Disney’s Wish earned nearly $255 million at the global box office, a figure that would make many animation producers envious. But for Disney, the film is considered a money-losing flop.
How much money exactly did the film lose? Disney may never release an official figure, but a new report on Deadline gives a decent ballpark estimate, which is a net loss of $131 million.
Per the report, the Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn-directed film was Hollywood’s fourth-biggest financial loser of 2023. Two of the three bigger bombs were also Disney productions: The Marvels ($237m loss), The Flash ($155m loss), and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($143m loss).
So, how does a film that grosses over $250m box office end up in the red? Per the report’s math, Disney’s share of box office revenue ended up at $106m. Add $40m in home entertainment revenue and another $85m for tv/streaming, and the film’s total revenue was $231m.
But the film carried a production cost of roughly $200m with another $100m in P&A (prints and advertising), and $62m in residuals, interest, and overhead, bringing total expenses to $362 million.
If there’s an upside to Wish’s performance, it’s that the movie lost less money than Disney Animation’s preceding film Strange World, which came up $197m short of its total expenses.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ next film Moana 2, scheduled for release in November, marks the first time that Disney is producing a theatrical feature between its Burbank studio and its new-ish Vancouver studio. The new international production model should help rein in the production cost.
