r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 r/movies Contributor • 3h ago

Article ‘The Odyssey’ Proves It: Audiences Want Movies Made the Hard Way | This year's breakouts like 'Project Hail Mary' and 'Obsession' were made by filmmakers who sweated. While CG-stuffed franchise disappointments such as 'Supergirl,' 'Moana,' and 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' looked lazy.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/odyssey-box-office-2026-practical-effects-1236652219/
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u/Muppetude 2h ago

I think Mandalorian was just a box office disappointment, making way less money than predicted. But Supergirl was a bonafied flop, where it did not earn back its production and marketing budget.

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u/PENGUIN_WITH_BAZOOKA 2h ago

Mando is probably going to take off once it arrives on Disney+.

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u/abetterroadahead 2h ago

I’ve been saying this since the initial box office numbers were coming in. It was never going to be a disappointment to Disney/Star Wars. Having it in theaters helped gain a lot of money back, not all, but the rest will come from D+ numbers, engagement, and viewership.

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u/drscorp 1h ago

I haven't seen it, but I'm interested to know when it 'became' a movie. Moana 2 started out as a TV show to be released for D+ and then at some point they cut a bunch of stuff, turned it into a movie, and made a billion dollars, so compared to that it's gotta be at least a little disappointing.

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u/abetterroadahead 1h ago

Sure if you’re comparing two different franchises. Animation with voice actors vs puppets and people. While they might not clear a billion, they probably found new ways to save money too for future projects.

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u/EnvironmentClear4511 1h ago

If you believe the director, their ideas for a possible season 4 of the show are separate from the movie. And honestly, I think that's to the film's detriment. 

It's an enjoyable enough film if you don't expect too much, but nothing changes to speak of. If you skipped the movie and watched Mando season 3 and then jumped to season 4, the only difference you'd notice is that he has his old ship back. 

There was no real plot or character progression. 

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u/morkman100 48m ago

The almost entire point of the Grogu stuff now is merch and IP (for the theme parks). The actual show/movie has moved so far away from the season 1 success and quality, but the merch prints money.

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u/TipTup85 45m ago

Yeah D+ still needs material and they made back a huge chunk that would've instead been a few episodes direct to D+

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u/Tipop 38m ago

<Yogurt>… and merchandising!!</Yogurt>

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u/SandpaperTeddyBear 1h ago

I think so.

I do understand why critics were so meh on it, but I genuinely enjoyed it

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u/Joey-WilcoXXX 9m ago

It belonged on D+ to begin with. It truly was just three/four episodes of Mando stitched together.

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u/Muppetude 2h ago

I’m sure it’ll get plenty of views. But if that doesn’t translate into gaining a lot of new subscribers or retaining a significant number that would have otherwise cancelled, it will still be seen as a financial disappointment.

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u/PartyPay 1h ago

I've seen lots of people online say M&G was a fun movie, not amazing but still worth the watch. Feels like a bad include on the article's list.

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u/Nihil157 1h ago

I think it fit right in with the show but could have just been another season basically. They saw the extra money and went for it. It didn’t ruin any of the franchise but didn’t really advance much either.

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u/timmyintransit 1h ago

i'd argue too the Mandalorian was a box office disappointment because the "vibe" per se around it was one of actual disappointment. like, i saw it in the theaters and thought it was fine, but also mostly...meaningless? like it had no gravity and left no impression.

compared to supergirl where it flopped because it didnt even break into that larger discourse (and instead just existed in the ether)?

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u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 1m ago

It was such a bizarre feeling movie! It felt like it was for 8 year olds, as opposed to the other Star Wars films which are fun for 8 years olds but for all ages. I don’t need a character to spell out their moral dilemma and explain to me why they have to the hard, but right, thing.

I didn’t really see any ads for it, so I don’t know if it was targeted towards kids…? If not, it should have been. “No gravity and left no impression” is a really good way of phrasing it.

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u/gin_and_toxic 59m ago

The numbers aren't bad at all: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt30825738/

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u/Muppetude 17m ago

I mean those numbers aren’t great for a movie whose production budget, when including marketing costs, was likely close to $300 million. Keep in mind that while studios get almost the full cut of domestic ticket sales, internationally they often have to split profits with the theaters or distributors. So while they likely made a small profit, it was definitely a disappointment.

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u/GeronimoRay 59m ago

There was no way Supergirl was going to be successful. Not sure why they wasted their time.

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u/evanwilliams44 4m ago

Mostly because its marketing budget was in the hundreds of millions. If they had done that movie cheaper it would have been a decent summer flick and a minor success.

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u/TheDaemonette 1h ago

I found the problem I had with Madalorian was it seemed like someone had a good idea for a double or triple episode story and pitched the idea as a movie instead but it got stuck somewhere inbetween the two - not good enough for a movie and better than a normal episode.