The Disney Parks Live-Entertainment Bracket -- Round Five, Day Two

I hear tell that the world is a carousel.

Good morning, friends! First of all, though it was a hard-fought battle, I want to congratulate yesterday’s victor…in these brackets, that is. Not the World Cup. (Though I gather it was quite the barn-burner between Argentina and France.) Yes, we know that one-half of the Top Two of the Disney Parks Live-Entertainment bracket is going to be IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, in a pleasant surprise. Yesterday’s match started closely, but wound up otherwise. I kind of doubt today’s will be close at all.

Before I do dive into the poll, I want to briefly talk about the fun of following along with theatrical box office. As you are likely aware, this past weekend marked the opening of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, a movie that was either highly anticipated or highly dismissed by people around the world. (See, because who even remembers the first Avatar or any of the characters within that film? No one does! That’s why we constantly ask that question of each other online. Who among us remembers that one movie that everyone asks if anyone remembers?)

The original Avatar made three-quarters of a billion dollars domestically, and was the highest-grossing film ever for a very long time. And whatever else is true, every dollar that was spent on making the second film a reality is clearly on the screen, meaning that many millions of dollars were spent making the second film a reality. Thus, The Way of Water needs to make a boatload of money to be profitable enough to make Disney want to pursue a fourth and fifth film. (The third film is much closer to completion, apparently, and slated to arrive in 2024.)

Depending on who you ask on Twitter, the fact that The Way of Water made nearly $435 million across the world this past weekend is a big win or a big flop. The correct answer, if you ask me, is that — unfortunately for all those who want immediate headlines — it is too early to tell. Unlike so many big box-office hits, the original Avatar was not an out-of-the-gate smash the way Marvel movies are. Its opening weekend gross? In the United States, just over $75 million. (The Way of Water, for countless reasons including ticket increases, made a good deal more than that in the States this weekend.) And yet it made ten times that when all was said and done.

I am not, in any way, saying this movie’s going to make ten times its opening weekend gross domestically or worldwide. But considering how little competition there is at the box office for the next month and a half, and that the entire holiday season is a gold mine for theaters…I dunno. Not the biggest Avatar fan, but I think it’s too early to close the book on Jake Sully and Neytiri and Miles Quaritch, and would you look at that, I named three characters from the original film without looking them up. It can be done!

Anyway. To the vote.

(1) Fantasmic (WDW) vs. (1) World of Color: This one’s easy for me, folks. I can’t speak for the rest of you, but where yesterday’s matchup posed a conundrum, this one does not. The photo above tells you my answer, but I’ve also been very consistent throughout this bracket in saying that while Fantasmic’s Orlando edition is fine and good (and if I have any doubts about its seeding, I still would’ve placed it pretty high), it’s not the better one. And when it comes down to it, World of Color is an all-timer for me. The Orlando edition of Fantasmic cannot hope to measure up.

But that’s just me, and as always, mine is not the deciding vote. You decide. Like, literally, decide. Right now.

Should World of Color or Fantasmic (WDW) step down from this bracket? I will abide by the results of this poll.