Latest “Toy Story” spinoff, “Lightyear,”This weekend’s box office performance was disappointing after criticism for the inclusion of a gay kiss in the children movie.
In its opening three days, the flick earned $51 million. It brought in $20.7 million Friday and $16.3 million Saturday. Sunday’s total was an epoch-making $14 million.
“What the hell happened here?” Deadline queried, not once bringing up the film’s same-sex kiss controversy.
Instead, Deadline suggested the movie came out too soon in the franchise, writing, “this could be a case of going to the Toy Story well too soon, too fast.”
Breitbart’s John Nolte, a cultural critic, disapproved of the idea and stressed that it was just “how bad”It was a great opening.
“Marvel releases two and three movies a year. You mean like that going to the well too soon?” Nolte mocked. “The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit came out every year. You mean like that going to the well too soon?”
“Well, three years ago, Toy Story 4 opened to $121 million. If these figures hold, Lightyear won’t do HALF that,” he wrote.”
“Another thing to keep in mind is that there’s no competition,”Nolte also joined. “The only kiddie movie still in theaters is The Bad Guys, which opened all the way back in April. After the resounding success of Toy Story 4 and with a wide-open field at the box office, especially during the summer, especially over Father’s Day, there was never a better time to open Lightyear.”
Disney/Pixar notably reinstated a same-sex kiss between two female characters, Alisha and her wife, following Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which bans classroom discussion on anything related to sexuality and gender to children in third-grade and younger.
Actor Chris Evans, who voices the movie’s main character, slammed critics who don’t approve of the gay kiss in the kids’ film.
“The real truth is, those people are idiots,”Evans spoke out to Reuters and slammed critics of his kiss. “Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.”
Evans similarly gushed over the gay kiss in an interview with Variety on Monday.
“Disney put a line in the sand saying, we’re putting this back in, but also, we’re not going to remove it for any other territories, in these places that would have a problem with it,”Variety reported the following: “What did you make of the company making that decision?”
“I mean, it’s great,”Actor responded. “As great as it is — and you know, I’ve been asked the question a few times — it’s nice, and it’s wonderful, it makes me happy.”
“It’s tough to not be a little frustrated that it even has to be a topic of discussion,” Evans continued. “That it is this kind of ‘news.’ The goal is that we can get to a point where it is the norm, and that this doesn’t have to be some uncharted waters, that eventually this is just the way it is. That representation across the board is how we make films.”
“Look, it’s an honor to be a part of something that is taking those steps, but the goal is to look back on this time and just be shocked that it took us this long to get there,”The “Captain America”Star added.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire Annouced plans for kids’ entertainment content.)
Related: Actress Slams Disney For Replacing Tim Allen With Chris Evans In ‘LightYear,’Find out Why they Would ‘Completely Castrate This Iconic’ ‘Character’
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