Disney
Disney's CEO says their box office bombs "fueled other parts of our company"
Two of Disney’s big releases this summer, The Mandalorian & Grogu and the live-action Moana remake, were massive bombs at the box office. The Mouse House’s CEO doesn’t seem to care.
During the company’s Q3 earnings call, Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro admitted two of the studio’s summer films, The Mandalorian & Grogu and Moana, were massive box office disappointments.
Combined, the two films have made a combined $608 million at the global box office, which is undoubtedly a disappointing figure considering the massive built-in audiences that the respective franchises boast.
The animated Moana, for comparison, made over $680 million when it hit theaters a decade ago. Even Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — the last Star Wars movie before The Mandalorian & Grogu — made over $1 billion despite being widely reviled.
Disney doesn’t care that their summer movies bombed because they helped sell toys and fuel theme park attendance.
D’Amaro wasn’t too down about that fact, however, as he said the films “fueled” other parts of the company such as retail and theme park attendance.
“Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana, our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company,” D’Amaro said. “These franchise investments contributed to value creation beyond their theatrical releases.”
“The Mandalorian and Grogu drove healthy growth in retail sales for the Star Wars franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well. And the live-action Moana is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most-streamed movies of all time.”
It wasn’t all misses for Disney this summer, though, as Toy Story 5 has grossed over $1 billion and counting at the global box office.
Although Spider-Man: Brand New Day is co-produced by Marvel Studios and is shaping up to be one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, Disney can’t tout that as one of their successes.
For solo Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movies co-produced by Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios, Sony funds the production budget and retains the majority of box office profits, while Marvel Studios co-produces creatively and receives a reported 5% of first-dollar gross — with Marvel’s primary financial benefit coming from merchandise, theme park attractions, and character licensing rather than theatrical revenue.
Disney does have one film yet to release this year, and it could be their biggest of all: Avengers: Doomsday, which hits theaters on December 18.