It feels like a different world where Marvel Studios used to be Disney’s golden goose. Now? Now, it adds to its losses and controversies, while being dragged through the mud.
But no matter how pressing and ever-dominating all the Marvel issues are, the Mouse House has other ventures as well, namely the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – whose box office predictions might ironically end up making The Little Mermaid’s theatrical performance look good.
On the divisive topic of Disney bringing back classic tales, another golden animated film is getting the studio’s attention, but not in the “let’s make a live-action film” way.
Let’s start with solving this last one first, shall we?
The Princess and the Frog becomes the latest to get Disney’s renewed attention but in a good way
The permanently closed Splash Mountain at Disney World, Orlando is all set to be replaced with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
And lo and behold, this is not one of those announcements that will take eons to become a reality as the centerpiece of the upcoming ride — a tiara-topped water tower (resembling the tiara Tiana wears in the film) — was installed overnight at the spot.
Marvel approached a director who feels the MCU has “poor taste”
MCU has weathered quite a few negative comments — how it is not cinema, how it kills the careers of its actors, etc. Now, Lucrecia Martin, a director who was approached for Black Widow but shot it down, has listed what else is wrong with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“It turns out some of the Marvel films are available on planes so I’ve seen a few. I find the sound in them is absolutely in very poor taste, the visual effects and the sound of the effects. It’s the selection of the sounds that they’re connecting to the effects, which is actually very ugly. And the way the music is used is actually horrible.”
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny headed for a bleaker future than The Little Mermaid
When The Little Mermaid tanked in China, it was the evident racist backlash that shouldered the brunt of the blame. In a way, it became one of Disney’s biggest disappointments in terms of China’s box office. But now Indiana Jone and the Dial of Destiny — whose box office predictions in the U.S. aren’t looking so hot either — is expected to make even less money than the Disney live-action in the country.
We would say it is not going to be a big loss for Disney, but if Dial of Destiny does flop, reports that the Mouse House’s combined losses over its last eight projects is a towering $900 million might end up being very true.