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Disney’s First Movie With Gay Lead Character Bombs At Box Office

Disney's first movie with a gay lead, Strange World, has bombed at the box office. Find out more information here...
Credit: Disney

Strange World, the first Disney film to feature an openly gay lead character, has bombed at the box office despite receiving positive reviews.

The House of Mouse is no stranger to releasing hugely successful animated films.

Frozen, Frozen Two, and Zootopia all grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

While films like Coco, Encanto, and Inside Out have also been critical and commercial successes.

However, it seems like Disney’s latest animated feature might be its least successful film in a long time.

Watch the trailer for Strange World below…

The synopsis for Strange World reads: “The Clades are a legendary family of explorers whose differences threaten to topple their latest and most crucial mission into uncharted and treacherous territory.”

Jake Gyllenhall (Nightcrawler) voices the lead character, Searcher Clade, and Dennis Quaid (The Parent Trap) voices his legendary father, Jaeger Clade.

Jaboukie Young-White (Only Murders in the Building) plays Searcher’s 16-year-old son, Ethan, who is openly gay in the film.

Director Don Hall told CineMovie that the film is inspired by ‘classic adventure stories’ such as ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’, which was written by Jules Verne.

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Strange World has received largely positive reviews, with Matthew Huff of AV Club writing: “Strange World feels like a new iteration of Disney, one that is more thoughtful and inclusive without sacrificing any of the humour or fun.”

Despite receiving a ton of praise, the film has bombed at the box office since its release on November 23.

According to Variety, it was projected that Strange World would earn between $30 million and $40 million on its opening weekend, which would still be one of Disney’s lowest box office openings.

However, in a five-day theatrical run, it has only grossed $27.8 million on a budget of $180 million.

This means that Strange World could lose Disney $100 million, as reported by Variety.

Strange World
Strange World has bombed at the box office despite receiving positive reviews. Credit: Disney

Even though Strange World hasn’t been a massive commercial success compared to other Disney films, fans are still enjoying the movie and have taken to social media to praise it. 

One person wrote: “I thought it was really fun and creative, ignore the anti-woke people and go enjoy this movie for yourselves!”

Another person commented: “I LOVED THIS MOVIE. Ethan is such a good example of how I like to see Black and LGBTQ characters – LOVED. 

“I NEVER thought I’d see the day where I saw myself in a Disney character, representation is so so beautiful.”

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A third person penned: “Everyone needs to see Disney’s Strange World movie. It is literally the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in months. 

“It’s so fun and cute and adorable and funny and sweet and I need everyone to see it.”

Strange World is available to watch exclusively in cinemas.

Watch Jake Gyllenhaal and Jaboukie Young-White take on a Disney Quiz put forward by It’s Gone Viral here.

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Written by Rosario Monachino

Rosario is a former content editor at IGV who specialized in film, TV, and entertainment news. He has a degree in English and Film from the University of Salford and a master's in Journalism from Liverpool John Moores University.