Boxoffice - October 2016

of buzz and for which some box office analysts are now
predicting a potential $100 million opening weekend.
Mitchell: Of course, it’s Marvel! Why wouldn’t it perform that
well? Guardians of the Galaxy did quite well, didn’t it? And they
considered that to be not in the realm of known characters. Here’s
the thing—I love Marvel. They’re so good at what they do. The way
they make films is very similar to how we make animated films. It’s
strangely a very similar process, which is why I think those films are
so fantastic. That said, I really feel that film is on the darker side of
Marvel, while we’re just as colorful and happy as can be.
Dohrn: We’re offering up happiness, to make you feel good about
yourself and your experience going to the movies. I think that’s the
big difference. There’s room for both films.
Mitchell: I’m going to get real for a second here. We did one of
these fun and funny and amazing designs to create a whole world,
but also Walt did a bunch of research into happiness.
Dohrn: We looked a lot at that Harvard study on happiness that’s
been going on for decades, and we garnered a lot from that. Yes,
it’s good to laugh. But to make the laugh even funnier, it needs the
emotional resonance and balance.
And people could potentially use some happiness on your
opening weekend specifically, because your movie comes
out on Friday, November 4, and the presidential election is
on Tuesday, November 8.
Dohrn: No question. Our world today has a lot of turmoil going
on. The audience could use a little bit of happiness in their lives. n
DOHRN AND MITCHELL AT THE MOVIES
Dohrn: My favorite movie theater is the Cinerama
Dome in Hollywood, the Arclight. The history there,
not to mention the picture, the sound quality, the giant
space you’re in—it’s an incredible space. Growing up
we had a little bit of a run-down tiny theater. Every
couple of months they’d run an old Disney film. I remember
going there specifically for [1944’s] The Three
Caballeros, which is an amazing and beautiful film,
definitely a big influence.
Mitchell: Here are my two. It’s an old run-down
dollar theater in Oklahoma City that’s not around anymore,
unfortunately. I was so mad, because I wanted
to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, and instead my parents
took me to see a revival of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear
Window. And it blew my mind. To this day, that’s one
of my favorite films.
You didn’t get to see Raiders, you merely ended up
being friends with Steven Spielberg 30 years later.
Mitchell: So I didn’t have to see his film. No big deal.
[Laughs.]
OCTOBER 2016 BoxOffice ® 87