BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
It's crazy that the studios will even let this happen. They can end it and everyone can make some money. It's just all so frustrating.
DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY
- Thread starter hhisc16
- Start date
It's crazy that the studios will even let this happen. They can end it and everyone can make some money. It's just all so frustrating.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
There's just so many more ways to present "entertainment" that competes for the viewer/listener.
I'm ancient enough to remember when the only way to listen to music was from a vinyl disc with groves cut into it. Then along came 8-track, cassettes, CDs, etc.
Now you can condense the content from thousands of those discs onto a little device no larger than your thumb.
The same with video. They say that more content is uploaded to YouTube in one day than is contained in the entire Disney+ library.
Yes, but kind of expected with what the studio has been thru the last few years - pandemic, figuring out how streaming fits in, org changes made by Bob 2.0, then changed again by Bob 1.0, and now the strike. It will still be years before things reach a new normal.
What do you make of the return of vinyl and now cassettes? And does it foretell anything on the video side? Will we need to dig out our old VHS machines soon? LOL
And just to keep on topic, (not surprisingly) Guardians had the number 1, 3, & 6 top selling cassettes last year.
https://www.billboard.com/pro/cassette-tape-album-sales-grew-taylor-swift-guardians/
U.S. Cassette Tape Album Sales Grew 28% in 2022
Albums from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles were the year's top-sellers in the niche format.
Interesting comment in this one, noting that paid digital downloads have all but disappeared. Wasn't it just a week ago that they were the next big thing? The rapid change in this industry is amazing, no wonder media companies are having a bit of trouble keeping up.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...ke-cds-for-the-first-time-since-the-late-80s/
Sales of vinyl albums overtake CDs for the first time since the late ’80s
clarker99
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 15, 2019
Marvel is a content creation machine and carry’s the water for the entirety of Disney’s studios.
2017 3 films
2018 3 films
2019 3 films
2021-2022 7 films, 7 series, christmas special and the what if
2023 3 films, 3 series
2024 3 films, 3 series
Marvel is actually doing more than pre-covid
The time between a lot of sequels in previous phases was 3 years. Guardian 1 and 2 were released 3 years apart and took place back-to-back in the time-line.
LucasFilm with zero theatre releases planned till 2026,after this last Indiana Jones film. That will be approx 20 Marvel movies bw Star Wars episode IX and this supposed 2026 Star Wars film. Lucas Film needs a kick in the butt. Dis+ series are great but Star Wars deserves the big screen more than once a decade.
BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
Honestly though, Marvel may be making too much content. The fatigue is real. That said, Lucasfilm could definitely be making a tad more.
AvidDisReader
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2019
Interesting point. Just a couple of years ago they were saying the same thing about Lucasfilms and Star War fatigue. Could be why there has been nothing made for awhile. We shall see.
BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
Yeah, but Lucasfilm was never making as much as Marvel does. They did release too many movies too close together I thing - Star Wars is a different animal than Marvel.
clarker99
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 15, 2019
There was always going to be a wane in the MCU. The Infinity War and End Game crescendo drew in fringe viewers. They had folks go back and catch up on the previous 20 movies. Now we are starting from scratch and telling a new story. It isn’t familiar. Marvel and Disney play the long game here. New characters are coming. We already had Shang-chi and the Eternals enter and soon Deadpool, Fantastic 4, Blade and eventually mutants will arrive with X-men. We have big team up movies coming. I think there is enough to keep things fresh.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202306/9604/
Robert Niles
Disney tops 2022 attendance, with Universal Orlando making gains
June 13, 2023, 9:59 PM · Disney continued to top the list of the world's most visited theme parks in 2022, but Universal Orlando made historic gains last year, according to a leading industry report.
The 2022 TEA/AECOM Theme Index Report is out, and once again, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom tops the list as the world's most-visited theme park, attracting a reported 17.13 million visitors in 2022. That's a 35% increase over the previous year's attendance, though still down from 2019's 20.96 million.
