DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[wabbott]

https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/black-panther-wakanda-forever-weekend-five-1235456241/

Dec 10, 2022 8:29am PT
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Remaining on Top of Quiet Box Office as Theaters Brace for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
By J. Kim Murphy

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will get to rule over domestic charts one more time as total box office grosses for the weekend threaten to hit a 2022 low.

Analysts are projecting $38.5 million in ticket sales across all theatrical releases for the three-day period. Not only is that the worst collective result in some months, it’s also just a small step above the roughly $35 million total gross of the weekend beginning with Jan. 28 — the floor for the domestic box office this year. After a disappointing Thanksgiving holiday, exhibitors are looking to next weekend’s release of “Avatar: The Way of Water” to get a substantial boost before 2023 arrives.

A solid fraction of the weekend’s numbers are coming from “Wakanda Forever,” which has faced next to no threats as the box office leader since its release in mid-November. The Marvel sequel earned $2.8 million across 3,725 locations on Friday, on its way to a weekend gross of about $11 million.

Domestic ticket sales for the “Black Panther” sequel now stand at $401 million. The film should soon pass the $411 million earned by fellow Marvel entry “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to become the second-highest grossing domestic release of 2022, behind only “Top Gun: Maverick.”

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wesh.com/article/universal-villain-con-minion-blast/42187254

Universal announces new 'Minions'-inspired family attraction
Updated: 5:13 PM EST Dec 8, 2022
Amanda Dukes - Reporter

ORLANDO, Fla. —
Universal Orlando Resort announced Thursday that a new family-friendly attraction is coming to the park in the summer of 2023. Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast, inspired by the "Minions" movie franchise, is an interactive blaster game.


"Villain-Con Minion Blast combines innovative screen technology, state-of-the-art gaming interactivity and elaborate physical sets to create a one-of-a-kind, game-based adventure where guests encounter immersive environments, nefarious villains and tons of mischievous Minions from Illumination’s films in a whole new way. The world-class attraction transports guests to Villain-Con – the biggest criminal convention on the planet – to take part in an epic competition to see if they have what it takes to become the newest member of The Vicious 6, a notorious group of supervillains from the hit film, “Minions: The Rise of Gru," a release states.

The attraction will open within the new Minion Land, an entire area inspired by the movies.

John Gregory, a reporter for and owner of Theme Park Tribune says the Minions announcement is not a surprise.

It will replace Shrek 4-D, which closed last year and right after Shrek closed, Universal tweeted a video of an onion being replaced by a banana, a sure clue the Minions were coming.
Gregory says it's a good fit for Universal's audience.

"I think the minions are beloved because they are silly enough and clean enough for a family-friendly audience, an audience with younger kids, but they have that off-the-wall and slapstick kind of humor that can appeal to a broader demographic, not just being solely a kids property," Gregory said.

The announcement comes as Universal is in the throws of building its newest Orlando park, Epic Universe.

It's set to open in a 750-acre lot near Sand Lake Road and Universal Boulevard in the summer of 2025.

Universal's new Minion Land will also feature the fan-favorite Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction and a new Minion Café.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...a-s-don-t-say-gay-law?leadSource=uverify wall

Disney Investor Demands Files Over Opposition to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law​

• Criticism of Florida law said to have ‘far-reaching’ effects
• Statute bans sexual-orientation talks in some school classes

By Jef Feeley
December 12, 2022 at 1:01 PM CST

Walt Disney Co. created “far-reaching” financial risks for itself by opposing a Florida law limiting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary schools, according to an investor who is demanding the company turn over internal records about the decision.

By criticizing the state for enacting the restrictions – which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — Disney lost control over tax and improvement issues at its Orlando-area theme park, investor Kenneth Simeone said in a lawsuit unsealed Friday in Delaware Chancery Court.

In April, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation eliminating the special-municipal district Disney has operated in the state since the late 1960s. It’s part of a drive to punish the company for its stand against the ‘Don’t Say Gay” law, which was championed by DeSantis and imposed limits on instruction from kindergarten through third grade.

“The financial repercussions from Disney’s actions, and resulting harm to the company and its stockholders, have been swift and severe,’ Simeone said in his 22-page records demand.

Liz Jaeger, a Disney spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return a call and an email Monday seeking comment on Simeone’s records suit.

