“Agatha Always” finally breaks Disney’s mold significantly, becoming the cheapest Marvel Cinematic Universe series on Disney+. Who would have thought Disney had it?
The sheer amount of money Disney invests in these shows is hilarious because the numbers are almost unbelievable. Agatha’s predecessor, “WandaVision,” grossed nearly $25 million per episode.
By episode nine, things enter the realm of fantasy and are difficult to explain.
This is even more head-scratching considering that many of these shows actually failed miserably. That’s not to say Disney is putting out something useless. Rather they do it over and over again.
Everyone knows the old saying: Do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Well, Disney surpasses this in every way.
The thing is, there’s a slim chance that someone grabbed the wheel and ended up doing something different to Agatha Aaron.
“Agatha” cost about $40 million to make, rather than squandering the money like the Prodigal Son.
Yes, you read that right. Disney invests slightly more in the entirety of a Marvel Cinematic Universe series than in a single episode of the previous series. Is this a sign of a course correction?
First of all, Agatha wasn’t exactly “successful”
At least not in every way. Only about 304 million minutes were watched in the first week. Of course, that sounds great until you realize The Acolyte bumped that number up to 380 million minutes in its first week.
That’s right, Acolyte — Disney just canceled the show amid some angst and controversy. By the end of its third week, “Agatha” had dropped to 204 million views, a 33% drop after a 22% drop the previous week.
Agatha also performed worse than the Acolyte in weeks two and three. Assuming Disney’s subscriber count reports are accurate, less than 10% of Disney+ subscribers are willing to watch Agatha.
So, why is this important? Understanding context is important. When Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum gushed about the success of Agatha , what he was really referring to was “success versus cost.”
“I can tell you this is our cheapest show, and I think that’s intentional. We want to produce these shows at a responsible cost. Frankly, when we can bring them in at a reasonable budget, it gives It gives us a lot more creative freedom. For example, there’s very little CG in this show, much less than what we’ve done before, and I think you can feel that in the show.
—Brad Winderbaum
Brad Winderbaum made this statement in an interview with Variety , and interestingly, he didn’t reveal Agatha Agatha’s specific numbers.
While Brad was muddying the waters by bringing show costs to the forefront, Disney was doing the same thing, waiting a full week before revealing more details.
For obvious reasons, Disney releases global data rather than domestic data. On the top 10 list of Disney originals (excluding older episodes), “Agatha Always” currently ranks 10th.
So, where does “success” lie?
Currently, “Agatha Along” has a score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 81%, which is not bad by any means. There may not have been a huge influx of viewers, but those who watched and rated it were quite satisfied.
The consensus among critics is neither here nor there, with critics going out of their way to put a positive spin on the absolute garbage of the past in obvious ways.
Having the two scores so close does reveal a level of parity, which is good for the show.
We do have to consider the level of competition for unfair gaslighting, such as comparing Agatha’s release numbers to Penguin’s and claiming Agatha’s superiority. Most fans don’t bother to look at the numbers, what they mean, and where they come from.
When you consider that Agatha’s numbers are global and Penguin’s numbers are domestic, it definitely changes things.
Add in the fact that Max and Disney have roughly similar subscription rates in the U.S., and things look worse for Agatha than the initial announcement suggested.
The point of this exercise is to entertain the idea that Disney might just be over the hump. Considering Disney’s history, the $40 million Agatha series is impressive. It’s a little change, which is a good thing.
Now, if Disney could produce shows that appeal to the masses on a similar budget, they might develop a whole new kind of cookie wheel.
If Disney had invested $25 million per episode of Agatha, the conversations we were having right now would be different.
Will Disney continue to pump out low-budget Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars projects?
As of now, Disney is fully implementing a cost-cutting budget plan. At the end of September, a new round of layoffs occurred at House of Mouse, mainly at the corporate level.
Disney is also preparing to crack down on multi-users – people who share passwords with friends and family in order to commit theft from the same account. Subscription prices are about to rise again.
Agatha Agatha probably represents the overall strategy going forward, with one or two exceptions a year.
Meanwhile, Disney will continue to generate cash flow from its most profitable business (and far from it): its theme parks.
Last but not least, Bob Iger is leaving and Disney is forming a succession planning committee to help find a new CEO. Depending on who it is, we might go right back to the $240 million project.
It’s likely there will be more cuts, or a new CEO will remain at the helm on Bob Iger’s final course.
Whether it’s about to make headlines in the near or distant future, Disney will learn its lessons from those half-baked, poorly written shows that cost huge sums of money.
Do you think Disney+ is heading in the right direction when it comes to low-budget projects, or will the modest success of “Agatha Always” continue an overall downward trend?
Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
