Part 6/9:
In practical terms, Disney likely faced an overall net loss approaching $160 million after factoring in production, marketing, and other ancillary costs. This doesn’t yet account for merchandising, which also underperformed—the new doll line aimed to match the film's diversity but didn't sell as well as expected.
The Lesson in Financial Transparency and Expectations
The discrepancy between early estimates ($380 million spend) and the actual net costs (around $300 million after credits) underscores how studios and analysts often present inflated numbers pre-release, drawing from initial projections and broad assumptions.