DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[RivShore]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1670057932782964736

So the news flash is "Finance clashes with Ops over budgets and cost cutting"...Is that really supposed to be some kind of amazing revelation...Sorry but that has been every day of my freak'in life for my entire career. LOL

 

[wabbott]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/business/pixar-elemental-the-flash-box-office.html​

Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Falls Flat, Adding to Worries About the Brand​

Brooks Barnes

The original animated film took in $29.5 million at the box office, by far the worst opening in Pixar’s three-decade history. “The Flash,” from Warner Bros., also struggled.

June 18, 2023Updated 3:23 p.m. ET

Pixar is damaged as a big-screen brand.

That was one of the rather glum takeaways from the weekend box office, which found “Elemental,” a $200 million-plus Pixar original, arriving to a disastrous $29.5 million in domestic ticket sales. “The Flash,” a Warner Bros. superhero spectacle that cost about $200 million, also struggled, taking in a lethargic $55.1 million, according to Comscore, which compiles ticketing data.

“Hard to sugarcoat this,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers.
Questions about Pixar’s health have swirled in Hollywood and among investors since last June, when the Disney-owned studio released “Lightyear” to disastrous results. How could Pixar, the gold standard of animation studios for nearly three decades, have gotten a movie so wrong — especially one about Buzz Lightyear, a bedrock “Toy Story” character?
Maybe pandemic-worried families were not quite ready to return to theaters. Or maybe, as some box office analysts speculated, Disney had weakened the Pixar brand by using its films to build the Disney+ streaming service. Starting in late 2020, Disney debuted three Pixar films in a row (“Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca”) online, bypassing theaters altogether.

By streaming standards, those three movies were runaway hits. But Pixar’s most recent box office success was in 2019, when “Toy Story 4” took in $1.1 billion worldwide.

Attendance for “Elemental” over the weekend reinforced the brand problem hypothesis: It was Pixar’s worst opening-weekend result ever in the United States and Canada. The previous bottom was “Onward,” which arrived to $39 million ($46 million after adjusting for inflation) in domestic ticket sales in March 2020, just as the coronavirus pandemic started to sweep the globe.

“Elemental,” a cross-cultural girl-meets-boy romantic comedy, took in an additional $15 million in limited release overseas, Disney said.

To re-establish Pixar movies as more than just Disney+ food, the company held a premiere for “Elemental” at the Cannes Film Festival as well as in Los Angeles at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. “We’ve trained audiences that these films will be available for you on Disney+,” Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, said on Friday in an interview with Variety, a trade news outlet. “We’re trying to make sure people realize there’s a great deal you’re missing by not seeing it on the big screen.”

Films based on original stories are becoming harder sells, especially at a time when going to the movies has become more expensive and the broader economy is unsettled. People want to know that spending the money will be worth it. The animated movies that have been succeeding have been based on established characters and franchises.

“If you don’t swing for original stories you can’t make new franchises, and we swung really hard,” said Tony Chambers, Disney’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution. Referring to intellectual property, he added, “Original I.P. needs to work a lot harder to break through nowadays.”

Families turned out in colossal numbers for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) in April and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony) early this month. Family moviegoing budgets may be used up at this point, and movie watchers know they will be able to catch “Elemental” before long at home.

Some people in Hollywood and on Wall Street also worry that Pixar’s once-dazzling creative spark has started to flicker. The studio has suffered brain drain; it eliminated 75 jobs last month as part of Disney-wide layoffs and cost cuts. (The “Lightyear” director Angus MacLane, a 26-year Pixar veteran, was among those who received a pink slip.) Pixar has also been pushed to expand into television production to keep the Disney+ shelves stocked. “The higher the volume, the lower the quality,” said Terry Press, a former Disney, DreamWorks and CBS Films executive.

Reviews for “Elemental” were mostly positive, although to a lesser degree than normal for a Pixar release. Ticket buyers gave it an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls. The “audience score” on Rotten Tomatoes stood at a sky-high 91 percent on Sunday morning.

In a statement, Disney said that the positive reviews “set us up for a strong theatrical run through the school holiday period.” The next major animated film for families is “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (Paramount), which does not arrive in theaters until Aug. 2.
Image

“The Flash” (Warner Bros.) received weaker reviews and a chillier audience response — ticket buyers gave it a B in CinemaScore exit polls — but filled enough seats to rank as the No. 1 movie in the United States and Canada. The movie finds the titular superhero using his powers to travel back in time, accidentally causing mayhem. Batman and Supergirl also figure prominently.

