Tag Archives: Finding Dory

Disney

Link

Emma Lipstone and Susy Solino
The Walt Disney Company Logo

[1]   The Walt Disney Company Logo

 The Walt Disney Company

500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

Website: thewaltdisneycompany.com
Phone Number: (818) 560 – 1000

Company

The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walter Elias Disney and is headquartered in Burbank, CA. The Company is one of the biggest media and entertainment corporations in the world. [2]. Walt Disney Studios is home to the four major film studios: Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm Ltd. The Walt Disney Company also owns and operates Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney Music Group, Disney Theatrical Group, DisneyToon Studios, Touchstone Pictures, and DisneyNature. [3]. 

Disney’s animation studio has produced around fifty-five animated feature films, with the fifty-sixth being Moana that was just recently released. Pixar has produced seventeen films; the most recent being Finding Dory. In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Studios and has since produced multiple movies based off of Marvel comic book characters including: The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Most recently in 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. which is the studio best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

In addition to popular film franchises, Walt Disney Company owns and operates many television channels that produce popular television series’. The biggest subsidiary under Disney Media Networks is ABC, which produces hit network shows such as Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. [5]. Disney also owns ESPN and operates A&E Networks in a joint venture with Hearst Corporation, along with a portion of Hulu.

 

The Walt Disney Company

[9] Some of The Walt Disney Company Conglomerates

Financials

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) stock has been declining in the past few quarters.

According to the earnings report released on November 10, 2016, operating income at Cable Networks decreased $207 million to $1.4 billion for the quarter due to decreases at ESPN and the Disney Channels. [6]. 

ESPN has been losing subscribers to online streaming, such as Netflix or over-the-top streaming services. Also, social media has provided access to a lot of breaking news and sports live broadcasting, luring viewers away from cable television. One of the biggest issues facing ESPN and The Walt Disney Company is that the sports cable network has already paid huge rights fees for the next 5 years, yet subscribers are only paying $8 a month to cover the games, which will not exist in a few years. The increase in programming and production costs were due to The Olympics programming internationally, the World Cup of Hockey rights, and higher contractual rates for college sports. [7]. 

However, the growth at Freeform, which is the old ABC Family, has been very successful this quarter due to lower programming and production costs, as well as a decrease in marketing expenses. These were driven by fewer hours of original scripted programming in the current quarter.

 

Disney Stock

[33] Disney stock prices for last 2 years

Key Executives

Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Alan N. Braverman: Senior Executive Vice President

Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

[8] Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

[8] Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

[8] Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Box Office Reports

captain-america-civil-war-poster-2

[12] Movie poster for “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

2016 was announced as The Walt Disney Company’s most successful International Box Office record to date, reporting over $3.56 Billion through October 16th in just international sales, surpassing their 2015 general record of $3.56 Billion. [10]. This was due to a powerhouse series of releases throughout 2016, beginning with the summer blockbuster Captain America: Civil War which brought in 1.15 Billion worldwide viewers, $745 million Internationally and was named the No. 1 film of the year internationally and globally. [11].

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[14] Movie poster for “Zootopia” (2016)

The animated release of Zootopia also helped spike Disney’s international numbers as it was named the biggest animated film to ever be released in China and brought in $682.3 million internationally. Elsewhere in the studio, 2016’s surprise remake of The Jungle Book also experienced a successful release, bringing in $602.3 million internationally as well as the title of “Top Western Film of all Time” in India and the No. 3 film of the year overseas.  [13]. Furthermore, while being in the box office for nearly 16 weeks, Finding Dory managed to break records and pass the billion dollar global box office line by bringing in $484.8 million domestically and $519.9 million internationally, making it Pixar’s second billion dollar release and earning a rank as the 5th biggest animated film of all time, globally. [15]. 

As though breaking international box office records was not enough, Disney also managed to set new industry records for reaching $2 billion domestic (July 16th) and $5 billion global (July 10). As well as earned three new spots in the Hall of Fame for domestic box offices with Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, and Zootopia. All of this success comes with still two-and-a-half months and three major releases remaining in their calendar year. [16].

dory_characters_0afa6e45

Dory, the star of “Finding Dory” (2016), now the fifth highest grossing animated film of all time. [17]

 

Recent and Future Releases

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[18] Movie poster for Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” (2016)

Marvel Studio’s Doctor Strange represents another large victory for The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel unit, even on the heels of the overwhelming success of Captain America: Civil War. 

