MickeyBlog News Update for December 30, 2019
This week, we learn about Star Wars, Star Wars, and the Avengers. It’s a fanboy-intensive batch of stories to end the year. Welcome to the final MickeyBlog News update of 2019!
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker Box Office Update
The last time that we talked about the final film in the latest Star Wars trilogy, the Dark Side was winning.
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker had disappointed so much on opening weekend that movie exhibitor stocks universally dropped on the following Monday. It was if the entirety of Wall Street thought, “If Disney struggles with Star Wars, the movie industry is doomed!”
A week later, the situation is only slightly better. I’m going to preface this by saying that the budget for Rise of Skywalker is $275 million. Given the numbers that I’m about to throw at you, the movie is already close to profitable for Disney.
What we’re discussing instead are historical comparisons and opportunity costs. In those ways, Star Wars IX’s situation is worrisome.
Warning: Boring Math Ahead
The movie grossed $72 million this weekend, a drop of 59 percent from last time. This performance is in line with and actually slightly better than Star Wars: The Last Jedi, at least technically. Star Wars VIII claimed $71.6 million in box office and fell 67 percent in its second weekend. But that’s misleading.
Everyone in the movie industry knows that the holiday period is the most lucrative period on the annual calendar. From Christmas week through the start of the New Year, many people are on vacation, which gives them much more free time to watch movies. For many years, I wrote a series of articles called The Twelve Days of Box Office that examined this phenomenon.
Well, Rise of Skywalker is more than halfway through this lucrative period for box office. So, it’s earned a lot of its holiday money. After 10 days, it has a domestic total of $361.8 million. The Last Jedi had managed $368.2 million in the same timeframe. And here’s where things get depressing.
Star Wars VIII’s tenth day fell on December 24th. That film earned $77 million over its next three days, a Monday-Wednesday. Rise of Skywalker only managed $72 million on a Friday-Sunday. Barring something unforeseen, it’ll wind up as the worst box office performer of the current trilogy, at least domestically.
The Rest of the Star Wars IX Story
Globally, Rise of Skywalker has earned a stellar $725 million through 10 days. For comparison, The Last Jedi grossed $745.4 million after 10 days. Again, The Last Jedi had business pick up over its next few days, though.
So, what I feared last week has come to pass. Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker isn’t a massive disappointment like Solo: A Star Wars Story or anything ridiculous like that. However, it does seem like it’s going to finish with lower box office totals than virtually anyone had projected.
Presuming that happens, Disney will need to work hard to re-grow the Star Wars movie brand. The next film in the franchise will get the crucial title of Star Wars X. It needs to be something special to reinvigorate the brand the way that The Mandalorian has for Disney+. And it’s the same way that Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has reignited people’s passion for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
We learned with Star Wars: The Force Awakens that the fan-base is exceptionally loyal. Disney just needs to make better movies for them. A Star Wars film should NEVER have a B+ Cinemascore or Rotten Tomatoes score of 55 percent.
Speaking of Star Wars…
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has dominated headlines throughout December, and that won’t change in January, either. On the 17th, Disneyland will introduce its version of the attraction. Since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at the Happiest Place on Earth last May, guests have anxiously anticipated the most impressive theme park attraction in recent memory.
Disney rightfully expects long lines for Rise of the Resistance when it debuts. For this reason, the company plans a similar method for addressing the line queue.
The Disneyland version will also employ a digital boarding pass system for Rise of the Resistance. It may not work identically to the one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, though.
Park officials confirmed to the OC Register that guests will enter the virtual queue via the Disneyland app. Once a person enters the park, they will use the app to select a boarding group.
So far, that’s all we know, but Disney has promised to announce more information in the days leading up to the opening of Rise of the Resistance. Really, all that matters to Disneyland fans is that the day is almost here!
Avengers Campus Confirmed for Summer 2020
MickeyBlog readers already know from our D-23 Expo 2019 that Avengers Campus will open at Disney California Adventure in 2020. You also know that Disney had announced a projected opening next summer.