In part, “The Flash” suffered from timing: It was delayed by the pandemic, finally arriving at a moment when late night shows — crucial movie marketing platforms — are shut down because of a strike by show writers. Warner Bros. and its DC Studios division have also cited superhero fatigue as an explanation for the recent underperformance of a string of their comics-based movies, including “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Black Adam.”

Ezra Miller, who played the Flash, became a divisive figure after a spate of offscreen legal troubles and erratic behavior in 2021 and 2022. (The actor, who is nonbinary, issued an apology last year and said they were seeking mental health treatment. They largely did not do publicity for “The Flash.”)

“The superhero world is fantasy, escapist fun,” Mr. Gross said. “Everybody has to play along. This didn’t help.”

Brooks Barnes is a media and entertainment reporter, covering all things Hollywood. He joined The Times in 2007 as a business reporter focused primarily on the Walt Disney Company. He previously worked for The Wall Street Journal. @brooksbarnesNYT

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/elemental-struggles-on-opening-weekend-the-flash-also-flat-36f5789b​

​

‘Elemental’ Struggles on Opening Weekend; ‘The Flash’ Also Flat​

The Wall Street Journal •

By Ginger Adams Otis
June 18, 2023 3:42 pm ET


Pixar’s “Elemental,” a $200-million animated rom-com, failed to spark audiences in its opening weekend, earning an estimated $29.5 million at the box office domestically in one of the worst debuts in the studio’s history.

“The Flash,” a Warner Bros. time-traveling superhero story from the DC multiverse that also cost about $200 million to produce, also fell flat. It took in $55.1 million in the U.S. and Canada during its three-day debut, according to Comscore, which compiles box-office data.

“The Flash” earned an additional estimated $75 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $139 million over its opening weekend.

“Elemental,” an animated adventure about opposites who attract, added an estimated $15 million at the international box office for a global total of $44.5 million.

Both films still have time to rebound with moviegoers before more summer competition arrives, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” will hit theaters on June 30 and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” follows July 12.

“I wouldn’t write Pixar off yet,” he said, noting that the studio’s reputation for cranking out hits has raised expectations for immediate box office success.

Audiences that have seen “Elemental” responded well to the animated rom-com story line. Yet its debut weekend ranked below even some of Pixar’s lesser-known animations, such as “The Good Dinosaur,” which earned $39 million on its opening weekend in 2015, and 2020’s “Onward” with $39 million.

Disney, which owns Pixar, has scored major wins with the studio’s blockbusters in the past, such as “Toy Story,” Up” and “Ratatouille.” In 2016 “Finding Dory,” a sequel to the 2003 hit “Finding Nemo,” grossed $139 million on its opening weekend.

Pixar’s last box-office blowout came in 2019 when “Toy Story 4” generated $120 million in sales. In 2022, “Lightyear,” the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the toy space ranger from the Toy Story movies, took in $51 million on its opening weekend, despite being the first Pixar film shown in theaters in more than two years.

Disney’s bumpy transition to streaming also has proved challenging for Pixar. It sent three Pixar movies, “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”—all of them released during periods of heightened spread of Covid-19—straight to the Disney+ streaming service, hoping they would help drive subscription growth at a time when many cinemas remained closed and consumers were wary of gathering indoors.

Since 2019, when Disney+ launched, Disney’s streaming segment has lost nearly $10 billion, as the company has spent heavily on content to attract subscribers.

He recently hinted that Disney could raise subscription prices and begin licensing its streaming content to competitors as part of his plan to restructure the company and cut costs to better position it for the long term.

Earlier this year Disney said it would shed as many as 7,000 jobs through layoffs over the spring. Staff reductions occurred in March and in April, affecting ESPN and other divisions.

Last week, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy, who has been a key executive at the entertainment giant for more than two decades, announced her departure. Disney said McCarthy is taking a family medical leave, but her exit caught some colleagues and associates by surprise.

Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

What is the scoop on McCarthy? Is this simply family medical leave, or is there something to her and Iger butting heads?

 

[BrianL]

What is the scoop on McCarthy? Is this simply family medical leave, or is there something to her and Iger butting heads?

Sounds like a little of both. While I am sure the FMLA is legitimate, it also was probably a good opportunity to let her transition out gracefully. They will likely never disclose anything more than that.

 

[fatmanatee]

What is the scoop on this? Is this simply family medical leave, or is there something to her and Iger butting heads?

It’s probably medical leave. They’ve both been with the company for a long time, don’t see any reason why things would turn so toxic that she’d be forced out all of a sudden (and she still maintains an advisory role).