Doctor Strange was projected to collect anywhere from $65 million to $75 million in ticket sales from the United States and Canada through opening weekend, positively surprising analysts and bringing in $85 million and the #1 rank instead. Since its release, Doctor Strange has made over $200 million domestically and over $400 million internationally, crossing $600 million worldwide in under 4 weeks. [19].

Moana, who was scheduled for a holiday release, has surpassed the high expectations set by Doctor Strange, bringing in over $81 million domestically throughout its opening weekend. [20]. 

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[22] Movie poster for “Moana” (2016)

Further down the line, fans eagerly await the release of Star Wars: Rogue One. As well as Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast and the recently announced remakes of Mulan and Snow White. All of which are predicted to be box-office heavy hitters. [21]. 

[23]. 

Diversity

videothumbnail_elanaofavalor_teaser_02_ce1b790c

[24] Elena of Avalor, Disney’s first Latina princess.

In light of a growing diverse culture and need for representation in the film industry, Disney had begun fighting back against claims of their white-washing tactics and ill representation in their films by allowing more diverse roles in their characters and plots.

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[25] Moana, Disney’s first Polynesian heroine.

This year’s recently released Moana revolves around Tahitian and Pacific Islander culture and will be the first Disney film every to be translated into the Tahitian language. [26]. Furthermore, Disney introduced the world to their first Latina princess earlier in the year with the release of their television series Elena of Avalor, a Disney Channel show revolving around latin customs and characters [27] further proving the Company’s desire to focus on promoting more representation of diversity through their media. In addition to their animated strikes towards representation, Disney has announced their search for Chinese actors to star in the upcoming Mulan remake. [28]. 

jungle-book-to-mulan-all-the-live-action-disney-movies-in-the-works-right-now

[29] Movie poster for Disney’s upcoming live action remake of “Mulan,” featuring a Chinese actress.

Future Integration

In addition to divulging into a more diverse space, Disney has also shown interested in expanding into a more digital and web space with their media. In September 2016, Disney began showing signs of interest for acquiring the social media giant, Twitter Inc., going as far as to work with advisors to put together a potential bid for the company. [30].  While eventually deciding to go against the deal for image reasons, as the social network is known for its reputation of bullying and harassment, the interest in social media gives clear insight that Disney has begun exploring new digital horizons. [31]. Many analysts have taken note of Disney’s interest to expand digitally and predict that the streaming giant, Netflix, might be next on the company’s list of potential assets. [32]. 