Disneyland, in Anaheim, Calif., again finished second in attendance, with a reported 16.88 million visitors in 2022, according to TEA/AECOM. That's nearly double of what Disney's original park drew in 2021, when it was closed for several months, then capacity controlled by the state. And it's nearly back to 2019's 18.67 million visitors, showing that Disney's ongoing advance reservation system isn't limiting capacity as much as redistributing it.
The TEA/AECOM Report (linked here) continues to list parks in their 2019 attendance order, so parks that might have ranked among the top 25 worldwide or top 20 in their region last year but did not rank that highly in 2019 are not included in the report. But it's easy enough to look at TEA/AECOM's reported numbers for 2022 to see the attendance order among the included theme parks.
And that's where you will find the shocker. One of the Universal Orlando Resort's theme parks has outdrawn three of Walt Disney World’s theme parks, according to TEA/AECOM. Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure drew the third highest number of visitors in America, and fifth worldwide, with a reported 11.03 million guests. Universal Studios Florida attracted a reported 10.75 million visitors, good for fifth place in the United States, trailing Disney's Hollywood Studios, with a reported 10.9 million visitors in fourth.
EPCOT followed with a reported 10 million visitors, with Disney's Animal Kingdom drawing 9.03 million. That barely outdrew Disney California Adventure's 9 million visitors and Universal Studios Hollywood's reported 8.4 million.
Worldwide, Universal Studios Japan attracted a reported 12.35 million visitors in 2022, beating Tokyo Disneyland, which drew a reported 12 million visitors last year, and Tokyo DisneySea's 10.1 million, according to the report.
While U.S. and Japanese theme parks approached their 2019 attendance levels, many theme parks in China saw their 2022 attendance drop from 2021 levels. Shanghai Disneyland led in Asia, with a reported 5.3 million visitors, down 38% from 2021. Hong Kong Disneyland drew a reported 3.4 million last year, up 21% from 2021, while Universal Studios Singapore welcomed 2.1 million visitors, up big from 2021, but still down significantly from 2019's 4.5 million.
In the United States, the major drop-off from the Disney and Universal parks to the rest of the pack continued. SeaWorld Orlando was again the best of the rest for reported attendance, with 4.45 million visitors in 2022. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay followed with 4.05 million, with Knott's Berry Farm's 3.90 million after that.
Next up, Canada's Wonderland returned to action with a reported 3.77 million visitors in 2022, approaching its 3.95 million number from 2019.
The only U.S. theme parks to record losses in 2022 relative to the year prior, according to TEA/AECOM, were the three Six Flags parks included in the report: Six Flags Magic Mountain (down 2% to 2.99 million visitors), Six Flags Great Adventure (down 28%, to 2.15 million), and Six Flags Great America (down 5%, to 2.54 million).
https://www.teaconnect.org/tea-theme--museum-index.html
Robert Niles
Disney tops 2022 attendance, with Universal Orlando making gains
June 13, 2023, 9:59 PM · Disney continued to top the list of the world's most visited theme parks in 2022, but Universal Orlando made historic gains last year, according to a leading industry report.
The 2022 TEA/AECOM Theme Index Report is out, and once again, Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom tops the list as the world's most-visited theme park, attracting a reported 17.13 million visitors in 2022. That's a 35% increase over the previous year's attendance, though still down from 2019's 20.96 million.
Disneyland, in Anaheim, Calif., again finished second in attendance, with a reported 16.88 million visitors in 2022, according to TEA/AECOM. That's nearly double of what Disney's original park drew in 2021, when it was closed for several months, then capacity controlled by the state. And it's nearly back to 2019's 18.67 million visitors, showing that Disney's ongoing advance reservation system isn't limiting capacity as much as redistributing it.
The TEA/AECOM Report (linked here) continues to list parks in their 2019 attendance order, so parks that might have ranked among the top 25 worldwide or top 20 in their region last year but did not rank that highly in 2019 are not included in the report. But it's easy enough to look at TEA/AECOM's reported numbers for 2022 to see the attendance order among the included theme parks.
