Disney

Link

Emma Lipstone and Susy Solino

[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.

[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.

[33] Disney stock prices for last 2 years

Key Executives

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

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

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

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

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

Box Office Reports

[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].

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

Recent and Future Releases

[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].

[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.

[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

Walt Disney Company Logo. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://logok.org/disney-logo/
Walt Disney History. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://d23.com/disney-history
The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 1, 2016 https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/#our-businesses
Box Office Reports. Retrieved October 28, 2016. boxofficemojo.com
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
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
October 31, 2016. Disney: ESPN Still has a Big Problem. Retrieved November 2, 2016. http://seekingalpha.com/article/4017145-disney-espn-still-big-problem
The Walt Disney Company About. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 2, 2016. https://storify.com/LA346TeamDisney/the-walt-disney-company
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/
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/
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/
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/
Disney Zootopia. Retrieved November 10, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/zootopia
October 10, 2016. “Finding Dory” Keeps Swimming to $1 Billion. Retrieved October 20, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/finding-dory-keeps-swimming-1-billion/
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
Disney Movies: Finding Dory. Retrieved November 21, 2016. http://movies.disney.co.uk/finding-dory
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
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
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
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
Disney Moana. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana
May 23, 2016. Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer. Retrieved November 15, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38r-SAnTWM
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/
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/
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/
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
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/
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
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/
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
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
The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 20, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS?p=DIS

Disney Movies

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Suzanne El-Nabli

[1] Walt Disney Image Logo

HISTORY

In 1928, Disney created its first attempt at a motion picture called Steamboat Willie, which introduced the infamous Mickey Mouse. Later, in 1934, Walt Disney informed his animators of his intentions of creating the first ever Disney original movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was released three years later, in 1937. This movie was an extreme success and became the highest grossing film of its time until the release of Gone with The Wind. Later on, numerous other successes were released such as Cinderella (1950), Treasure Island (1950), Mary Poppins (1964), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and The Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994).

Over the years, Disney grew to become a worldwide success, and eventually, in 200, named Robert A. Iger the Walt Disney Studios president, and reached the $25 billion revenue threshold for the first time. He later became chief executive in 2005. Since then, Disney Movies has expanded into a wide scope of entertainment, reaching audiences of all ages. [27]

KEY EXECUTIVES

[2] Sean Bailey
President, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Productions

[3] Alan Horn
Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios

[4] Robert A. Iger
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

FINANCIALS

The 2015 Fiscal Year financial report for Disney has shown extraordinary success throughout the past year. Star Wars The Force Awakens has become the highest grossing movie in the history of the United States and has earned over $1.7 billion world wide. They are anticipating the sequel, Rogue One, to exceed expectations in 2016 and 2017. In fact, Disney Movies has already begun work on Episode VIII for its release in 2017.[5]

IN THEATRES

Zootopia

[6] Zootopia 2016
Release: March 4, 2016
Rated: PG

The Disney original movie, Zootopia, directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush,[7] did profoundly well in the Box Office opening weekend. Opening at number 1 on the weekend of March 4th, 2016, this movie earned an opening weekend gross of $75,063,401 domestically. Including international gross, Zootopia made a cumulative amount of $891,331,606.[8] The majority of the target audience was children, however, as a result of its popular cast, including, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, and Idris Elba, attracted an older audience between the ranges of 18-24.[9] The success of this movie has exceeded all expectations, breaking the record of Disney’s best ever opening for Disney animation as well as managing to dethrone The Lorax from being the record holder of the highest grossing animated movie. [10]

The Jungle Book

[11]The Jungle Book
Release: April 15, 2016
Rated: PG

This live-action remake of Disney’s classical animation of The Jungle Book, directed by Jon Favreau, has just hit theatres this past weekend and has surpassed its budget with flying colors. Opening this past weekend on April 15th, 2016, The Jungle Book has earned a gross domestically of $147,054426. Including international gross of $246,700,000, the movie made its budget of $175,000,000 in its first week.[12] The Jungle Book has especially done well internationally because of its original success as an animated movie. In Germany, the movie has pulled $5.6 million its opening weekend, the best a Disney movie has done in Germany since the release of Alice in Wonderland in 2010. Despite this fact, however, the original Jungle Book had Germany in awe and captivated the audience more than this new remake, with the original 1967 movie captivating the audience more than any other movie released. [13] Aside from its successful income in Germany, The Jungle Book has reached a gross of $64 million in China, and in third place, $24.6 million in India, being India’s highest grossing Hollywood film in history.[14]