Bibliography

  1. Walt Disney Company Logo. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://logok.org/disney-logo/
  2. Walt Disney History. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://d23.com/disney-history
  3. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 1, 2016 https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/#our-businesses
  4. Box Office Reports. Retrieved October 28, 2016. boxofficemojo.com
  5. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 21, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  6. November 10, 2016. The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016. https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/q4-fy16-earnings.pdf
  7. October 31, 2016. Disney: ESPN Still has a Big Problem. Retrieved November 2, 2016. http://seekingalpha.com/article/4017145-disney-espn-still-big-problem
  8. The Walt Disney Company About. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  9. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 2, 2016. https://storify.com/LA346TeamDisney/the-walt-disney-company
  10. McNary, Dave. October 17, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Finding Dory’ Push Disney to International Box Office Record. Retrieved October 18, 2016. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/captain-america-civil-war-finding-dory-disney-box-office-record-1201891155/
  11. Tartaglione, Nancy. October 17, 2016. Finding Money: Disney Tops Full-Year Intl Box Office Record with $3.56B+ (So Far). Retrieved October 18, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/10/walt-disney-studios-all-time-international-box-office-record-captain-america-zootopia-1201837655/
  12. Freeman, Molly. November 25, 2016. Captain America: Civil War Character Posters- Superhero Fight Time. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://screenrant.com/captain-america-3-civil-war-posters-iron-man/
  13. Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk. October 17, 2016. 2016 International Box Office is Disney’s Best Year Ever. Retrieved October 19, 2016.   http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2016/10/17/2016-international-box-office-disneys-best-year-ever/
  14. Disney Zootopia. Retrieved November 10, 2016.  http://movies.disney.com/zootopia
  15. October 10, 2016. “Finding Dory” Keeps Swimming to $1 Billion. Retrieved October 20, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/finding-dory-keeps-swimming-1-billion/
  16. Derisz, Ricky. October 18, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Helps Disney Break its Own $3 Billion International Box Office Record…With More to Come. Retrieved October 19, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/p/captain-america-civil-war-disney-box-office-record/4127909
  17. Disney Movies: Finding Dory. Retrieved November 21, 2016. http://movies.disney.co.uk/finding-dory
  18. CS. April 4, 2016. Doctor Strange Filming Wraps as Mads Mikkelsen’s Villain is Revealed. Retrieved November 15, 2016. http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/673101-doctor-strange-filming-wraps-as-mads-mikkelsens-villain-is-revealed#/slide/1
  19. Faughnder, Ryan. November 1, 2016. ‘Doctor Strange’ is Expected to Draw a Massive Audience for Disney’s Marvel Studios. Retrieved November 2, 2016.  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-20161031-story.html
  20. The Associated Press. November 27, 2016. ‘Moana’ Wins Box Office with Huge Opening Weekend. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/moana-wins-box-office-huge-opening-weekend-article-1.2888989
  21. Acuna, Kirsten and Phillips, Ian. October 26, 2016. Disney Announced all its Movies Coming in the Next 4 Years – Here’s What you have to Look Forward to. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.thisisinsider.com/disney-movie-schedule-2016-to-2019-2016-10/#strange-cumberbatch-will-play-a-surgeon-who-injures-his-hands-severely-in-accident-2
  22. Disney Moana. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana
  23. May 23, 2016. Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer. Retrieved November 15, 2016.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38r-SAnTWM
  24. Ranere, Dianna. August 12, 2016. Disney’s Elena of Avalor Renewed for 2nd Season #ElenaOfAvalor. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.fsm-media.com/disneys-elena-avalor-renewed/
  25. Lodi, Marie. July 1, 2016. Why People are Upset About this Character’s Weight in Disney’s New Movie “Moana”. Retrieved November 10, 2016. http://hellogiggles.com/moana-maui-people-angry-obese-stereotype/
  26. October 25, 2016. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” to be First Film Ever Translated into the Tahitian Language. Retrieved October 26, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/moana-first-film-translated-tahitian-language/
  27. Hughes, Ruth. October 16, 2016. Teen Spirit: Meet the new Plucky Disney Princess Elena of Avalor. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/720813/Disney-Channel-Elena-Of-Avalor-princess
  28.  Biek, Katherine. October 5, 2016. Disney Seeks Chinese Actress for ‘Mulan’ Remake. Retrieved November 20, 2016. http://www.whio.com/news/national/disney-seeks-chinese-actress-for-mulan-remake/fG3AO2Pqefhu4NVlI8ycfI/
  29. Edwards, Ally. October 16, 2016. Jungle Book to Mulan: All the Live Action Disney Movies in The Works Right Now. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/posts/3590427
  30. Roettgers, Janko. September 26, 2016. Disney is Looking into Buying Twitter (Report). Retrieved October 20, 2016. http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/disney-twitter-acquisition-possible-1201870392/
  31. New Statesman. October 18, 2016. Disney Didn’t Buy Twitter- Partly because it Can’t Master the Bare Necessities. Retrieved October 19, 2016.  http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/10/disney-didn-t-buy-twitter-partly-because-it-cant-master-bare
  32. Williams, Trey. October 5, 2016. Netflix Said to be in Disney’s Crosshairs, and Analysts see a Streaming Rationale. Retrieved October 21, 2016. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-remains-center-of-merger-talk-this-time-its-netflix-2016-10-03
  33. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 20, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS?p=DIS

Disney

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by JACK ROSE, AUDREY LEW, and BRITTANY ORTIZ
The Walt Disney Company

Disney Logo [1]

Background

Disney is a leading producer, owner, and distributor of media that owns, among many other things, broadcast network ABC; movie studios Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, and Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Parks and Resorts that attracted nearly 150 million people in 2015 [2]; and cable sports network ESPN [3]. Between ABC, its affiliates, and ESPN, Disney operates more than 300 channels worldwide, while its movie studios own the rights to The Avengers family and Star Wars [4]. The last Star Wars release became the highest grossing domestic film earlier this year and with another releasing this December, the company’s film division remains strong [5]. However, fluctuating results on the television side have led Disney to invest in new technologies and a desire to expand international reach birthed a new theme park in China, which opened earlier this year.

Corporate Structure

Bob Iger

CEO Bob Iger [1]

Disney’s Chief Executive since 2005, Bob Iger helmed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Since Iger’s promotion from Chief Operating Officer, Disney’s stock price has risen more than $70 while it’s TV division has come to account for half of the company’s profit [6]. Nearing the end of his career, Iger has repeatedly delayed his retirement and most recently set 2018 as the expiration date for his own tenure. His last task will be selecting his successor, after a recent candidate failed to last as heir.

