Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" - 1st Weekend Summary

As you know, "The Princess and the Frog" hit theaters last Friday and many people have been holding their breath to see how a fairy-tale-hand-drawn (and black princess) Disney film would do.

Rather than explain and quote at length, here's a summary (please note, these points are compiled from many articles. I have not yet seen the film myself):

• Good news: The Princess and the Frog was a strong number one at the box office all weekend

• Bad news: It didn't open as strongly as the Disney Execs were hoping (i.e. match Pixar's opening takes)
  

• Good news: It still recouped over a quarter of the disclosed production costs in the first weekend so should be strong enough to support the idea of a) more fairy tale films b) more hand drawn films

• Bad news: There's still a long way to go before it makes a profit (at the box office, that is - this doesn't take any merchandise sales into account of course!)

• Good news: Even harsh critics are calling it 'a good film'

• Bad news: It's considered rather girly so boys probably won't be attending much, bringing potential box office numbers down (this should have been expected though with the word "Princess" in the title)
  

• Good news: Mid-December releases tend to have a long life so prospects look good for it's box office future (and takings and therefore investment in future fairy tale films)

• Good news: The general response is that Disney did a good job of a) a black heroine b) representing New Orleans c) a fun yet romantic story that kept audiences engaged

• Good news: Audiences are loving the hand drawn look (so there will be more support for more hand-drawn fairy tale films in the future)

As you can see there's more good news than bad. The big test will come when "Sherlock Holmes" and "Avatar" are released to see how PatF does then and how much staying power it has (despite that it's targeted at a completely different audience). If you're interested in reading more in depth I recommend starting HERE.

Projection: With audiences and critics responding very favorably, the frog's legs are looking quite strong (as is the future of more fairy tale films from Disney). :)[Disney fairy tales currently in production: Rapunzel (CG), King of the Elves (CG), Snow Queen (hand-drawn).]