 

[BrianL]

It’s probably medical leave. They’ve both been with the company for a long time, don’t see any reason why things would turn so toxic that she’d be forced out all of a sudden (and she still maintains an advisory role).

Well, I think she's been problematic recently, so It's likely that Iger isn't necessarily sorry to see her go. They might not have forced her out, but this "mutual decision" type of thing helps keep everything looking good.

 

[mdmost]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/elemental-struggles-on-opening-weekend-the-flash-also-flat-36f5789b​

​

‘Elemental’ Struggles on Opening Weekend; ‘The Flash’ Also Flat​

The Wall Street Journal •

By Ginger Adams Otis
June 18, 2023 3:42 pm ET


Pixar’s “Elemental,” a $200-million animated rom-com, failed to spark audiences in its opening weekend, earning an estimated $29.5 million at the box office domestically in one of the worst debuts in the studio’s history.

“The Flash,” a Warner Bros. time-traveling superhero story from the DC multiverse that also cost about $200 million to produce, also fell flat. It took in $55.1 million in the U.S. and Canada during its three-day debut, according to Comscore, which compiles box-office data.

“The Flash” earned an additional estimated $75 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $139 million over its opening weekend.

“Elemental,” an animated adventure about opposites who attract, added an estimated $15 million at the international box office for a global total of $44.5 million.

Both films still have time to rebound with moviegoers before more summer competition arrives, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” will hit theaters on June 30 and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” follows July 12.

“I wouldn’t write Pixar off yet,” he said, noting that the studio’s reputation for cranking out hits has raised expectations for immediate box office success.

Audiences that have seen “Elemental” responded well to the animated rom-com story line. Yet its debut weekend ranked below even some of Pixar’s lesser-known animations, such as “The Good Dinosaur,” which earned $39 million on its opening weekend in 2015, and 2020’s “Onward” with $39 million.

Disney, which owns Pixar, has scored major wins with the studio’s blockbusters in the past, such as “Toy Story,” Up” and “Ratatouille.” In 2016 “Finding Dory,” a sequel to the 2003 hit “Finding Nemo,” grossed $139 million on its opening weekend.

Pixar’s last box-office blowout came in 2019 when “Toy Story 4” generated $120 million in sales. In 2022, “Lightyear,” the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the toy space ranger from the Toy Story movies, took in $51 million on its opening weekend, despite being the first Pixar film shown in theaters in more than two years.

Disney’s bumpy transition to streaming also has proved challenging for Pixar. It sent three Pixar movies, “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red”—all of them released during periods of heightened spread of Covid-19—straight to the Disney+ streaming service, hoping they would help drive subscription growth at a time when many cinemas remained closed and consumers were wary of gathering indoors.

Since 2019, when Disney+ launched, Disney’s streaming segment has lost nearly $10 billion, as the company has spent heavily on content to attract subscribers.

He recently hinted that Disney could raise subscription prices and begin licensing its streaming content to competitors as part of his plan to restructure the company and cut costs to better position it for the long term.

Earlier this year Disney said it would shed as many as 7,000 jobs through layoffs over the spring. Staff reductions occurred in March and in April, affecting ESPN and other divisions.

Last week, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy, who has been a key executive at the entertainment giant for more than two decades, announced her departure. Disney said McCarthy is taking a family medical leave, but her exit caught some colleagues and associates by surprise.

Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com

I'm starting to think it's not just a talent issue with Pixar. I think Disney has a full blown Disney+ problem that's now hurting all their theatrical releases, including Marvel. For 2+ years, they trained their audience to watch these movies on Disney+. With theaters at full strength again, it's hard to unlearn that notion. Disney movies just may not be event movies any longer when you can wait a few months and catch them in your home. Illumination does have that problem. Sony doesn't have that problem. You have to go see Mario and Spider-verse in the theater because it could be 6 months before the movies are out on a streaming platform.

Anecdotally, we usually go see a Pixar or Disney movie in the theater for Father's Day. We just got back from our vacation where we spent a lot of money so we decided to wait on seeing Elemental and instead opted for another Disney movie we passed on seeing in theaters, Strange World. And it was great. We'll go see Elemental maybe later this week at a matinee or next weekend but I've even noticed there are less theaters showing Elemental than some of the other movies that are out right now.