Disney Organizational Chart

Disney’s Organizational Chart [7]

Beyond Iger, various chairmen run each of Disney’s major compartments and the company’s board of directors is comprised of 11 members. However, it is this organizational chart, distributed by Walt Disney Studios in 1943, that largely explains Disney’s management philosophy [7]. Rather than the typical hierarchy, the chart displays an interlocking web of managers, producers, and creators that are needed to produce a film. This organization is intended to encourage creativity and teamwork by emphasizing collaboration rather than chain of command. Each role supports, instead of merely instructing, another.

Financials

Annual revenue, profit, and net income have increased yearly since at least 2013, as has Disney’s valuation of its assets and balance sheet as whole. Disney’s revenue dwarfs that of most of its competitors in media, exceeded only by Sony and other conglomerates that produce and own as much content as Sony and Disney. Disney’s stock price is similarly higher than most competitors, currently hovering around $100 [8]. The company’s price per share seems to be inextricably linked to the success of ESPN, which is struggling with subscriber losses and adapting to the future (see “Investments in Technology” section below).

Disney Stock

Disney’s Stock Price for last two years [8]

Investments in Technology

mlbam_fb_logo

MLB Advanced Media Logo [11]

Disney’s future focus is in technology as it attempts to revitalize ESPN and stay on the cutting edge of content creation and media. Primarily, in August the company invested $1 billion for a 33% stake in Major League Baseball’s BAMTech, a leading television streaming company. The deal included an option for Disney to take a majority stake in the company down the road. The first collaboration between the two will be BAMTech’s creation of a standalone streaming service for ESPN, which Disney hopes will help ease the network’s subscriber losses and struggling ratings. BAMTech adds 7.5 million paid subscribers across a multitude of streaming platforms to Disney’s already massive user base [9]. The investment in BAMTech isn’t completely black and white, however. Television’s trend toward skinny bundles complicates the relationship between every content producer and cable provider, with Sling, DirecTV, Hulu, and more getting into the live over-the-top business. Disney’s BAMTech investment suggests a possibility that Disney itself could run a direct-to-consumer cable distributor itself [10].

Throughout this year, rumors swirled about the possibility of Disney purchasing Snapchat, Twitter, and/or Netflix, though analysts agree: none of these are likely. Twitter’s struggle to remain profitable and stabilize its stock price creates nonstop purchase rumors, but it seems that Disney doesn’t stand to benefit much from a Twitter acquisition [11]. Snapchat has proved to be a unique outlet for Disney’s content, but doesn’t seem to be a likely purchase for the social media company [12]. Though the investment in BAMTech signifies Disney’s interest in streaming, Netflix doesn’t appear to be a perfect partner, either. Netflix’s dominance in the streaming market has waned as challengers such as Amazon and Apple have stolen subscribers [13].

Box Office

Moana

Star Wars  Moana banner [17]

After the November 23 release of Moana, Disney is nearing $2.5B in total domestic box office gross for 2016 [14]. With the top four grossing films of 2016 thus far (Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, The Jungle Book, and Zootopia), the company topped $6B in worldwide box office gross for the first time in its history [15]. This new record will only increase as Moana and Doctor Strange continue to screen and Disney’s final 2016 film releases: the newest film, Rogue One. Beyond the box office, movies like Star Wars, Finding Dory, and Moana provide massive profits in merchandising, both in America and abroad. In 2013, Disney merchandise sales brought in over $40B.

Theme Parks

On June 16, Disney’s fourth international theme park opened in Shanghai, with the tagline “authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese” [16]. The company avoided western branding and symbols by changing street names within the park and by filling the concessions with 70% Chinese food. Traditional Disney characters can be seen wearing traditionally Chinese silk costumes and speaking the native language. The Shanghai Disney Resort seeks to take advantage of the massive potential offered by China and the wider Asian market.

Shanghai Disney

Shanghai Disney Resort [18]

Conclusion

Despite Disney’s losses in television, its massive successes at the box office in 2016 have made up for it. The control of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar promises success in the motion pictures department nearly every year. Further, Disney’s land holdings of theme parks underscore the company’s finances with physical propoerty–while most media conglomerates own intellectual property, Disney holds more tangible assets as well. The company’s investments in technology put it in a good place for the future–its theme parks’ MagicBands have already proven successful. But while the company must hope these investments pay off, it also faces the uncertain future of navigating an evolving marketplace with a new CEO. Iger’s selection of his successor is by far the most important storyline to follow within the massive world of Disney.

