People shit on the Disney+ approach, but it by all accounts is working super well:
identify several things that worked in a previous popular/nostalgic product
make a 3/5 soft reboot/rehash of the things that worked that is not challenging or controversial and has a few high points. You want the entire audience to feel "whelmed enough" by the leftovers--taking risks doesn't get you there.
Reduce the budget through sometimes crappier VFX (She-Hulk), smaller scale (Hawkeye), or less main actor screentime (the whole first part of Hocus Pocus 2 reduced the screentime of the Sanderson Sisters dramatically, and they were only paid a reported $4.5 in aggregate).
Disney spent about $40 million on Hocus Pocus 2, where the original, adjusted for inflation, cost about $60 million. They have to be pretty happy that it is beating House of the Dragon AND Lord of the Rings.
Kruger-Dunning t1_iu1uedr wrote
Reply to ‘Dahmer’ Stays In Top Spot Followed By ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ On Nielsen Streaming Chart by HumanOrAlien
People shit on the Disney+ approach, but it by all accounts is working super well:
Disney spent about $40 million on Hocus Pocus 2, where the original, adjusted for inflation, cost about $60 million. They have to be pretty happy that it is beating House of the Dragon AND Lord of the Rings.