 

[BrianL]

I'm starting to think it's not just a talent issue with Pixar. I think Disney has a full blown Disney+ problem that's now hurting all their theatrical releases, including Marvel. For 2+ years, they trained their audience to watch these movies on Disney+. With theaters at full strength again, it's hard to unlearn that notion. Disney movies just may not be event movies any longer when you can wait a few months and catch them in your home. Illumination does have that problem. Sony doesn't have that problem. You have to go see Mario and Spider-verse in the theater because it could be 6 months before the movies are out on a streaming platform.

Anecdotally, we usually go see a Pixar or Disney movie in the theater for Father's Day. We just got back from our vacation where we spent a lot of money so we decided to wait on seeing Elemental and instead opted for another Disney movie we passed on seeing in theaters, Strange World. And it was great. We'll go see Elemental maybe later this week at a matinee or next weekend but I've even noticed there are less theaters showing Elemental than some of the other movies that are out right now.

Yes, that short D+ window is a problem. It's time to rething the streaming strategy. I am sure they are doing just that, but they move SO SLOW. They have got to fix this.

Strange World was very good too and deserved better. I think it will have a nostalgic cult following after a while though.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I'm starting to think it's not just a talent issue with Pixar. I think Disney has a full blown Disney+ problem that's now hurting all their theatrical releases, including Marvel. For 2+ years, they trained their audience to watch these movies on Disney+. With theaters at full strength again, it's hard to unlearn that notion. Disney movies just may not be event movies any longer when you can wait a few months and catch them in your home. Illumination does have that problem. Sony doesn't have that problem. You have to go see Mario and Spider-verse in the theater because it could be 6 months before the movies are out on a streaming platform.

Anecdotally, we usually go see a Pixar or Disney movie in the theater for Father's Day. We just got back from our vacation where we spent a lot of money so we decided to wait on seeing Elemental and instead opted for another Disney movie we passed on seeing in theaters, Strange World. And it was great. We'll go see Elemental maybe later this week at a matinee or next weekend but I've even noticed there are less theaters showing Elemental than some of the other movies that are out right now.

Pete Docter with a similar stance:

Pixar Boss Pete Docter Says the Studio ‘Trained’ Families to Expect Disney+ Debuts, ‘Elemental’ Buzz at Cannes Was ‘Confusing’

“In the long run, there’s been a bit of a mixed blessing because we’ve trained audiences that these films will be available for you on Disney+. And it’s more expensive for a family of four to go to a theater when they know they can wait and it’ll come out on the platform.

We’re trying to make sure people realize there’s a great deal you’re missing by not seeing it on the big screen. In the case of “Elemental,” it’s a beautiful spectacle, there’s detail everywhere. I think you feel it more and it’s a better experience. There’s the shared experience as well, that you get to see it in a room with strangers, and there’s something about the energy that comes from other people that makes the whole experience more vibrant and interesting.”

 

[mdmost]

Yes, that short D+ window is a problem. It's time to rething the streaming strategy. I am sure they are doing just that, but they move SO SLOW. They have got to fix this.

Strange World was very good too and deserved better. I think it will have a nostalgic cult following after a while though.

I think Iger is going to have a tough choice to make on Disney+ because it's killing their domestic box office. Disney+ needs to be simply for streaming shows and not theatrical releases until the normal physical media window opens. I'm not discounting that maybe Disney movies just aren't as good now but there's a definite problem there that you can wait just a few months and see these films that shouldn't be available for at least 6 months. But now it's a bit of the snake eating its tail if they cut out movies. Then people might stop subscribing. It helped the company limp through Covid but it's killing them now.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

I think Iger is going to have a tough choice to make on Disney+ because it's killing their domestic box office. Disney+ needs to be simply for streaming shows and not theatrical releases until the normal physical media window opens. I'm not discounting that maybe Disney movies just aren't as good now but there's a definite problem there that you can wait just a few months and see these films that shouldn't be available for at least 6 months. But now it's a bit of the snake eating its tail if they cut out movies. Then people might stop subscribing. It helped the company limp through Covid but it's killing them now.

It's a very tough spot I agree. If Disney+ was making lots of money it could be a winning strategy, but it loses money still. So, you have hurt your theatrical releases to aid a streaming platform that has yet to make money. Not a winning strategy currently.

 

[BrianL]

I think Iger is going to have a tough choice to make on Disney+ because it's killing their domestic box office. Disney+ needs to be simply for streaming shows and not theatrical releases until the normal physical media window opens. I'm not discounting that maybe Disney movies just aren't as good now but there's a definite problem there that you can wait just a few months and see these films that shouldn't be available for at least 6 months. But now it's a bit of the snake eating its tail if they cut out movies. Then people might stop subscribing. It helped the company limp through Covid but it's killing them now.