And that's where you will find the shocker. One of the Universal Orlando Resort's theme parks has outdrawn three of Walt Disney World’s theme parks, according to TEA/AECOM. Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure drew the third highest number of visitors in America, and fifth worldwide, with a reported 11.03 million guests. Universal Studios Florida attracted a reported 10.75 million visitors, good for fifth place in the United States, trailing Disney's Hollywood Studios, with a reported 10.9 million visitors in fourth.
EPCOT followed with a reported 10 million visitors, with Disney's Animal Kingdom drawing 9.03 million. That barely outdrew Disney California Adventure's 9 million visitors and Universal Studios Hollywood's reported 8.4 million.
Worldwide, Universal Studios Japan attracted a reported 12.35 million visitors in 2022, beating Tokyo Disneyland, which drew a reported 12 million visitors last year, and Tokyo DisneySea's 10.1 million, according to the report.
While U.S. and Japanese theme parks approached their 2019 attendance levels, many theme parks in China saw their 2022 attendance drop from 2021 levels. Shanghai Disneyland led in Asia, with a reported 5.3 million visitors, down 38% from 2021. Hong Kong Disneyland drew a reported 3.4 million last year, up 21% from 2021, while Universal Studios Singapore welcomed 2.1 million visitors, up big from 2021, but still down significantly from 2019's 4.5 million.
In the United States, the major drop-off from the Disney and Universal parks to the rest of the pack continued. SeaWorld Orlando was again the best of the rest for reported attendance, with 4.45 million visitors in 2022. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay followed with 4.05 million, with Knott's Berry Farm's 3.90 million after that.
Next up, Canada's Wonderland returned to action with a reported 3.77 million visitors in 2022, approaching its 3.95 million number from 2019.
The only U.S. theme parks to record losses in 2022 relative to the year prior, according to TEA/AECOM, were the three Six Flags parks included in the report: Six Flags Magic Mountain (down 2% to 2.99 million visitors), Six Flags Great Adventure (down 28%, to 2.15 million), and Six Flags Great America (down 5%, to 2.54 million).
https://www.teaconnect.org/tea-theme--museum-index.html
Douglas Dubh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 13, 1999
This article should use the term “estimated” rather than “reported”. It’s not like Disney or Universal “reported“ their numbers.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lm-delays-reveal-troubles-at-studio#xj4y7vzkg
Pixar Misfire, Disney Film Delays Reveal Troubles at Studio
June 14, 2023 at 7:00 AM CDT
Walt Disney Co. releases its newest Pixar animated film on Friday, but the heart warming tale of fire and water falling in love is expected to deliver disappointing returns for the company that produced megahits like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
Despite a strong critics’ score of 79% at RottenTomatoes, Elemental is projected to take in just $31 million to $41 million in domestic theaters this weekend, according to researcher Boxoffice Pro. That would be among the lowest debuts ever for the animation studio. By comparison, 2015’s Inside Out, another original Pixar film, opened at $90.4 million. Elemental cost a reported $200 million to make and tens of millions more to market.
The performance of Elemental isn’t the only concern for investors. On Tuesday, Disney announced it’s delaying several major live-action movies, pointing to problems for some of the Burbank, California-based company’s most-valued franchises.
Disney pushed back the release dates for two of its Avengers films, by one year. Avatar 3 was delayed by a year, while two other sequels from the James Cameron-directed franchise were postponed by three years to as late as 2031. Fans won’t see another Star Wars picture until May 2026 at the earliest.
The world’s largest entertainment company declined to say why the films are being delayed, but the desire to push costs down the road, creative questions and a strike by Hollywood writers could all be factors, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kevin Near.
The extent of the delays suggests problems in the film division were festering before Bob Iger retired from Disney at the end of 2021 and have continued since his highly acclaimed return as CEO in November.
Iger was brought back to improve the profitability of the company, which last year generated net income of $3.19 billion, a fourth of its 2018 earnings. Earlier this year, he announced a $5.5 billion cost-cutting effort that included trimming $3 billion from film and TV spending. A number of programs have been canceled and removed from the Disney+ streaming service.
