With ‘Into the Woods,’ Disney goes dark

Among the many holiday movies currently in theaters is an adaptation of the Broadway musical “Into the Woods.” It’s about infidelity, sexual awakening, death and untidy endings — and now it’s a Disney movie.

Fans of the original Stephen Sondheim fairy tale mash-up worried that the Disney treatment would water down many of the dark themes that made it a departure from the typical blockbuster fairy tale. But the success of films like “The Hunger Games” has pushed studios to develop movies with more adult themes.

And so far, the move has paid off for Disney. According to early estimates, the film has brought in over $13 million since being released on Christmas Day.