The complaint is a so-called “books and records” action, demanding documents that can be used to sue Disney directors over the decision to oppose the Florida law. Delaware judges often grant such file requests.

Simeone contends there are legitimate questions about Disney directors’ decision to allow company officials to publicly slam the law knowing the firm could “lose the benefits of a one-of-a-kind deal that has existed between Disney and the state for more than half a century.”

The dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District means Disney loses control of decisions about taxation, infrastructure improvements for the park and its surrounding areas, and could be on the hook for billions in additional debt. Florida lawmakers approved the district in 1967 at the behest of Disney officials, who were in the process of opening their theme park southwest of Orlando.

DeSantis — a Republican who won reelection last month — has criticized Disney since the company was pressured by employees to speak up about the school bill earlier this year. Simeone said Disney officials ignored a warning from the governor about opposing the statute.

The case is Kenneth Simeone v. The Walt Disney Co., No. 2022-1120, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

 

[wabbott]

test

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2022/12/avatar-the-way-of-water-box-office-preview-prediction-1235197950/

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Looks To Dive In With Half-Billion-Plus Global Opening Weekend – Box Office Preview

 

[wabbott]

https://www.thewrap.com/universal-creative-gutted-early-retirement-packages/

Universal Theme Park Creative Division Gutted After Exit of High-Ranking Execs (Exclusive)
by Drew Taylor | December 13, 2022 @ 5:01 PM


Thierry Coup, the charismatic and forthright senior vice president and chief creative officer of Universal Creative who oversaw the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (among other Disney-challenging expansions); Mike Hightower, president of Universal Creative; and Mike Harrington, vice president, engineering and safety at Universal Studios Florida, are among the executives who have quietly opted to take voluntary early retirement packages.

Universal Creative is Comcast’s equivalent to Walt Disney Imagineering, the secretive bunch of artists, technicians and storytellers who are responsible for the rides, shows and attractions at the Disney theme parks and on board the Disney Cruise ships. While Imagineering is often viewed as entrenched and slow to action, Universal Creative is seen as nimble and willing to take chances. They’re also fast. (Disney announced the TRON Lightcycle Run coaster in 2017 and it won’t debut until spring 2023 at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom; construction began on the VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in 2019 and it opened in 2021.)

Over the past few years Coup has set the pace, particularly at Universal Studios Orlando, where a big attraction opened almost every year at one of the parks (next year it’ll be a new “Minions”-based attraction). This was a cadence Disney couldn’t match and, along with the technologically wondrous Harry Potter attractions, has made the Universal parks actual challengers to Disney’s theme park crown.

What makes the retirement of so many executives at Universal Creative even more befuddling is that Universal is set to open a new, high-tech theme park near the Orlando Convention Center in 2025. Epic Universe, which will have lands dedicated to Nintendo properties and the classic Universal Monsters, will be stuffed with groundbreaking features and a unique operating blueprint, where you pay to access individual lands, meaning corporations or large groups can rent out those same lands without impacting the others. The massive endeavor could be enough to unsettle Disney’s Florida supremacy.

 

[RivShore]

test???

 

[RivShore]

I've seen nothing but good reviews so far...

https://nypost.com/2022/12/13/avatar-the-way-of-water-review-the-sequel-weve-been-waiting-for/

 

[wabbott]

test???

Site acting hinky again. Posts appearing in the margins, etc.

 

[DeeBee3]

Yeah, it's terrible. Things reading vertically one letter at a time for me. Insane

 

[wabbott]

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022...hoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article

Roku and Disney Have More to Lose Than They Think
By Rick Munarriz – Dec 14, 2022 at 11:30AM

Key Points​

Disney launched an ad-supported tier of its streaming service last Thursday, but it's still not available to Roku users.
The two companies are likely negotiating revenue-sharing deals, the same thing that initially kept Peacock and HBO Max off the Roku platform in 2020.
With both companies struggling with stocks that have been cut by more than half since peaking early last year, there is a lot to gain and even more to lose with a standoff.

 

[middlechild]

Epic Universe, which will have lands dedicated to Nintendo properties and the classic Universal Monsters, will be stuffed with groundbreaking features and a unique operating blueprint, where you pay to access individual lands, meaning corporations or large groups can rent out those same lands without impacting the others.
@wabbott posted this snippit. While watching the progress of Epic Universe, the point that within the universe would be gates was news to me. I guess I missed it in earlier posts. Would that imply then that Epic Universe has multiple parks, because attendance is measured as traffic through the gate. If there are more gates, then more parks. When it opens, Universal then has 5 or 6 parks? An option instead is like Harry Potter, where the attractions are an add-on to the park. Can someone help me to understand what this is describing?

