Disney releases another box office bomb; 'Wish' cursed with some of the worst reviews the House of Mouse has ever received

The Walt Disney Company marked its 100th anniversary with yet another box office bomb. "Wish," which reportedly cost between $175 million and $200 million to produce, drew a paltry $19.5 million domestically over the weekend.

Box office analysts figured the film would bring in at least $45 million in its first five days, but it failed to crack $32 million, reported CNBC.

By way of contrast, "Frozen 2" brought in over $125 million over the same five-day period in 2019.

As of Monday, "Wish" had earned a worldwide total of $48.9 million.

The animated picture's abysmal opening week bookends a year of similar flops, including "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," "The Little Mermaid" remake, "The Marvels," and "Haunted Mansion."

While continuing the trend of ostensibly cursed releases, "Wish" nevertheless managed to outperform Disney's last November flop, "Strange World" — a work of climate alarmist agitprop featuring the studio's first openly gay on-screen teen. "Strange World," which only brought in $11.9 million over a post-pandemic Thanksgiving weekend, reportedly amounted to a loss for Disney of $197.4 million.

"Wish" will, however, still register as one of Disney's worst opening weekends in modern times.

Not only is "Wish" ostensibly a costly mistake but widely disliked.

The film ranks 64th out Disney's 73 animated theatrical movies according to Rotten Tomatoes, whereon "Wish" presently has a 49% rating.

Kevin Maher of the Times (U.K.) wrote, "Just like The Marvels, Wish is an emotionally inert and personality-free movie that appears to have been assembled from the outside in."

Maher appears to have been referencing "Wish" director Jennifer Lee's June suggestion to the Guardian that "[w]hen you manage characters from outside in, they don't resonate. And if it's not authentic, no one comes."

Wendy Ide of the Observer called the film a "grimly cynical marketing exercise wrapped in the sparkly cloak of an escapist animated fairytale."

Although critics have suggested the film is devoid of personality, sincerity and emotional stimuli, Deadline suggested the film's under-performance is actually the result of a poorly conceived trailer that failed to provide a clear sense of what the film was about, promising only another "plug-and-play princess movie" with an unclear narrative hook.

Blaze News previously reported that ahead of the film's release, the Walt Disney Company filed its annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, detailing both its woke bona fides and the price it has paid for its involvement in culture wars.

"We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our business," said the SEC filing. "Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products whose success depends substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways."

The company indicated that this "misalignment" with customers has impacted its various products and services as well as its reputation.

CEO Bob Iger told investors in September that Disney would work to "quiet the noise" in the culture war, reported the New York Post. However, it appears the damage already done may be irreversible. After all, the company has both made its activist position on various sensitive issues extremely clear in recent years and demonstrated its contempt for the democratic will of the American people, throwing around its weight in hopes of undoing legislative efforts to protect children and shore up parental rights.

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