COMING FUTURE RELEASES

[15]Alice Through The Looking Glass
Release: May 27, 2016
Rated: PG

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Coming May 27, 2016, Alice Through the Looking Glass, directed by James Bobin, revolves around Alice returning to Wonderland to go on a journey back in time to save the Mad Hatter. When she awakens in Wonderland, she must travel to a new world to retrieve a magical sceptre that can stop the evil Lord of Time from turing Wonderland into a lifeless world. She must also stop the plans of putting the Queen of Hearts back on the throne. Starring celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman and Helen Bonham Carter, this movie will be attracting audiences of all ages. In addition, this movie is the last movie Alan Rickman worked on before passing this past January. [16][17]

Finding Dory

[18] Finding Dory
Release: June 17, 2016
Rated: PG

Finding Dory, starring Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks, revolves around the return of Dory to her loving friends, and the discovery of the true meaning of friendship and family on her quest to find her mother and father. Disney has not released any further information about the description of the movie to its fans. [19] This movie has been creating some major discussions about the expectations of the presentation of the movie, especially in the Arab world. Egyptians specifically are concerned that Disney will be presenting this movie in an Arabic dialect as opposed to an easy Egyptian dialect favoured by most. In fact, a petition has been growing online called “Return the Egyptian Dialect to Disney movies” where they are asking Disney to reconsider its decision to proceed with a standard Arabic dialect. This is campaign is not the first to voice this issue. In 2014, when Disney released Frozen in an Arabic dialect instead of Egyptian, many made similar calls of concern on the issue. Questions were raised as to why Disney continued dubbing its movies into 41 different languages, yet ceased to continue dubbing in the Egyptian dialect in favour of the modern standard Arabic. Disney has accommodated the different dialects of Spanish, Portuguese and French, yet stopped accommodating the different dialects of Arabic. [20]

LATER RELEASES

Moana Release Date: November 23, 2016 Rated: Not Yet Rated

[21] Moana
Release: November 23, 2016
Rated: Not Yet Rated

[22] Pete’s Dragon
Release: August 12, 2016
Rated: Not Yet Rated

[28] Rogue One
Release: December 16, 2016
Rated: Not Yet Rated

[23] The BFG
Release: July 1, 2016
Rated: Not Yet Rated

MAJOR NEWS

[24] Paper Magician Series
Author: Charlie Holmberg

Earlier this week it was announced that Disney just purchased the movie rights to the “Paper Magician” Series written by the Utah based author, Charlie N. Holmberg. Allison Shearmur, the producer of The Hunger Games, and Disney’s Cinderella and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is on board to work on and produce the story. Holmberg is quite excited to see where the story will go from now on. It is up to Disney to decide her part in the process, however, Holmberg seems on board for the steps Disney sees fit to take. [25] The Paper Magician, an adult historical fantasy, revolves around a nineteen year old paper magician, Ceony Twill, who is working to save the life of her love interest and teacher, Emery Thane. [26]

Sources:

Walt Disney Image Logo. Wallpaper Cave. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Sean Bailey Photo. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Alan Horn Photo. Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Robert A. Iger Photo. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Disney Annual Financial Report. Walt Disney Company. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Zootopia Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Zootopia. IMBD Media. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Zootopia (2016). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Zootopia. IMBD Media. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Schwerdtfeger, Conner. (Feb. 2016) “Zootopia Just Broke Disney’s Records, Get Details.” CinemaBlend. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
The Jungle Book Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
The Jungle Book (2016). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Roxborough, Scott. (April 22, 2016). “Why Disney’s Original ‘Jungle Book’ is Germany’s Biggest Film of All Time.” The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Rana, Preetika. (April 21, 2016). “Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’ Becomes India’s Highest-Grossing Hollywood Film.” The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Alice Through The Looking Glass Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Alice Through The Looking Glass. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016). IMDB Media. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Finding Dory Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Finding Dory (2016). IMDB Media. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
SyndiGate.info. (April 18, 2016). “Make Arabic Disney Magical Again: Egyptians Want Dubbed in their Dialect.” Albawaba Entertaiment. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Moana Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Pete’s Dragon Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
The BFG Photo. Disney Movies. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Paper Magician Series Photo. KSL.com. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Tholen, Celeste. (April 20, 2016). “Disney Purchases Movie Rights to Utah Author’s ‘Paper Magician’ Series.” KSL.com. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Holmberg, Charlie N. “The Paper Magician Summary.” Book Rags. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Disney History. Disney Studios. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.
Rogue One Photo. IMDB Media. Retrieved: April 23, 2016.

Disney Movies #1

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Connor Walsh

Connor Walsh

Walt Disney Studios Logo [1] Source: Walt Disney Studios Corporation

COMPANY INFORMATION

Address: [1]
500 S Buena Vista St
Burbank, CA 91521

Key Executives: [2]
Source for all pictures of key executives: The Walt Disney Studios Executive Team

Alan Horn-Chairman

Sean Bailey- President, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Paul Roeder- Vice President, Global Communications

Ed Catmull- President, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

Kathleen Kennedy- President, LucasFilm Ltd.

John Lasseter- Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

HISTORY

Walt Disney Studios was founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney under the name Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. The studio found early success with its “Alice Comedies,” before creating cartoon icon Mickey Mouse and developing a series of short films around the popular mouse. In 1937, the newly named Walt Disney Studio released its first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, to critical and commercial success. By the 1950s, the studio was producing both live-action and animated films. This expansion led to a splitting of the studio into Walt Disney Pictures, for live-action films, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, for animated films, all under the Walt Disney Studios parent company. [3]

As of 2015, Walt Disney Studios has grown to include several other film divisions and subsidiaries. Touchstone Pictures was created in 1984 to create more adult-oriented films to attract new markets. DisneyToon Studios and Pixar are two animation companies, with DisneyToon creating mostly direct-to-video films. Disneynature was founded in 2009 to release independent nature documentaries. The next year, Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment, focused on creating superhero films based on the long-running Marvel comics. In 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Ltd. and now own the rights to film franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. [3]

FINANCIALS

As of December 2015, Disney Studios holds 15.9% market share ranking it second behind Universal for the year. [4] Disney’s fourth quarter reports showed only a very slight increase in profits from last year, in regards to their entertainment division. The division grossed $1.783 billion in its fourth quarter, making the worldwide gross $7.366 billion for the year. This is a 1% increase from last year’s total of $7.278 billion. These numbers are mainly attributed to box office performances like Inside Out, Ant-Man, and Bridge of Spies being similar to the performances of Guardians of the Galaxy and Maleficent from 2014. [5] Despite this, Disney’s stock has increased greatly over the past few months, going from $95.36 a share in August to $115.39 currently. [6] One of the biggest reasons for this is the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is expected to break several box office records and has already sold millions of dollars in merchandise. [7]

FALL 2015 FILMS

Inside Out

Inside Out Poster [8] Source: IMDB

Pixar’s Inside Out was not released in the fall season, but it still maintained a strong theater presence during this time. Opening in June, Inside Out‘s opening broke the box office record for an original, non-sequel property with $91 million in its first three days. [9] The film experienced a resurgence in the month of September with it reopening in 2,204 theaters. As of the end of November, it is still shown in some theaters and has grossed over $850 million worldwide. [10] The film’s critical reception is largely attributed to these high numbers with a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [11] Because of scores like these, the movie’s notoriety spread through word-of-mouth.