 

[wabbott]

Epic Universe, which will have lands dedicated to Nintendo properties and the classic Universal Monsters, will be stuffed with groundbreaking features and a unique operating blueprint, where you pay to access individual lands, meaning corporations or large groups can rent out those same lands without impacting the others.
@wabbott posted this snippit. While watching the progress of Epic Universe, the point that within the universe would be gates was news to me. I guess I missed it in earlier posts. Would that imply then that Epic Universe has multiple parks, because attendance is measured as traffic through the gate. If there are more gates, then more parks. When it opens, Universal then has 5 or 6 parks? An option instead is like Harry Potter, where the attractions are an add-on to the park. Can someone help me to understand what this is describing?

I was a bit confused on that point, too. Best I can tell, it's but one attraction. The larger point however, is that Universal is steady adding and upgrading its Orlando park, while it takes WDW almost as long to build Tron Lightcyle run as it took the Union Pacific/Central Pacific to construct the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. After a while, Universal is going to take a significant bite of paying guests from OUR company if this keeps up. See the story today about how their engineering/construction team has outperformed DIS Imagineering. This has to be fixed.

 

[Jrb1979]

I was a bit confused on that point, too. Best I can tell, it's but one attraction. The larger point however, is that Universal is steady adding and upgrading its Orlando park, while it takes WDW almost as long to build Tron Lightcyle run as it took the Union Pacific/Central Pacific to construct the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s. After a while, Universal is going to take a significant bite of paying guests from OUR company if this keeps up. See the story today about how their engineering/construction team has outperformed DIS Imagineering. This has to be fixed.

IMO it's already happening. The Bob's have done more damage to the parks then they have done good. The biggest one is not adding more capacity to the parks

 

[wabbott]

IMO it's already happening. The Bob's have done more damage to the parks then they have done good. The biggest one is not adding more capacity to the parks

Indeed. Just the other day I was looking at Google Earth and seeing just how much open space was still available at WDW. I believe you could add another 2 or 3 gates with no problem. It makes sense to build at WDW than at any of the overseas parks, as DIS has much more control here than in a foreign country.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Indeed. Just the other day I was looking at Google Earth and seeing just how much open space was still available at WDW. I believe you could add another 2 or 3 gates with no problem. It makes sense to build at WDW than at any of the overseas parks, as DIS has much more control here than in a foreign country.

This map is a better representation of where any possible parks could be added. Anything red or neon green has a possibility for construction. Everywhere else either has development or is designated unsuitable for construction or designated for conservation.

 

[Jrb1979]

Indeed. Just the other day I was looking at Google Earth and seeing just how much open space was still available at WDW. I believe you could add another 2 or 3 gates with no problem. It makes sense to build at WDW than at any of the overseas parks, as DIS has much more control here than in a foreign country.

I don't think they need more gates. They need to fill the parks they already have. I still think it's too late at this point. Epic Universe is going to open before anything new gets built at WDW. Once Epic Universe opens it makes Universal a 3-4 day visit and Disney becomes the add-on.

 

[wabbott]

I don't think they need more gates. They need to fill the parks they already have. I still think it's too late at this point. Epic Universe is going to open before anything new gets built at WDW. Once Epic Universe opens it makes Universal a 3-4 day visit and Disney becomes the add-on.

I'm not sure we're at that point yet, but you certainly make a very logical argument. And the folks who get paid millions of dollars of shareholder's money to run the company damn well better be paying attention to Universal's moves.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm not sure we're at that point yet, but you certainly make a very logical argument. And the folks who get paid millions of dollars of shareholder's money to run the company damn well better be paying attention to Universal's moves.

So far they don't seem to be paying too much attention cause if they were they would have announced some attractions coming soon.

 

[focusondisney]

So far they don't seem to be paying too much attention cause if they were they would have announced some attractions coming soon.

Disney doesn’t do anything “coming soon”. Everything takes twice as long as it should. Even restaurants. Look at Space 220 & the Toy Story restaurant we’re still waiting for. They could at least reinstate the Mary Poppins attraction they teased at Epcot before the shut down.