How Disney’s ‘Elemental’ Went From Flop to Fame

It all started with a mouse, sure. Therefore, it all started with the wonderful world of film!

Yes, the films were what inspired countless rides, attractions, eateries, hotels, and Disney’s brand as a whole. It’s probably safe to assume that most Disney fans’ love for the brand and the theme parks probably came from watching VHS tapes or DVDs of hits like Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, as well as Pixar films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc. A lot of folks’ very first movie theater memory involves Disney movies, too! The way we watch Disney movies looks a little bit different now, and we’re starting to learn that the way folks watch these movies has an impact on the film’s success.

For example, let’s talk about Disney and Pixar’s Elemental, which debuted in theaters on June 16th, 2023. The story follows a young woman named Ember who forms an unlikely friendship with a man named Wade in a city where fire, water, land, and air residents dwell among one another. They realize they’re a lot more similar than they originally thought and the film tells a story about stereotypes and breaking barriers.

When it debuted in theaters, it didn’t perform well. The film had the second-lowest box office debut in Pixar history, bringing in around $30 million in revenue. As far as what went wrong, the creators of the film shared that it’s tough right now to create new, original IP that folks are going to be interested in. Nostalgia is a big thing for many people right now, and they want to stick to what they know. They want sequels, spinoffs, and remakes. Elemental might have just been too new.

While the film did increase box office revenue over time, the movie didn’t become a hit until later.

It became a hit when it debuted on Disney+ — Disney’s online streaming platform. According to Nielsen Media Data’s Top 10 streaming insights,  Elemental is currently the top-streamed movie on Disney+ as of October 12th, 2023, and has even surpassed The Little Mermaid on the streaming charts with 1,726 million minutes streamed. That’s 293% more minutes than the live-action The Little Mermaid. 

So, it seems that many folks are preferring to watch films from the comfort of their own homes. We saw an increase in streaming numbers as theaters closed around the globe in 2020 due to the pandemic, and we watched as theaters fought to remain relevant as folks grew more and more comfortable watching films from home.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said multiple times throughout the 2023 quarterly earnings calls that he believes that the future of the company lies within streaming, and it didn’t take much research to see why that might be the case. People are LOVING at-home movie nights, or the convenience of watching films on a phone or laptop while they’re in the car, waiting for appointments, or eating dinner.

We can probably expect to continue to see an increased focus on advertising streaming premieres for upcoming releases rather than the primary focus being on release for theaters. It’s probable that advertising efforts will be evenly distributed between the two.

We’re glad that movies like Elemental became hits once they arrived to the streaming platform, and we’re interested to follow along with streaming and box-office trends. We’ll continue to keep you updated with all of the above, so make sure to follow along for more!

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What do you think of Elemental? Let us know in the comments!