Was Cruella A Hit? Why Disney Greenlit A Sequel
Was Cruella a hit? Disney greenlit a sequel regardless of its moderate box office returns, suggesting that the studio is playing the long game.
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Was Cruella a hit? The answer is complicated — certainly, the box office returns for the live-action Disney movie is nothing like what would have been expected before the pandemic; however, Disney’s official stance is treating the picture as a success. Cruella thus reflects the transitionary period Hollywood finds itself in at the moment: with theaters around the world still closed (both temporarily and, in some cases, permanently), opening weekends are no longer the benchmark for a movie’s commercial viability.
Cruella is a soft reboot of the 1962 Disney classic, 101 Dalmatians, following a pattern of the company remaking its legacy animated titles in live-action. The movie presents the origin story for the iconic evil fashion queen Cruella de Vil, following the example of Maleficent. Not only does Cruella offer a sympathetic view of its villain, but it (wisely) leans into a ’70s glam-rock aesthetic, letting fashion and pop hits take the forefront of the narrative.
The box office returns for Cruella so far have just barely broken $130 million globally, but the studio is treating the movie as a hit. Reportedly, Cruella 2 is already in development at Disney. This suggests the studio thinks the title is bankable long-term. While Cruella was met with a decidedly mixed critical reception, the public has been kinder, with teen girls, in particular, being drawn to the movie’s campy, rebellious spirit. Disney is going to pursue that teen market — and likely, the studio is hoping for further returns in the months leading up to Cruella becoming free on Disney+.
As Scott Mendelson points out in his Forbes coverage of Cruella’s domestic box office performance, Disney is playing the long game with releases in the era of COVID-19. The company has leveraged its streaming platform to get the most out of its new content; although Raya and the Last Dragon didn’t have a major opening weekend, it went on to earn 6x that. It makes sense, then, that Disney would be so quick to order a sequel: even if Cruella doesn’t hit the approximately $400 million it needs to in order to break even, with Cruella’s estimated bloated budget of $200 million, the movie isn’t a bomb either — and is in an attractive position of being a promised money-maker long term.
Likely, Disney sees Emma Stone’s Cruella de Vil as the kind of icon that teen girls will swarm to for years to come. This is attractive to a company like Disney because it can be a lucrative merchandising opportunity — filling the Gen-Z gap of young women who’ve outgrown Frozen, but are still young enough to want to spend their disposable income on licensed t-shirts, posters, and other merchandise. Producing Cruella 2 is a smart way to keep the brand active, much like Disney did with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland franchise. Disney can maintain interest in the Cruella sequel, ramping up marketing efforts leading up to the debut, almost guaranteeing a strong opening weekend. Besides, with Cruella ending on such a tantalizing cliffhanger, there are many who will want to see the sequel just out of pure curiosity.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/cruella-disney-success-hit-box-office-sequel-explained/