With the resounding victory of former President Donald Trump and Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress, the nation has decidedly shifted to the right. While Vice President Kamala Harris dominated the West Coast and Northeast, Trump won the center of the country by a large margin.
This shift away from the coasts has not gone unnoticed by Hollywood decision-makers. The election and success of shows like Yellowstone on Paramount Plus have left Disney, Netflix, and Max scrambling for programming that will appeal to the “flyover states.”
Amazon and its owner, Jeff Bezos, who allegedly ordered the Washington Post to pull its endorsement of Vice President Harris, have beaten its competitors to the punch. Amazon Prime partnered with The Wonder Project, a Christian-focused production company, to create faith-based stories.
Their first collaboration, The House of David, is based on the Old Testament and will be released just before Christmas.
Nick Barnes, UTA’s Head of the Heartland Division in Nashville, said:
They (studios) are heartland-curious. It’s ‘what’s our Yellowstone?’ I see cowboy boots every time I go to Los Angeles now.
They know faith and family and Yellowstone are important. While they understand they need this audience, they don’t understand them.
While Amazon Prime and Paramount Plus have already reached this audience, Disney’s transition will be more challenging. After the company’s much-publicized fight with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, known by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, many conservatives see Disney as having “gone woke.”
Many conservatives see the current Disney iteration as having betrayed Walt’s original vision by including LGBTQ+ characters in its films and television shows. They also blame Disney’s “wokeness” for the company’s movies failing at the box office in 2022 and 2023.
Given the strong feelings that many in conservative circles have toward The Walt Disney Company, it will be hard to break into this market. However, the shift might not be as significant as people think.
Coming off the success of Yellowstone, Kevin Costner invested millions of his own money into Horizon: An American Saga, which tanked at the box office, grossing less than $35 million in its worldwide release.
The changes Disney made under Bob Iger seemed to have figured out its issues with two billion-dollar films this year and the potential for two more later this year with Moana 2 (2024) and Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).
With the political shift in the country, Disney will have to adapt to keep up with the changing mood. Otherwise, the company will be back in its 2022 hole.
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