I’m pleased Disney is experiencing this cascade of box office bombs. Big, bloated, and assumed blockbusters trade on brand recognition (Marvel, Star Wars, live action remakes) and are devoid of any creativity and originality. It’s a product and not a movie. More modest productions of original ideas from filmmakers with a unique vision don’t get greenlit or distributed.

And Disney – trading on name reputation – has been seriously bruised by overt, obvious attempts at social engineering. No longer are they providing Disney magic, they’re pumping out indoctrination manuals disguised as children’s and young adult’s entertainment. Consumers aren’t fooled any longer and Disney films are predestined to fail, one after another.

Disney’s failings aren’t entirely to credit for the demise of a century of once unimpeachable and now dwindling quality. Streaming services with superb quality programming are offering original ideas from filmmakers with a unique vision. The stand out is Midnight Mass. And this quality programming is modest and self-contained. The goal isn’t sequels and merchandise. It’s providing entertainment for the sake of entertainment.

And production houses like A24 and Blumhouse are offering quality and originality at a much reduced production cost. With budgets less than $30 million, A24 and Blumhouse films don’t need to make $500 million just to break even.

Disney’s latest failure, The Marvels, has a price tag of over $200 million. Rule of thumb is double production cost for marketing of an assumed blockbuster and that’s the break even point. The Marvels turned a box office take of just over $100 million on its opening weekend, way shy of the $400 million break even. Even if The Marvels doubles that on its theater run Disney still loses $200 million. And The Marvels won’t bring any draw to their streaming service of people immensely interested in subscribing specifically to watch The Marvels. It’s already determined. The Marvels is Disney’s latest flop, big dollar bombs like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Little Mermaid.

Now, take that opening weekend $100 million for The Marvels and apply this to an A24 or Blumhouse film. At a production cost of $30 million, break even is $60 million (most likely less because there’s no huge international marketing blitz), and at $100 million opening that’s over three times production cost. This is a box office hit. And this is the norm.

I for one welcome Disney bombing on Marvel, Star Wars, and live action reboots. It’s really just unapologetic cash grabs on “sure things” that aren’t bankable any longer as weary filmgoers abandon big IPs held by Disney. The winning formula of cinematic universes continues to flounder, and the live action remakes – including the most recent with an actual character named Flounder – are withering as well.

It’s being said fans are “gloating” about The Marvels bombing because misogyny and because racism. What tired excuses to explain away that a movie bombs on its own by people just not liking a crappy movie. There’s no huge campaign to kill a movie by activated fan boys. It’s laughable thinking vocal dissenters have that much global influence. The same tactic was tried with Ghostbusters 2016 and it laughably imploded. Like Disney movies of late, audiences aren’t drawn to boring, crappy, rehashed IPs.

As said, I welcome Disney’s decline. It opens opportunities for risky original ideas from unique filmmakers, the type of films drawing excited audiences fatigued by comic book movies and retelling of classic stories done much worse. I’m pleased Disney can’t depend on bombast and nostalgia to manufacture blockbusters any longer. It’s not gloating here. It’s relief.