Star Wars, among the most fabled film franchises of all time, was put on hiatus by Iger in 2019 after a Han Solo origin story disappointed. Since then several projects have fizzled out, including a trilogy in the works by Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. In recent years, Disney’s Lucasfilm division has steered resources toward TV series like The Mandalorian and Andor for the Disney+ streaming service and away from Star Wars theatrical releases.
“We still are developing Star Wars films,” Iger said at a Morgan Stanley conference in March. “We’re going to make sure that when we make one, that it’s the right one. And so we’re being really careful there.”
Where Hollywood and Silicon Valley collide
Pixar, which Iger bought shortly after becoming CEO in 2005, has had a string of recent disappointments, including last year’s Lightyear, a prequel to the Toy Story films, that took in just $226 million worldwide, a fraction of its predecessors. The March 2020 release Onward, coming out just before US theaters began shutting down due to the pandemic, delivered just $142 million globally. Other films went straight to streaming.
The Little Mermaid, a live-action remake of the 1989 hit from Disney, failed to draw international audiences in particular after its release last month. That was in part due to less-than-enthusiastic reviews and a racist backlash over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role.
Even Marvel, the thoroughbred in Disney’s stable, has shown signs of losing steam. The February release Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania generated worldwide tickets sales of $476.1 million, below past installments from Disney’s comics arm. That led Iger to question the need for a third or fourth film based on any one character.
“If you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’ll see a lot of newness,” Iger said at the Morgan Stanley event. “We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole set of different Avengers as an example.”
It would be unwise to count Disney or Iger out. To some extent, the company is judged against its own successes, which have made it the envy of other Hollywood studios for many years. Last year’s Avatar: The Way of Water generated $2.3 billion worth of ticket sales and is the third highest-grossing picture in history. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, released in May, has crossed $800 million at the box office, in line with other pictures in the series.
Other Disney films due to hit theaters this year may perform well. They include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in June, Haunted Mansion in July, and the animated film Wish in November. The chorus of that film’s signature song, More for Us, is likely to strike a chord with executives at Disney’s studio lot: “So I make this wish, to have something more for us than this.”
Pixar Misfire, Disney Film Delays Reveal Troubles at Studio
- ‘Elemental’ expected to deliver one of Pixar’s lowest debuts
- Schedule changes push ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Avatar’ later into decade
June 14, 2023 at 7:00 AM CDT
Walt Disney Co. releases its newest Pixar animated film on Friday, but the heart warming tale of fire and water falling in love is expected to deliver disappointing returns for the company that produced megahits like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
Despite a strong critics’ score of 79% at RottenTomatoes, Elemental is projected to take in just $31 million to $41 million in domestic theaters this weekend, according to researcher Boxoffice Pro. That would be among the lowest debuts ever for the animation studio. By comparison, 2015’s Inside Out, another original Pixar film, opened at $90.4 million. Elemental cost a reported $200 million to make and tens of millions more to market.
The performance of Elemental isn’t the only concern for investors. On Tuesday, Disney announced it’s delaying several major live-action movies, pointing to problems for some of the Burbank, California-based company’s most-valued franchises.
Disney pushed back the release dates for two of its Avengers films, by one year. Avatar 3 was delayed by a year, while two other sequels from the James Cameron-directed franchise were postponed by three years to as late as 2031. Fans won’t see another Star Wars picture until May 2026 at the earliest.
The world’s largest entertainment company declined to say why the films are being delayed, but the desire to push costs down the road, creative questions and a strike by Hollywood writers could all be factors, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kevin Near.
The extent of the delays suggests problems in the film division were festering before Bob Iger retired from Disney at the end of 2021 and have continued since his highly acclaimed return as CEO in November.
Iger was brought back to improve the profitability of the company, which last year generated net income of $3.19 billion, a fourth of its 2018 earnings. Earlier this year, he announced a $5.5 billion cost-cutting effort that included trimming $3 billion from film and TV spending. A number of programs have been canceled and removed from the Disney+ streaming service.