So, this story isn’t as much about breaking news as confirmation. This past week, Disney verified that the park can keep that date. During 2019, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Space 220, and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway all missed their projected openings. Unexpected delays are sadly a part of the theme park industry.
Thankfully, Avengers Campus will avoid this fate. Phase One of the themed land opens at some point over the next six months. The key attraction will be Worldwide Engineering Brigade, a Spider-Man experience involving the use of a Web Slinger vehicle.
The current belief is that Pym Test Kitchen will be ready when Avenger Campus opens, too. Get ready for all kinds of Instagram posts about the tiny and gigantic goodies on the menu here!
Disney Buys More Land
If you feel like you’ve read this headline before, you have. The Walt Disney Company has scooped up more land for the Walt Disney World campus. This time, Disney acquired 235 acres at a spot south of Reedy Creek. This land went for a jaw-dropping $6 million, valuing each acre at more than $25,500.
Disney’s been on quite the spending spree over the past 12 months. In December of 2018, the company grabbed 965 acres of land close to Celebration, Florida. The price tag on that purchase was $23 million, and so Disney paid about $23,800 per acre at that time.
At the start of 2019, Disney performed an even more massive land grab. The real estate holdings division bagged 1,575 acres at a more economical price tag of $11 million or about $7,000 per acre. Overall, that’s $40 million in capital expenditures for 2,775 acres of land in the greater Orlando area.
Feel free to speculate as to what Disney wants to do with that land. The one tidbit of information that I can provide is this. All four Walt Disney World theme parks require only 1,127 acres of land. So, there’s a lot that the company could do with 2,775 acres.
Of course, part of the new land resides close to existing Disney golf courses. More golf courses or recreational activities close to them seem like the likeliest uses for those spaces.
Mouse Gear Gets a Closing Date
The day that you and Disney have dreaded is about to arrive. The permanent location for Mouse Gear at Epcot will close for a dramatic overhaul on January 5th. January 4th will be the final day of operation for Mouse Gear as we all know it.
This place has become one of the most popular theme park retail stores in the entire world. It’ll cost Disney a fortune to shut down Mouse Gear, even for a little while. As a stop-gap measure, Epcot will host a temporary version of Mouse Gear at a location in the former Innoventions East. Not coincidentally, that store will open on January 5th.
Disney plans to modify Mouse Gear to bring it in line with the future look and style of the front of Epcot. As such, it’s going to be closed for a while. If you’re in the greater Orlando area anytime between now and January 4th, you should visit the current Mouse Gear while you still can. It will literally never be the same.
Mickey Mouse Meet and Greet Date
Mouse Gear’s closure is just one of a bunch of that have already happened or will happen at the former Future World site. To offset the loss of many attractions, Disney’s bringing out the big guns this week.
On January 5th, Epcot will introduce a new character greeting spot at the Imagination! pavilion. Mickey Mouse will become a permanent part of the area close to the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival. He’ll star in the Mickey Mouse Meet and Greet and pose with new friends…like you!
The backdrop for this character interaction sounds spectacular. Imagineers have constructed a series of vibrant film strips that stretch from floor-to-ceiling. Mickey Mouse will stand in front of images of classic Disney animated shorts, ones that star…Mickey Mouse! It sounds delightful.
Temp Starbucks Delayed
This story ties together with the last two. As part of Disney’s Epcot changes, the Fountain View Starbucks is gone for good. Park officials are currently working on a replacement spot for park guests to get their coffee fix.
This place was initially projected to open on December 20th. However, with so much going on at Epcot right now, the timeline’s gotten a bit squishy. We still don’t know an exact date for the actual debut of the next Starbucks, but we do at least know a name. It’ll be called Traveler’s Café, as the sign’s already visible for everyone.
Don’t worry, addicts. Coffee’s coming back to Epcot soon!