Sources

  1. About The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  2. The Data Team. June 16, 2016. The Economist. A New Disney Theme Park Opens in China. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/06/daily-chart-11
  3. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Zacks. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  4. Carpenter, J. William. October 29, 2015. Investopedia. Top 5 Companies Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/102915/top-5-companies-owned-disney.asp
  5. Brevet, Brad. January 7, 2016. Box Office Mojo. ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Becomes Highest Grossing Domestic Release of All-Time. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4142&p=.htm
  6. Belloni, Matthew. June 22, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. In-Depth With Disney CEO Bob Iger on China Growth, ‘Star Wars’ Reshoots and Political Plans: “A Lot of People Have Urged Me to [Run]”. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-interview-star-wars-905320
  7. Hirasuna, Delphine. August 7, 2009. At Issue Journal. Walt Disney’s Creative Organization Chart. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.atissuejournal.com/2009/08/07/walt-disney%E2%80%99s-creative-organization-chart/
  8. Yahoo! Finance. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS/financials?p=DIS
  9. Brown, Maury. August 9, 2016. Forbes. Disney Buys $1B Stake In MLB’s BAMTech, To Launch ESPN Streaming Service. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2016/08/09/disney-co-makes-1-billion-investment-becomes-minority-stakeholder-in-mlbams-bamtech/#1f44b1915972
  10. Markman, Jon. August 23, 2016. Forbes. Disney Streaming Into A Perilous Future. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2016/08/23/disney-streaming-into-a-perilous-future/#4f34784210f7
  11. Kafka, Peter. September 26, 2016. Recode. Why Disney won’t buy Twitter. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.recode.net/2016/9/26/13062276/disney-won-t-buy-twitter
  12. Munarriz, Rick. April 9, 2016. The Motley Fool. Disney Isn’t Buying Netflix or Snapchat. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/disney-isnt-buying-netflix-or-snapchat.aspx
  13. Cohan, Peter. October 5, 2016. Forbes. Why Walt Disney Should Not Buy Netflix. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2016/10/05/why-walt-disney-should-not-buy-netflix/#710bdc20395d
  14. Box Office Mojo. Studio Market Share. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view2=yearly&view=parent&p=.htm
  15. Tartaglione, Nancy. November 6, 2016. Deadline Hollywood. Disney Crosses $6B At Global Box Office; First Time In Studio’s History. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/11/disney-crosses-six-billion-dollars-global-box-office-studio-record-doctor-strange-finding-dory-zootopia-captain-america-1201849749/
  16. Gardner, Hannah. June 16, 2016. USA Today. Disney’s new Shanghai park is supersized. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/15/disneys-new-shanghai-park-supersized/85920926/
  17. Disney. Moana. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on by 
by Lynn Walek
disney

Image Courtesy of the Official Disney Fan Club (www.d23.com)

Key Executives

Robert “Bob” Iger                                                                    Alan F. Horn
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer                                      Chairman
The Walt Disney Company                                                    The Walt Disney Studios

Robert "Bob" Iger - Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Robert “Bob” Iger – Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Alan F. Horn - Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

Alan F. Horn – Image Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company

 

History

The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 when Disney brothers Roy and Walt sold the Alice Comedies. The star of the company, Mickey Mouse, was not seen until five years later when Steamboat Willie, the first sound cartoon, was released in 1928. The Disney Company continued to push boundaries releasing the first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. [1] The company has grown and expanded into many aspects of entertainment. [2] Currently Walt Disney Studios owns Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel, Touchstone, and Disneynature. In 2012 Disney purchased Lucasfilm, which most notably includes the Star Wars franchise. [3] [4] 

Finances

With the end of the 2014 fiscal year, Disney announced a record year. The fourth quarter earning report quotes CEO Bob Iger as saying: “Our results for Fiscal 2014 were the highest in the Company’s history, marking our fourth consecutive year of record performance.” [5] This year’s revenues are up from 45 billion to 48.8 billion, an eight percent increase. Net income increased from 6.1 billion in 2013 to 7.5 billion in 2014, a 22 percent increase. With the future slate Disney is set to release “21 tentpole movies…over the next three years, compared to only 13 in the last three”. [6] The increase in “tentpole” movies means Disney has the opportunity to continue breaking records as it expands franchises under its many banners. [5] [6]

Current Slate

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Released October 10, 2014 this film is based on the popular children’s book of the same title. Despite comedy giant Steve Carell and well known actress Jennifer Garner headlining the film, it was only a mild success. It opened at number three at the box office and quickly fell out of the top five. It grossed 63 million domestically and 82 million worldwide with a production budget of 28 million. [7]