Star Wars, among the most fabled film franchises of all time, was put on hiatus by Iger in 2019 after a Han Solo origin story disappointed. Since then several projects have fizzled out, including a trilogy in the works by Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. In recent years, Disney’s Lucasfilm division has steered resources toward TV series like The Mandalorian and Andor for the Disney+ streaming service and away from Star Wars theatrical releases.
“We still are developing Star Wars films,” Iger said at a Morgan Stanley conference in March. “We’re going to make sure that when we make one, that it’s the right one. And so we’re being really careful there.”
Where Hollywood and Silicon Valley collide
Pixar, which Iger bought shortly after becoming CEO in 2005, has had a string of recent disappointments, including last year’s Lightyear, a prequel to the Toy Story films, that took in just $226 million worldwide, a fraction of its predecessors. The March 2020 release Onward, coming out just before US theaters began shutting down due to the pandemic, delivered just $142 million globally. Other films went straight to streaming.
The Little Mermaid, a live-action remake of the 1989 hit from Disney, failed to draw international audiences in particular after its release last month. That was in part due to less-than-enthusiastic reviews and a racist backlash over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey in the lead role.
Even Marvel, the thoroughbred in Disney’s stable, has shown signs of losing steam. The February release Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania generated worldwide tickets sales of $476.1 million, below past installments from Disney’s comics arm. That led Iger to question the need for a third or fourth film based on any one character.
“If you look at the trajectory of Marvel over the next five years, you’ll see a lot of newness,” Iger said at the Morgan Stanley event. “We’re going to turn back to the Avengers franchise, but with a whole set of different Avengers as an example.”
It would be unwise to count Disney or Iger out. To some extent, the company is judged against its own successes, which have made it the envy of other Hollywood studios for many years. Last year’s Avatar: The Way of Water generated $2.3 billion worth of ticket sales and is the third highest-grossing picture in history. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, released in May, has crossed $800 million at the box office, in line with other pictures in the series.
Other Disney films due to hit theaters this year may perform well. They include Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in June, Haunted Mansion in July, and the animated film Wish in November. The chorus of that film’s signature song, More for Us, is likely to strike a chord with executives at Disney’s studio lot: “So I make this wish, to have something more for us than this.”
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/15/disney-looks-to-get-out-of-animation-rut-with-pixars-elemental.html
Entertainment
Sarah Whitten@sarahwhit10
Key Points
“Elemental,” a romantic immigrant story told through anthropomorphic elements of nature, arrives as Disney
is under pressure to prove it hasn’t lost its golden touch in animation.
The company, which operates both Pixar and Disney Animation, has struggled to drum up ticket sales for its animated fare in recent years. Meanwhile, Universal’s
Illumination and DreamWorks animation arms have dominated the box office with hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Disney’s Pixar studio, in particular, is looking to rebound from the box-office letdown that was “Lightyear.” The Buzz Lightyear origin story snared just $226.7 million at the global box office in 2022, a fraction of what past Pixar films have generated from ticket sales, according to data from Comscore.
“Elemental” is expected to debut between $35 million and $45 million domestically, according to industry analysts, in the midrange for a typical Pixar release but well shy of the $120.5 million that Sony’s
animated “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” picked up during its opening weekend earlier this month.
“Animation certainly seems to be going through some winds of change,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Universal and Illumination are leading that charge after a very successful decade that has seen their streak of successes extend into the 2020s, arguably becoming for today’s young Gen Z and older Gen Alpha kids what Pixar and DreamWorks were for Gen X and millennials.”
Robbins said the growing diversity in animation studios and increased competition are positives for the industry overall. However, it has also highlighted a dip in Disney’s box-office prowess.
Falling with style
The pandemic shuttered theaters one week after the release of Pixar’s “Onward,” minimizing the box-office potential of the film. With ongoing restrictions, worries about Covid-19 variants and a trend of parents skipping out on theatrical releases, Disney sent “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red” directly to Disney+.
“Disney’s pandemic strategy of streaming-only distribution, among other creative disruptions, for several of their well-reviewed films did a disservice to the brand, one which new leadership is trying to mend now,” Robbins said.
