The reasons why Disney got rid of the fantasy series Willow after just one season seem to be clearer, as it was learned that the budget of its 8 episodes amounted to a staggering figure of 156. 8 million dollars, which It represents an average burden of almost 20. 5 million dollars.
Despite the colossal amount spent on the series, Disney has removed Willow from its Disney streaming platform and its documents reveal that work on a second season has been “abandoned,” though its executive producer Jonathan Kasdan has described it as breaking up.
Willow, a sequel to Lucasmovie’s beloved 1988 film of the same name, stars Warwick Davis, who plays the eponymous hero alongside Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, and Tony Revolori of the Grand Budapest Hotel.
Based on characters created by George Lucas, the series evolved through Kasdan, whose father Lawrence co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Raiders of the Lost Ark for Lucasfilm.
Disney acquired the rights to Willow by purchasing Lucasfilm from its founder George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012. Seven years later, Ron Howard, director of the original film, revealed that he had been approached by Jonathan Kasdan to paint a series about Willow. Disney+ and in October 2020 it received the green light. The series debuted just over two years later and ran until January 2023.
By the time it went live, the pandemic had locked down much of the world, leaving consumers hungry for new streaming content. Disney is eagerly adding screens to its platform in an effort to attract more subscribers than its rivals and spare no expense.
Budgets for broadcast screens are confidential because studios mix their charge with their overall spending and don’t detail how much they spent on each.
However, screens made in the UK are exceptions and Willow is one of them. UK film studios will benefit from the government’s Audiovisual Spending Credit (VSLA), allowing them to pay back up to 25. 5% of the cash they spend. in the country in cash.
To be eligible for reimbursement, at least 10% of the basic producer prices will have to be similar to activities in the United Kingdom. To prove this to the government, studios tend to create a separate production company in the United Kingdom. United Kingdom for every exhibition they hold there. They are guilty of everything from pre-production and principal photography to post-production, delivering the finished exhibit, and paying for similar goods and services.
These companies will have to publicly file their financial statements to receive them, which pulls back the curtain on the exact charge of holding the exhibit. Records show everything from staff titles and salaries to overall prices and where money is reimbursed.
Willow won a tax for filming in the United Kingdom ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd.
Corporations often use code names so as not to attract the attention of fans when they apply for permission to shoot outdoors. Willow, a subsidiary of Disney, is called Barking Lion Productions (United Kingdom), in a nod to the mythical creatures that populate the series.
As with all UK companies, monetary statements are published in stages long after the period to which they relate. This explains why Barking Lion Productions recently unveiled its effects for the year to December 31, 2022, a month after the series launched. The financial statements cover the period after filming was completed and show post-production costs incurred through Lucasfilm’s office at Industrial Light & Magic in London.
The documents reveal $53 million (£42. 4 million) spent on Willow in 2022, bringing its total charge to $156. 8 million. This is described as “within tight production budget” and Disney didn’t even have to cover it all themselves thanks to an unlikely Prince Charming.
Willow won a $31. 1m (£24. 9m) rebate from VILE and an additional $5m (£4m) grant for filming in a UK country. United Wales, which offers more tax incentives for studies. This reduced Disney’s net spending on the series to $120. 7 million, but that still couldn’t prevent its elimination.
Although Willow earned an 84% review on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, audiences only gave it a 65%. Its viewership has reportedly been among the lowest for a Disney show, with industry analysts Samba TV reporting that only 481,000 families watched the show in the top five. days of its release, despite the availability of two episodes. On the other end of the spectrum, the first episode of the hit Marvel streaming show Loki attracted 2. 5 million families during the same period, according to Samba TV.
This cast a dark spell on Willow’s long-term, and in March 2023, it was reported that the series would not be renewed for a second season. A few days later, Jonathan Kasdan described Willow’s prestige more as a pause than a cancellation. He noted that the second season is already written and will eventually be made, but not until at least within the next 12 months, which led to the decision to release the cast. However, the financial statements do not reflect this optimism and imply that “as of March 2023, season 2 of the company’s ongoing production has been abandoned. “
Since then, new clouds have gathered over the series, as it’s one of 50 titles Disney removed at the end of May last year as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative. Other cuts included the series Mysterious Benedict Society and the feature film The One and Only Ivan. Retiring the screens allows Disney to charge a depreciation rate on them, as it has spent cash on productions it deemed unviable.
The One and Only Ivan has also been removed from Disney+ © 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights… [+] Reserved.
It is necessarily a relief in the price of an asset and creates a loss on the company’s balance sheet that reduces its tax bill. Disney reported that its content purge generated a $1. 5 billion impairment charge, which is exactly the satisfied outcome it was looking for. .
“We used to think that exclusivity, meaning our own product on our own platforms, came at a huge price. In fact, it comes at a price. But as you know, we also see some studios licensing content to third-party broadcasters, and that creates more traction, more awareness, and actually not only increases the price of content from a monetary standpoint, but also in terms of traction. to do a lot of it. “
Disney has been on a cost-cutting adventure since Iger’s return. Three months after his return, he told investors that the studio needed to “reduce prices on everything we produce because, while we’re incredibly proud of what’s on screen, we’ve reached a point where it’s incredibly expensive. “
Willow is a witness to this and was born in the era of luxurious finishing to attract subscribers. This expense might be justifiable if the end result sparks renewed fan interest, but not if it fails like Willow. The lukewarm reception is rarely the only impediment he faces.
In November last year, Disney was sued in London’s High Court through English actor Ralph Ineson over allegations that he suffered a permanent shoulder injury during the night’s filming on the set of Willow in Wales. Ineson was clad in armor and fighting a nine-foot-tall ogre named The Scourge when he fell awkwardly and dislocated his shoulder.
He is reportedly asking for up to $187,400 (£150,000) in damages, this does not appear to have put him on Disney’s blacklist, as it appears that he was recently cast as the villain in Mouse’s upcoming superhero film, Fantastic Four.
Ineson is the only one who has expressed his displeasure with Disney for Willow. In October of last year, Davis took to social media to call the show’s removal “shameful. “
He posted on Directing his message to Disney, she asked “what do I tell those subscribers when they ask me why they can’t watch the show anymore?”
Ironically, Willow dropped out despite a romance between two female characters, earning her appeal to the LGBTQ community, one of Disney’s main target demographics.
Strong representation of Willow who failed to save ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd.
In fact, Willow’s diversity wasn’t just skin deep. The documents show that in production, women held 56. 2% of the highest-paying jobs at Willow and 65. 6% of the lowest-paying jobs, compared to 30% and 48%, respectively, at Disney . live-action film, Snow White, despite being hailed as a showcase for equality. Likewise, as we reported, only 34% of Snow White’s staff were women, compared to 57. 5% of the 588 workers working at Willow.
Ultimately, Disney is responding to its shareholders and announced earlier this week that its cost cutting had finally taken a magical turn. After burning more than $11 billion in losses since launching in 2019, Disney’s entertainment arm finally turned an operating profit in the 3 months to March 30 of this year. However, combined with its sports streaming division, it posted an $18 million loss, so a satisfied ending is still very, very far away.
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