Wishful thinking: Disney's latest release wasn't the hit it'd hoped

11/26/23 7:00PM

Wishful thinking

‍Despite going into the holiday period as many people’s favorite for the top spot this Thanksgiving, Disney’s Wish was beaten out by the fifth installment of the Hunger Games franchise, which was in its 2nd week, as well as Ridley Scott’s newly-released Napoleon — another disappointing upset for the House of Mouse.

‍**Wish** mustered just $31.7 million over the 5-day Thanksgiving period (Wed-Sun), way down from its $45-50 million pre-release projections. That performance compounds a rough patch for Disney, which has been used to dominating the holiday box office in the past, producing 7 of the 10 highest-grossing Thanksgiving debuts of all time, according to data from The Numbers.

‍Fall flicks fall

‍Trips to the theater have become as much of a Thanksgiving tradition in some US households as carving up turkey or arguing with the in-laws. However, box office takings have sagged since Covid, with this year’s total estimated figure at $172 million, down 35% since 2019 — consistent with the wider malaise on the big screen, which is still yet to reach its pre-pandemic heights.

Although Disney's 2018 effort Ralph Breaks The Internet may hold the record for the top-grossing Thanksgiving weekend release of all time, the biggest-earning Thanksgiving-themed flick is actually Adam Sandler’s Jack & Jill, which, despite winning just a 3% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, takes that particular accolade.

Millie Giles1/9/26

Tamagotchis are making a comeback, 3 decades after first becoming a global toy craze

If you were a ’90s kid, you might remember the craze around little egg-shaped toys with an 8-bit digital screen, displaying an ambiguous pet-thing that demanded food and attention.

Now, on the brand’s 30th anniversary, the Tamagotchi — the Japanese pocket-sized virtual pet that launched a thousand cute and needy tech companions, from Nintendogs to fluffy AI robots — is making a minor comeback.

Tamagotchi Google Search Trends — Sherwood News

Looking at Google Trends data, searches for “tamagotchi” spiked in December in the US, up around 80% from just six months prior, with the most search volume in almost two decades.

While the toys are popular Christmas gifts, with interest volumes often seen ticking up in December each year, the sudden interest might also have something to do with the birthday celebrations that creator and manufacturer Bandai Namco are putting on, including a Tokyo exhibition that opened on Wednesday.

Game, set, hatch

More broadly, modern consumers appear to have a growing obsession with collectibles (see: Labubu mania), as well as a taste for nostalgia (see: the iPod revival, among many other trends).

But, having finally hit 100 million sales in September last year, the brand itself is probably just glad to exist, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience the profound grief of an unexpected Tamagotchi death.

Millie Giles

PANDORA’S BOX OFFICE

1/5/26

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” surpasses $1 billion globally after 18 days

James Cameron is now the first director in history to have four consecutive movies gross over a billion dollars.

$5.6B

Max Knoblauch12/23/25

Disney could be well on its way to its third billion-dollar film of the year following a $345 million opening weekend for “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” The film’s opening gross puts the “Avatar” franchise’s total box office earnings at $5.6 billion — and counting.

The latest film, the second “Avatar” entry under Disney’s tent, earned about 75% of its total box office gross internationally — in line with previous movies in the (as of now) trilogy. Domestically, this one earned $88 million, falling short of expectations.

“Fire and Ash” was the widest Imax release ever, debuting on 1,703 screens globally and earning $43.6 million through the format. The $345 million “Fire and Ash” opening weekend was the second-highest of 2025, behind Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” which recently passed the $1 billion mark, globally.

Year to date, Disney has earned $5.8 billion globally at the box office.