 

 

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Big Hero 6
Released November 7, 2014, this is the first animated Marvel film. Disney CEO Bob Iger had high hopes for the film when he spoke to investors the day before its release, and it did not disappoint. [6] It grossed more than 205 million worldwide with a production budget of 165 million. It opened as number one at the box office and then held second place during its second and third weeks. The film follows the adventures of Hiro, a young boy, and his robot best friend, Baymax who according to IMDb “team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.” [8] Big Hero 6 has faced little direct competition until the November 26 release of Penguins of Madagascar. [8] [9] [10]

 

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

 

Into the Woods
This film will be released on December 25, 2014 (see trailer below [a]). This is a big screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical and boasts big name actors Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp. The film will feature a new song written for Streep. The film focuses on a witch (Streep) teaching lessons to various fairytale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Rapunzel. The film will be up against another family musical, Annie, as well as the third installment of family comedy franchise Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. Both of these competing films will be released before Christmas on December 19. [10] [11]

 

 

Future Slate

Because Disney’s fiscal 2014 is over, the emphasis is on what is to come in the next fiscal year. In his address to investors on November 6, 2014, Bob Iger emphasized the future slate and franchise expansion. Disney has released several long term plans. [6]

Marvel

Image Courtesy of marvel.com

Image Courtesy of marvel.com

Marvel was acquired in 2009 and has become an instrumental part of Walt Disney Studios success. Currently Disney is working on two Marvel franchises, The Avengers (2012) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). There are 11 Marvel films planned for the next five years (see table 1). [6]

Table 1 Table created in Microsoft Word by Lynn Walek [6]

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

The next release on the Marvel docket is Avengers sequel Age of Ultron, which hits theaters in May 2015. Director Joss Whedon will return to lead stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Mark Ruffalo who will reprise their superhero roles. The trailer (see below [b])  which was originally set to air on October 28 during Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was leaked on October 22. Marvel and Disney responded by quickly posting the official trailer which got 34.3 million global views in its first 24 hours. This number shattered the previous record held by the Iron Man 3 trailer. [12] [13]

In the 2014 fiscal year, Guardians of the Galaxy had the highest domestic gross and the second highest worldwide gross. It grossed more than 770 million dollars worldwide. [14] Additionally, the success of Big Hero 6 proves that Marvel can produce successful animated films and they will likely continue to do so. [9]

Star Wars

Image Courtesy of lucasfilm.com/starwars

Image Courtesy of lucasfilm.com/starwars

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Disney will produce a new trilogy of Star Wars movies: Episodes VII, VIII and IX. The title and teaser trailer for Episode VII have now been released. It will be called Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the trailer can be seen below [c]. This film will be released December 18, 2015. Episode VIII will be released in 2017 and Episode IX will be released in 2019. In 2016 Disney will release the first of their “stand alone” films within the Star Wars universe. [6]

 

 

 Pixar

Image Courtesy of official Disney Pixar Facebook

Image Courtesy of official Disney Pixar Facebook

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Noticeably absent from the 2014 slate Pixar will be back in June 2015 with Inside Out. This film is not a franchise expansion but it lists big name stars, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, and Bill Hader. Poehler, Kaling and Hader will voice three of five emotions from inside the mind of a little girl. Pixar will continue two successful franchises in 2016 and 2017. Finding Dory, sequel to Finding Nemo, will be released in 2016. The recently announced Toy Story 4 will be released in June 2017 and boasts the return of director John Lasseter who was at the helm of the first two installments of the Toy Story franchise. Lasseter is also the chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and principal creative advisor of Walt Disney Imagineering. [6] [15]

 

Disney Pictures

Image Courtesy of waltdisneystdudios.com

Image Courtesy of waltdisneystdudios.com

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Image Courtesy of IMDb

Following the success of Maleficent, which grossed 757 million dollars worldwide, Disney will continue to produce live action fairy tales. [16] The official Cinderella trailer was released on November 19 (see below [d]). This film is scheduled to be released in March 2015. Other live action fairy tales announced are The Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland 2. Disney will also release another film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. [6]

 

 

 

 

 

