Personal opinion: If you ask me I think Disney's Pixar and Universal Dreamworks has a Arcane problem.

[thisithis]

Yeah, I know Inside Out 2 was a smash hit for Pixar, But the large amount of flops that came before it as well of all the other flops that DreamWorks had to do with Netflix and Amazon just killing it with all these over more mature Animated shows. Yeah, it started with Castlevania on Netflix, but when let's say, an unnamed virus forced us all to lock ourselves in our own homes we all ended up seeing a certain animated TV show from mostly Ex-Pixar employees based on a multiplayer online battle arena game called Arcane. And let's face it, when both Arcane and Invincible hit their respective streaming service, no one looked at animation the same way again. And ever scents Arcane both Pixar and Dreamworks have been forced to play catch up. And in my honest opinion, they have not been doing a very good job.

Yes, Dreamworks does have both Exosquad and Invasion America, but they're too old and Universal wants you to forget they ever existed and no one even cares about them anymore. And Pixar had nothing. Even though Arcane's Second season is their Final, according to the people behind Arcane they are planning on making other animated content related to the League Of Legends brand just like how Castlevania: Nocturne is the sequel to Castlevania. Disney was the huge Animated king with films Lion King, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and so on, until Pixar took over with Toy Story and the animated musical died. And then Universal came out with Shrek made by Dreamworks. But now both Pixar and Dreamworks are starting to get in that whole been there seen that a dozen times. It's starting to feel old and Arcane seemed to be that shot in the arm we all needed. Even though Inside Out 2, it still feels like Pixar and Dreamworks is still not like it used to be. And there is that Dreamworks film The Wild Robot that feels like a Pixar's WALL•E rip-off. I don't know, can we come back from Arcane? What do you think???

 

[Pooky]

I don't think so; I don't think the success of animated TV shows for adults has had much of an effect on the fate of animated films for kids, I think that has more to do with changes in the viewing habits of kids and the general population, and some of their recent concepts haven't necessarily had great audience appeal (e.g. the confusing conceptual context for Lightyear). Dreamworks have been kind of struggling since 2012 or so, long before Arcane or Invincible. I'm also not sure the cultural impact of either series has been as great as you're suggesting, but I could be wrong, it's hard to tell these days.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

And there is that Dreamworks film The Wild Robot that feels like a Pixar's WALL•E rip-off.

I don't know if it's just me or not, but the trailer for The Wild Robot did not remind me of WALL-E at all.

 

[PinkieLopBun]

Maybe it's because I don't watch either show, but I didn't think Arcane and Invincible had that big an impact. I was never under the impression that any studio's struggles were because of the success of one or two shows. Even when I do hear people saying something was screwed over in favor of something else, I've never heard either name come up.

 

[PicardMan]

Last year, The Boy and the Heron was the first ever PG-13 animated film to ever win best animated feature. So far, no animated film rated above PG has ever grossed over 100 million at the US box office (some like Demon Slayer have crossed that threshold at the worldwide box office, but it made only about 40 million in the US). Those PG-13 animated movies (9, Sausage Party, Isle of Dogs, that one stop motion movie about hell whose name I can't remember) grossed dramatically lower than the PG or lower movies. Adult animation has thrived on the small screen since the 90s, but it's never worked as well on the big screen.

 

[thisithis]

Last year, The Boy and the Heron was the first ever PG-13 animated film to ever win best animated feature. So far, no animated film rated above PG has ever grossed over 100 million at the US box office (some like Demon Slayer have crossed that threshold at the worldwide box office, but it made only about 40 million in the US). Those PG-13 animated movies (9, Sausage Party, Isle of Dogs, that one stop motion movie about hell whose name I can't remember) grossed dramatically lower than the PG or lower movies. Adult animation has thrived on the small screen since the 90s, but it's never worked as well on the big screen.

Somewhat true, except you forgot "Batman: The Killing Joke" based on the comic of the same name. The film was 9th of the most highest mature-grossing animated film and would have gotten more money if WB hadn't pulled the film so soon. And there is South Park: Bigger Lowder Uncut, and a few others. I think you need a bit of an update.

And here is a list if you need any more references.

List of highest-grossing R-rated films - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[PicardMan]

Somewhat true, except you forgot "Batman: The Killing Joke" based on the comic of the same name. The film was 9th of the most highest mature-grossing animated film and would have gotten more money if WB hadn't pulled the film so soon. And there is South Park: Bigger Lowder Uncut, and a few others. I think you need a bit of an update.

I knew those existed. Just listed a few highlights as a list of every theatrically released PG-13 or R rated animated film (or X if we're including Bakshi stuff) would be fairly lengthy. The former only grossed $4.4 million, which is really low compared to Pixar blockbusters. The South Park movie gossed about $50 million at the US box office, which was a lot smaller than Toy Story 2's $245 million (both 1999 films). The point is that kids' animated movies have always had dramatically high box office grosses than the PG-13 or higher stuff.

 

[JoeMabbon]

The South Park movie grossed about $50 million at the US box office

I think it's worth noting that The South Park movie benefited from the franchise's first wave of popularity. I don't know if that can be replicated today.

 

[thisithis]

I think it's worth noting that The South Park movie benefited from the franchise's first wave of popularity. I don't know if that can be replicated today.

And many say WB removed "Batman: The Killing Joke" way too early. Who knows how much it would have made if WB kept the film in theaters? Despite the fact that the first 15 minutes of the film were not great.