When “Lightyear” went to theaters, consumers were used to Pixar films going straight to streaming. But that confusion was only part of the reason for the lackluster ticket sales.
“Lightyear” shifted away from a formula that had endeared so many generations to the “Toy Story” franchise — focusing on emotional stories with beloved childhood toys.
The feature was billed as an origin story about the film that made Buzz Lightyear the hottest-selling toy and a coveted prize for young Andy. The characters on screen aren’t toys that believe they are real — rather they are human. This meta-style story might have been enticing to audiences that grew up with “Toy Story” in the ’90s, but for younger generations the science fiction action adventure missed the mark.
Later that year, Disney Animation’s “Strange World” also failed to lure in moviegoers, tallying just $72.4 million globally during its run, according to Comscore.
Wish upon a star
Disney is hoping “Elemental” will be the start of a new era of animated success for its studios. With more family films in theaters after a drought in the slate, the company will have an easier time marketing its upcoming features to theatrical audiences.
The company is set to release Disney Animation film “Wish” in cinemas over Thanksgiving and has two more Pixar films slated for 2024 — “Elio” and a sequel to “Inside Out.” Disney also plans to eventually release a fifth film in the original “Toy Story” franchise, a third “Frozen” film and a second film based in the world of “Zootopia.”
“Having established itself over the decades as the preeminent producer of animated films, Disney has set the bar for how to perfectly produce, market and distribute animated films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Despite recent box-office issues, both Dergarabedian and Robbins foresee a return to form for Disney animation efforts in the future.
“Disney animation boasts unparalleled brand identity, a massive creative talent pool and strong marketing and distribution teams,” Dergarabedian said. “This is a perfect time for Disney to hit the reset on their animated film strategy and reestablish themselves as a revered and legendary creator of animated family films.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
Entertainment
Disney looks to get out of animation rut with Pixar’s ‘Elemental’
Published Thu, Jun 15 20237:00 AM EDTSarah Whitten@sarahwhit10
Key Points
- Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” arrives in theaters Friday.
- The company, which operates both Pixar and Disney Animation, has struggled to drum up ticket sales for its animated fare in recent years.
- Meanwhile Universal’s Illumination and DreamWorks animation arms have dominated the box office with hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
“Elemental,” a romantic immigrant story told through anthropomorphic elements of nature, arrives as Disney
is under pressure to prove it hasn’t lost its golden touch in animation.
The company, which operates both Pixar and Disney Animation, has struggled to drum up ticket sales for its animated fare in recent years. Meanwhile, Universal’s
Illumination and DreamWorks animation arms have dominated the box office with hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Disney’s Pixar studio, in particular, is looking to rebound from the box-office letdown that was “Lightyear.” The Buzz Lightyear origin story snared just $226.7 million at the global box office in 2022, a fraction of what past Pixar films have generated from ticket sales, according to data from Comscore.
“Elemental” is expected to debut between $35 million and $45 million domestically, according to industry analysts, in the midrange for a typical Pixar release but well shy of the $120.5 million that Sony’s
animated “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” picked up during its opening weekend earlier this month.
“Animation certainly seems to be going through some winds of change,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Universal and Illumination are leading that charge after a very successful decade that has seen their streak of successes extend into the 2020s, arguably becoming for today’s young Gen Z and older Gen Alpha kids what Pixar and DreamWorks were for Gen X and millennials.”
Robbins said the growing diversity in animation studios and increased competition are positives for the industry overall. However, it has also highlighted a dip in Disney’s box-office prowess.
Falling with style
The pandemic shuttered theaters one week after the release of Pixar’s “Onward,” minimizing the box-office potential of the film. With ongoing restrictions, worries about Covid-19 variants and a trend of parents skipping out on theatrical releases, Disney sent “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red” directly to Disney+.
“Disney’s pandemic strategy of streaming-only distribution, among other creative disruptions, for several of their well-reviewed films did a disservice to the brand, one which new leadership is trying to mend now,” Robbins said.