Sources*

[1] History of The Walt Disney Studios

[2] List of Disney Businesses

[3] List of Walt Disney Studio Businesses 

[4] USA Today Disney’s Lucasfilm Purchase 

[5] Walt Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings Press Release

[6] Walt Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call Transcript 

[7] Box Office Mojo – Alexander…Bad Day

[8] IMDb – Big Hero 6

[9] Box Office Mojo – Big Hero 6

[10] Box Office Mojo Release Dates 

[11] Playbill – Into the Woods New Song

[12] IMDb – Avengers: Age of Ultron

[13] Deadline – Age of Ultron Trailer Leak

[14] Box Office Mojo – Guardians of the Galaxy 

[15] Walt Disney Exec Bio – John Lasseter

[16] Box Office Mojo – Maleficient

Trailer Sources*

[a] Disney Movie Trailers YouTube – Into the Woods

[b] Marvel Entertainment YouTube – Avengers: Age of Ultron

[c] Star Wars YouTube – The Force Awakens

[d] Disney Movie Trailers YouTube – Cinderella

*Note: All sources were last accessed on December 1, 2014.

Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures

Posted on by

by Carly Konsker

The Walt Disney Company

Profile

The Walt Disney Company, including all of its subsidiaries and affiliates, is known across America and world wide as a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. This massive corporation contains five main business segments: Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Interactive Media. [1]

History

On October 16, 1923, Walt and Roy Disney founded The Walt Disney Company, which was originally named The Disney Brothers Studio. The company got its start by producing Alice Comedies, which lasted for four years. They continued with their love of cartoons, and in 1928 the most famous Disney icon was created, Mickey Mouse. Disney won its first Academy Award for Best Cartoon in 1932. Fiver years later, the company shocked the world by developing their first full-length feature film in 1937. [2, 3, 4]

Courtsey of http://d23.disney.go.com/ Walt and Roy proudly displaying their first Oscar with the world's most famous mouse.

Walt and Roy proudly displaying their first Oscar with the world’s most famous mouse. [5]

Walt Disney, the visionary behind the Disney empire, dies at age 66 on December 15, 1966. After his younger brother’s death, Roy Disney took it upon himself to control the financing and construction of Walt Disney World, his brother’s last wish. Since the beginning, Roy was always in charge of the business side of the Disney company, while Walt was the creative genius behind the fantasies. On December 20, 1971, Roy O. Disney passed, three months after the opening of Walt Disney World. [2, 4]

Today, The Walt Disney Company continues to thrive while sticking to their roots of turning dreams into reality. Disney reinforces their past by keeping the Disney legacy alive, but the company also creates new content with ground-breaking technology.

Current Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company is Robert A. Iger. [6]
Courtesy of http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/

Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios [7]

 Alan_Horn

Financials

Walt Disney Studios/Walt Disney Pictures

Walt-Disney-Screencaps-The-Walt-Disney-Logo-walt-disney-characters-31865565-2560-1440

The Walt Disney Studios includes the creation, production, promotion, sales, acquisition, and national and international distribution of live-action and animated motion pictures, home entertainment releases, music and soundtrack recordings, and live stage plays. The Walt Disney Studios is the home to Marvel, Touchstone Pictures, Disney•Pixar, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Live-Action), Disneynature, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Live-Action)

On July 19, 1950, Disney released its first life-action feature film, Treasure Island. Since then, filmmakers have created some of the most successful live-action family films including the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Alice in Wonderland, and Oz the Great and Powerful. Many of these films, as well as movies in other divisions, are distributed under the brand name, Buena Vista. [10]

Courtesy of www.boxofficemojo.com

Courtesy of www.boxofficemojo.com

Recent News:

  • On March 14, 2013, Disney and Showtime announced the extension of their output deal, which allows DreamWorks Studios’ films that are theatrically released by Disney to be available to Showtime subscribers through 2018. [8, 9]
  • As of April 7, 2013, Oz the Great and Powerful has topped the US Box Office with an estimated gross of $212,767,000. [11]
  • In 2015, Disney looks forward to releasing Star Wars: Episode VII, the first film produced since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. in October 2012. The film will be directed by J.J. Abrams, who is famous for directing the hit television series Lost. “Standalone movies” featuring Star Wars characters are in the works. [12, 13]

Future Releases: The Lone Ranger (July 3, 2013), The Delivery Man (October 4, 2013)

Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios Logo

Marvel Entertainment is a completely-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios, founded in 1996, is a successful facet of Marvel Entertainment that creates, develops, and produces life-action films based on the characters and story-lines from the iconic marvel comic book empire. [14]

Iron Man 3 Trailer

ironman3

The success of their film franchise will continue to grow with the upcoming releases of Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, The Avengers 2, Thor: The Dark World, and the studio has already started production has on the sequel to Captain America. Marvel’s The Avengers was not only the highest grossing movie of this past year, but it was also the 5th highest grossing feature film of all time. [14, 15, 16]

