The "pipeline model." In 2023-2024, Disney released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 , The Little Mermaid (live-action), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , Wish , and Inside Out 2 . Notice a pattern? Zero original, non-franchise live-action dramas. Every release is a pre-sold emotional mortgage.
Disney learned that popularity isn’t about volume. It’s about ritual . Families don’t “watch” a Disney movie; they undergo a rite of passage. Part II: The Algorithm Factory (Netflix) If Disney is the cathedral, Netflix is the casino. Located not in Burbank but in the cloud, Netflix’s studio system has no backlot tours and no nostalgia. It has data. The "pipeline model
By J. Samuels
But here is the twist: It’s working. Sort of. Zero original, non-franchise live-action dramas
The kingdom of the blockbuster is no longer a place. It is a perpetual motion machine of nostalgia, risk, data, and desperation. It’s about ritual