The animated side of Disney may be doing better than ever, but the live-action side ... not so much.
The last few live-action Disney tentpoles just haven't lived up to anyone's expectations. Maleficient, John Carter, The Lone Ranger - while the movies certainly aren't terrible by any means, the last several live-action Disney films just haven't generated the sort of profits the company was hoping for. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule - the live-action remake of Cinderella did relatively well - but for the most part, Disney's live-action work just isn't measuring up.
Tomorrowland was supposed to change all that - unfortunately, it hasn't. Despite having Brad Bird in the director's chair and George Clooney in front of the camera, Tomorrowland was completely overtaken by Mad Max: Fury Road's insane ride through theaters and Pitch Perfect 2's ridiculous ticket sales. People just weren't talking about it, and the box office numbers reflect that: according to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney is looking at a $140 million dollar loss.
So, why is Tomorrowland losing so much money? Well, there are a number of possible reasons.
One possible (and likely) explanation is that Tomorrowland was released during a surprisingly competitive period. Pitch Perfect 2 brought in a ton of ticket sales, and people are still talking about Mad Max: Fury Road. Tomorrowland wasn't a terrible movie, it was just lost in the box office shuffle.
That being said, another likely explanation is that, because the film wasn't received all that warmly, word-of-mouth isn't doing the movie any favors: Tomorrowland is currently sitting at 50 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 60 percent on Metacritic. It's definitely not the best reception, especially for a Disney movie - and, when compared with its competition, Tomorrowland has fallen way behind.
Granted, this doesn't mean that Disney is about to give up on live-action projects. Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron made a ridiculous amount of money, and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens will likely do the same. However, Tomorrowland is only one of several new IPs that debuted and flopped in 2015 - it probably won't be all that long before studios (Disney included) rethink their approach to big summer blockbusters.
Think about it like this: if Disney wants to make back the money it lost on Tomorrowland, it'll need to sell 1.4 million tickets to Disneyland. It's certainly possible, but the company's not going to risk that moving forward. Sadly, it might be a long time before we see another project like Tomorrowland.
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