 Walt Disney Animation Studios

Walt Disney Animation Studios was founded in 1923. The studio’s first fully animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became the highest grossing film of its time. Disney paved the way for a new type of family entertainment. Some of their masterpieces include the Disney Fairies films, Tangled, Bolt, and The Lion King. [16]

Future Release: Planes (August 09, 2013) featuring the voices of Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, and Cedric the Entertainer. [17]

Pixar Animation Studios

pixar-logo_withmovies

Pixar Animation studios was founded in 1986 when Steve Jobs bought the Computer Graphics Division of Lucasfilms from George Lucas and started an independent company, Pixar. [18] Pixar has built a name for itself through some of the most successful movies in animation. For example, all the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo, WALL•E, and all Cars movies. [18]

Disney-Pixar-Logo

Starting in 1991, Disney and Pixar have continuously signed deals over the years to make and distribute animated films together. The Walt Disney Company officially agreed to acquire Pixar Animation Studios in a $7.4 Billion stock deal on January 24, 2006. This deal allowed Disney to revert back to its traditional animation roots, and gave Steve Job’s, the former CEO of Pixar, tremendous power in Hollywood by becoming the largest individual shareholder of Disney. [19]

FindingDory_HEROOn April 1, 2013, Pixar announced the title sequel to the 2003 Academy Award winning film for best animated feature, Finding Nemo. The upcoming film, Finding Dory, will be released on November 25, 2015, thanksgiving weekend. Ellen DeGeneres will once again be the voice behind the film’s leading character Dory, who learns about the meaning of family as she is reunited with her loved ones in the film. [20, 21]

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone-Pictures-Movie-Studio-Logo-Wallpaper

Touchstone Pictures is one of several film labels of The Walt Disney Studios, owned by The Walt Disney Company. This American film production studio was created in 1984 in order for Disney to have a brand that released more adult-oriented material. Touchstone Pictures is also the banner under which live-action films from DreamWorks Studios are distributed since their agreement finalized 2009. [22]

Touchstone’s first film released was the 1984 comedy, Splash. Since then, over 200 films have been released from Touchstone Pictures including Pretty Woman, Father of the Bride, Step Up, and The Proposal. [23]

Lincoln (2012), distributed under Touchstone Pictures, was nominated for 12 Oscars at the 85th annual Academy Awards. Lincoln received the most nominations among those released in 2012, and it won the award for Best Production Design and Best Actor. [24]

Future Release: The Fifth Estate (November 15, 2013) [25]

 

Sources:

  1. The Walt Disney Company Corporate http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/
  2. Timeline of The Walt Disney Company http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history
  3. History of The Walt Disney Studios http://animation.about.com/od/industryprofiles/p/waltdisney.htm
  4. History of Disney – Excerpt From The Walt Disney Company Archives http://waltdisneystudios.com/static/The%20History%20of%20TWDS.pdf
  5. Walt and Roy Disney Photo http://d23.disney.go.com/
  6. Bob Iger CEO of The Walt Disney Company http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/leadership/board-directors/robert-iger
  7. Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/6/bio/1015
  8. Disney and Showtime DreamWorks Deal Extended http://variety.com/2013/film/news/disney-to-keep-its-dreamworks-films-at-showtime-1200194681/
  9. Showtime and Disney Renew DreamWorks Contract http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/showtime-dreamworks-studios-contract-extension/
  10. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (live-action) http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/74
  11. Oz the Great and Powerful Tops US Box Office http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oz.htm
  12. Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – Press Release http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd
  13. CEO Bob Iger Discusses Star Wards in CNBC Interview http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/disney-to-release-additional-films-based-on-star-wars-characters/#more-422357
  14. Marvel – Walt Disney Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/246
  15. Marvel’s The Avengers http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avengers11.htm
  16. Walt Disney Animation Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/76
  17. Disney’s Planes Press Release http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1288
  18. Pixar Animation Studios History http://www.pixar.com/about/Our-Story
  19. Disney Agrees to Acquire Pixar http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25disney.html?_r=1&
  20. Finding Dory Announced http://variety.com/2013/film/news/pixar-finds-title-release-date-for-finding-nemo-sequel-1200331933/
  21. Finding Dory Press Release http://waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1293
  22. Walt Disney Studios Corporate http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-companies/studio-entertainment
  23. Touchstone Pictures http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/264
  24. Lincoln (2012) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Lincoln_(2012_film)
  25. Production Begins on DreamWorks’ WikiLeaks Project “The Fifth Estate” http://waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1250