When “Lightyear” went to theaters, consumers were used to Pixar films going straight to streaming. But that confusion was only part of the reason for the lackluster ticket sales.
“Lightyear” shifted away from a formula that had endeared so many generations to the “Toy Story” franchise — focusing on emotional stories with beloved childhood toys.
The feature was billed as an origin story about the film that made Buzz Lightyear the hottest-selling toy and a coveted prize for young Andy. The characters on screen aren’t toys that believe they are real — rather they are human. This meta-style story might have been enticing to audiences that grew up with “Toy Story” in the ’90s, but for younger generations the science fiction action adventure missed the mark.
Later that year, Disney Animation’s “Strange World” also failed to lure in moviegoers, tallying just $72.4 million globally during its run, according to Comscore.
Wish upon a star
Disney is hoping “Elemental” will be the start of a new era of animated success for its studios. With more family films in theaters after a drought in the slate, the company will have an easier time marketing its upcoming features to theatrical audiences.
The company is set to release Disney Animation film “Wish” in cinemas over Thanksgiving and has two more Pixar films slated for 2024 — “Elio” and a sequel to “Inside Out.” Disney also plans to eventually release a fifth film in the original “Toy Story” franchise, a third “Frozen” film and a second film based in the world of “Zootopia.”
“Having established itself over the decades as the preeminent producer of animated films, Disney has set the bar for how to perfectly produce, market and distribute animated films,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Despite recent box-office issues, both Dergarabedian and Robbins foresee a return to form for Disney animation efforts in the future.
“Disney animation boasts unparalleled brand identity, a massive creative talent pool and strong marketing and distribution teams,” Dergarabedian said. “This is a perfect time for Disney to hit the reset on their animated film strategy and reestablish themselves as a revered and legendary creator of animated family films.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
No idea who this person is or most of the shows mentioned but it sure seems like Disney+ should "own" the children space on streaming. But will they?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t...tuffins-creator-streamers-kids-tv-1235508198/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t...tuffins-creator-streamers-kids-tv-1235508198/
Last edited:
BrianL
Doom Buggy Driver
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2013
That was actually quite an interesting read.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...rthy-exits-as-disney-cfo-bob-iger-1235516744/
Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, executive VP and CFO of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO, effective July 1.
By Alex Weprin
June 15, 2023 1:22pm
Walt Disney Co. CFO Christine McCarthy is stepping down from her role to take a family medical leave of absence, the company said Thursday.
Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, executive VP and CFO of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO, effective July 1.
“Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “Christine has served as a key strategic anchor during a period of great transformation, and she and I have discussed her desire to ensure an orderly and successful CFO succession in advance of the company’s transition to its next chief executive officer. She is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes family medical leave, but has graciously offered to move into an advisory position to assist her successor in assuming the duties she has so expertly handled these many years.”
Christine McCarthy to Exit as Disney CFO
Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, executive VP and CFO of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO, effective July 1.
By Alex Weprin
June 15, 2023 1:22pm
Walt Disney Co. CFO Christine McCarthy is stepping down from her role to take a family medical leave of absence, the company said Thursday.
Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, executive VP and CFO of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will serve as the company’s Interim CFO, effective July 1.
“Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “Christine has served as a key strategic anchor during a period of great transformation, and she and I have discussed her desire to ensure an orderly and successful CFO succession in advance of the company’s transition to its next chief executive officer. She is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes family medical leave, but has graciously offered to move into an advisory position to assist her successor in assuming the duties she has so expertly handled these many years.”
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
Some history.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...-christine-mccarthy-contract-2024-1235066188/
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy Extends Contract Into 2024
The executive's deal had been set to expire at the end of next year.
December 21, 2021 1:47pm
By Alex Weprin
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...-christine-mccarthy-contract-2024-1235066188/
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy Extends Contract Into 2024
The executive's deal had been set to expire at the end of next year.
December 21, 2021 1:47pm
By Alex Weprin
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS?p=DIS
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The Walt Disney Company (DIS)
92.94+0.49 (+0.53%)At close: 04:03PM EDT
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