Ant-Man

Ant-Man Poster [14] Source: IMDB

Similarly to Inside Out, Marvel’s Ant-Man was not released during the fall. While its numbers were not as good as Inside Out, Ant-Man did quite well in the box office and exceeded expectations. The film opened to number one with a weekend gross of more than $57 million. As of late November, it too is still showing in several theaters. [12] In late October, Ant-Man became the ninth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to break $500 million. There were some concerns about the movie since Ant-Man is a relatively unknown superhero but positive reviews, the star power of Paul Rudd, and its ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe made it a bigger hit than anticipated. [13]

Bridge of Spies Poster [16] Source: IMDB

Bridge of Spies

Released on October 16, Touchstone Feature’s Bridge of Spies tells the real-life story of James Donovan, a Brooklyn insurance claims lawyer who was sent by the CIA to the Soviet Union to negotiate the release of a captured American pilot. [15] On a budget of $40 million, the film has grossed over $95 million, making it a box office success for Disney. The success can be attributed to the star power of those who worked on the film, as it was directed by Steven Spielberg, written by the Coen Brothers, and stars Hollywood icon Tom Hanks.

The Good Dinosaur

The Good Dinosaur Poster [18] Source: IMDB

Released on November 25, Pixar’s second film of the year The Good Dinosaur tells the story of a boy and a dinosaur who form a bond in an alternate timeline where the dinosaurs never became extinct. The film grossed more than $56 million on its opening weekend, which is considered to be a disappointment by Pixar’s standards. While the film is expected to break even, The Good Dinosaur had the weakest launch in Pixar’s twenty year history. [17] There are several reasons why this is the case. First are the reviews, which only point to the movie being okay. The timing was also not ideal, as the movie launched at the same time as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and Creed, which have both been early box office successes. Lastly, the marketing for the movie was considered to be poor, as Disney has been focusing most of its attention on promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens. [13]

THE FUTURE

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Trailer [19]
Source: Youtube

Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Disney’s biggest project of the year and is poised to do massive box office numbers. The seventh film in the Star Wars franchise takes place thirty years after the events of 1981’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and features returning stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill along with a new cast. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected to shatter several box office records with many speculating that it could become the highest-grossing film of all time. [20] Disney’s heavy marketing campaign has built up a huge amount of hype for the film’s December 18 release. The film has actually already made $50 million through pre-sale tickets, alone breaking pre-sale ticket records. [21] The J.J. Abrams-directed space opera is the first in a planned new trilogy and the purchase of Lucasfilm, Ltd. is quickly looking like one of Disney’s smartest decisions in the past few years.

SOURCES

[1] The Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved 29 November 2015.

[2] The Walt Disney Studios Executive Team. Retrieved 29 November 2015.

[3] D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. Disney History. Retrieved 29 November 2015.

[4] Box Office Mojo. 2015 Studio Market Share. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

[5] 5 November 2015. The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal Year 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

[6] Yahoo Finance. The Walt Disney Company DIS. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

[7] Saiim, Palwasha. 1 December 2015. Profit Confidential. DIS Stock: 3 Reasons to be Bullish on the Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[8] IMDB. Inside Out. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[9] Eisenberg, Eric. 24 June 2015. Cinemablend. Inside Out Just Broke an Important Box Office Record. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[10] Box Office Mojo. Inside Out. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[11] Rotten Tomatoes. Inside Out (2015). Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[12] Box Office Mojo. Ant-Man. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[13] Mendelson, Scott. 1 December 2015. Forbes. Box Office: Why Pixar’s ‘Good Dinosaur’ is Marvel’s ‘Ant-Man.’ Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[14] IMDB. Ant-Man. Retrieved 1 December 2015.

[15] Crockatt, Richard. 27 November 2015. Independent. Bridge of Spies: The True Story behind Jim Donovan’s defense of a Soviet spy in an American court. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[16] IMDB. Bridge of Spies. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[17] Whitten, Sarah. 30 November 2015. CNBC LLC. Pixar to ‘keep swimming’ after ‘Good Dinosaur’ falls short at box office. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[18] IMDB. The Good Dinosaur. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[19] The Official Star Wars Youtube Page. Youtube. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer (Official). Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[20] Romano, Nick. 28 April 2015. Cinemablend. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poised to Shatter Every Box Office Record We’ve Ever Had. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

[21] 2 December 2015. Press Chronicle. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has Made $50 Million Before Launch. Retrieved 2 December 2015.

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on December 1, 2014 by kawalek

by Lynn Walek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 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 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]