‘Strange World’ Could Stand To Be A Bit Stranger [Review]

Disney’s Strange World is heading to Disney+ on December 23, the streamer announced Monday.

No other film caused as big a sensation this year as “Top Gun: Maverick.” No other movie made as much money either, with Joseph Kosinski‘s film making $1.478 billion at the worldwide box office. Time will tell if James Cameron‘s “Avatar: The Way Of Water” overtakes “Maverick” on both fronts, but there’s one thing that film won’t do: it won’t be the National Board Of Review‘s Best Film of 2022.

No other film caused as big a sensation this year as “Top Gun: Maverick.” No other movie made as much money either, with Joseph Kosinski‘s film making $1.478 billion at the worldwide box office. Time will tell if James Cameron‘s “Avatar: The Way Of Water” overtakes “Maverick” on both fronts, but there’s one thing that film won’t do: it won’t be the National Board Of Review‘s Best Picture of 2022.

We are just over one week away from the theatrical release of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Coming a mere 13 years after the first, record-breaking film, many folks were wondering if a sequel was even a good idea. Could Cameron somehow replicate the awe many felt after watching blue aliens on a distant planet for the first time? Well, if the first social media reactions from critics are any indication, then absolutely.  READ MORE: James Cameron Says No Other Filmmakers Are Capable Of Making ‘Avatar’ Films Right Now Yesterday, many critics were given the chance to watch “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and their reactions are nothing short of ecstatic.

Almost 13 years to the day after James Cameron unveiled his 3D sci-fi epic Avatar in London’s Leicester Square, the filmmaker is back in town to present the world premiere of sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.

We got Momma Perez out of the house!! What a special day! We took the children to The Grove to say hello to St. Nick and tell him all they want for Christmas! Then, we went to the movies! A 2 4 1 outing – our favorite kind! Watch for all the fun and our review of Disney’s Strange World!

EXCLUSIVE: Plimsoll Productions, the company behind series such as Apple’s Tiny World and Disney+’s James Cameron-executive produced and Benedict Cumberbatch-narrated Super/Natural, has hired National Geographic’s Alan Eyres to run its U.S. arm.

EXCLUSIVE: Longtime Laika executive Jeff Stringer has been upped to the post of Chief Technology Officer at the Portland, Oregon-based animation studio.

In its third weekend, Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continued to reign at the global and international box office. With a $32.1M offshore frame (-53%), the sequel has an overseas total of $308M for $675.6M worldwide through Sunday.

Death, taxes and films that bomb at the box office.

It’s not like people weren’t going to the cinema yesterday as we head toward Thanksgiving: Disney/Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever made $9.5M on Tuesday propelling the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel past the the three century mark with $303.7M, making it the 7th film to pass that threshold this year after Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Jurassic World: Dominion, Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Batman and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Call it a holiday tradition as common as sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table, but Disney is going to rule the five-day holiday stretch again after wins in 2016 (Moana), 2017 (Coco), 2018 (Ralph Breaks the Internet), 2019 (Frozen 2) and last year (Encanto), as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s third weekend looks to do $40M over Wednesday-Sunday and Disney Animation’s Strange World hopes to squeeze out $30M+. All of this occurs as Bob Iger is re-installed as the CEO of Disney and the studio’s distribution czar Kareem Daniel exits.

Strange World, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new family offering is indeed strange, a film that ought to skew much older because of its reference points but caters to a surprisingly young audience too, mostly on account of its brilliant lava-lamp aesthetics. It also comes with a timely eco-message, albeit one so convoluted that the specifics of it are hard to register when there’s so much action going on. But as with most things in this gelatinous universe, it’s better just to let things slide, and it may be the case with this similarly protean production that its inability to solidify might explain Disney’s difficulty in promoting it.

EXCLUSIVE: In step with domestic, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Strange World will make its offshore theatrical debut this week, and is eyeing an overseas start in the $21M-$29M range. That’s lower than where a new animated movie from Disney might normally kick off, but the studio has taken a voluntary pass on more than 20 markets, choosing not to submit the film in countries where its LGBTQ+ content would have very likely forced demands for edits.

Hair goals! Gabrielle Union was a glorious sight at the Strange World premiere in London on Thursday, November 17.