Yeah, they have to extend the window. Exhibition has been screaming about this since the streaming wars began - it's not just Disney either. Theaters are getting killed. Even the big hits could've been bigger!

Quality is such a hard thing to judge. I do think that the quality has diminished some from a few years ago when Disney was just churning out hit after hit. I mean, Elemental is really good, but could it have been more polished? Maybe. Are their movies lacking a little something? Probably. It correlates directly to losing two key people - Alan Horn and John Lasseter. I know the latter was problematic, but he really had animation firing on all cylinders! Even, Strange World, a movie I like and would call good, gets a little ropey in the third act. Lasseter would have tightened that up and given it a little more punch. I think "punch" or "verve" is something they are lacking just a tad in animation. Alan Horn just made the right decisions all the time - he's a legend!

 

[mdmost]

It's a very tough spot I agree. If Disney+ was making lots of money it could be a winning strategy, but it loses money still. So, you have hurt your theatrical releases to aid a streaming platform that has yet to make money. Not a winning strategy currently.

Yep. I wonder how much of Disney's resources were shifted by Chapek to produce Disney+ content? When you look at the scale of some of these releases like Andor and Secret Invasion, you have to wonder what is losing out on the theatrical side in terms of special effects work and production. Maybe that's also contributing to the talent drain from places like Pixar.

 

[BrianL]

Yep. I wonder how much of Disney's resources were shifted by Chapek to produce Disney+ content? When you look at the scale of some of these releases like Andor and Secret Invasion, you have to wonder what is losing out on the theatrical side in terms of special effects work and production. Maybe that's also contributing to the talent drain from places like Pixar.

Yeah, I know COVID threw the world for a loop, but Chapek really damaged Disney with his management through it. The actualy best thing to do - hindsight being 20/20 and all - would have been to pursue business as usual. When theaters were closed, just hold the releases. It was really such a short time in the overall scheme of things. Disney+ was already in the works, but as more of an archive. Shift back to that model.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Yeah, I know COVID threw the world for a loop, but Chapek really damaged Disney with his management through it. The actualy best thing to do - hindsight being 20/20 and all - would have been to pursue business as usual. When theaters were closed, just hold the releases. It was really such a short time in the overall scheme of things. Disney+ was already in the works, but as more of an archive. Shift back to that model.

This is the way

 

[mdmost]

Yeah, I know COVID threw the world for a loop, but Chapek really damaged Disney with his management through it. The actualy best thing to do - hindsight being 20/20 and all - would have been to pursue business as usual. When theaters were closed, just hold the releases. It was really such a short time in the overall scheme of things. Disney+ was already in the works, but as more of an archive. Shift back to that model.

Agreed but there's a huge risk if Iger does a massive correction and pushes the release window for Disney+ back to an appropriate level. Though we may have seen the popularity of Disney+ already reach its peak with the 2nd season of Mandalorian. It seems to be hitting a downslope now. So if he does the correction and the audience doesn't return then Disney is in an even bigger pickle.

 

[BrianL]

Agreed but there's a huge risk if Iger does a massive correction and pushes the release window for Disney+ back to an appropriate level. Though we may have seen the popularity of Disney+ already reach its peak with the 2nd season of Mandalorian. It seems to be hitting a downslope now. So if he does the correction and the audience doesn't return then Disney is in an even bigger pickle.

I don't think most peopel keep D+ though for seeing theatrical movies 60 days later. If they push it back, the mpovies will still hit, just later. Movies will still be comeing into the window at a constant rate. Also, they may recoup some on digital/physical sales.

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

Agreed but there's a huge risk if Iger does a massive correction and pushes the release window for Disney+ back to an appropriate level. Though we may have seen the popularity of Disney+ already reach its peak with the 2nd season of Mandalorian. It seems to be hitting a downslope now. So if he does the correction and the audience doesn't return then Disney is in an even bigger pickle.

I still think the key is content people want to watch. If Disney+ had a "Yellowstone" level of viewership show on Disney+ we would not be having this conversation. Disney+ needs another hit badly, like that end of Mandalorian season 2 kind of hit. Like a Stranger Things or Squid Game level hit. Like a Yellowstone level hit. Like a Game of Thrones level hit. Hire the absolute best creatives and control their budgets aggressively. Abandon any decision that can in any way be seen as politically driven or not family friendly. Use focus groups of new and old Disney fans, and listen to them!

 

[PolymerSkywalker]

oops repeat