Disney’s Wish Finally Crosses Major Box Office Milestone

Wish was released in theaters during the week of Thanksgiving, but Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 100th anniversary film hasn’t been the success the company had hoped for. The film is getting mixed reactions, earning a 48% critics score and 81% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie also lost the holiday weekend box office to The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, but it did just reach an important milestone after three weekends in theaters. Wish has finally crossed $100 million at the worldwide box office.

At the time of the writing, Wish earned $49,412,846 at the domestic box office and $56,100,000 at the international box office. Wish‘s budget was in the $175 million to $200 million range (via Collider), which means the movie’s current takeaway is disappointing for Disney, However, the film hasn’t premiered in Italy, Australia, Japan, Korea, or Brazil yet. It’s also worth noting that the movie could have a resurgence during Christmas due to its family themes. Earlier this year, Pixar’s Elemental had an interesting slow burn at the box office, which could also be the case for Wish. 

Jennifer Lee Talks Disney Appealing To All Ages:

ComicBook.com recently spoke with Walk Disney Animation Studio’s Chief Creative Officer, Jennifer Lee, and she talked about why Disney appeals to all ages.

“It’s funny, Walt would always say ‘to connect with the kid in us,’ but I think some people misinterpret that to the concept of toys and an innocence that is naive. And I don’t think that’s what that means,” Lee explained. “I think that he means ‘connect with that part of ourselves that is wondrous, that sees possibility, that doesn’t give up, that has a way of looking at the world and seeing the world for its best and all of those things that we should always revisit over and over again.’”

Lee continued, “But I think by also connecting with fairytales, that’s where he started, his storytelling. Fairytales are created to help us cope with life. They’re not just a story for story’s sake. And so by using the fairytale model, to me, there’s different times in life where we need that support. So I always held true to that.” She added, “And I think with Wish, what I’m really excited about, as you said, is an original, it’s an original fairytale. It’s not based on an older one, it has more contemporary ideas and themes. But what it has that connects to us at all ages is not just like, ‘I wish for a pony or a horse.’ ‘I wish,’ meaning ‘this is the thing that drives who I am.”

What Is Wish About?

You can read the official synopsis for Wish below:

In Wish, Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. Featuring the voices of Academy Award®-winning actor Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino, the film is helmed by Oscar®-winning director Chris Buck (Frozen, Frozen 2) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon), produced by Peter Del Vecho (Frozen, Frozen 2) and co-produced by Juan Pablo Reyes (Encanto). 

Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Frozen 2) executive produces — Lee and Allison Moore (Night Sky, Manhunt) are writers on the project. With original songs by Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/musician Benjamin Rice, plus a score by composer Dave Metzger.

Wish is now playing in theaters.