatre\u2019s Misty Copeland were among the few bright spots critics praised for \u201cNutcracker.\u201d But was a heavily modified take on one of the most famous ballets ever composed really going to build enough interest to support a $130 million film?
It doesn\u2019t seem like Disney thought so. At D23 last year, the studio did lean heavily on the ballet for the film\u2019s presentation, including a live ballet performance alongside the debut of the first trailer. But the crowd that had crammed into the Anaheim Convention Center responded with little more than mild cheers and polite applause, compared to the roars of excitement for \u201cAvengers: Infinity War\u201d and even the excitement for \u201cA Wrinkle In Time,\u201d even if the cheers for that film were just for the appearance of stars Chris Pine and Oprah Winfrey.
After that D23 presentation, there was very little of the film\u2019s ballet sequences in the film\u2019s marketing, leaning more instead on the \u201cAlice in Wonderland\u201d-esque visuals and Morgan Freeman\u2019s stately, mysterious narration. As seen this weekend, neither those nor the art of dance were enough to draw a crowd beyond a relatively small, female-majority audience, as Disney will now turn to Wreck-It Ralph and Mary Poppins to end 2018 on a high note.<\/p>\n

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Similarity rank: 3.4<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: -0.1<\/div>\n

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