Disney Faces $900 Million in Losses After Major Box Office Disappointments
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney is facing massive losses, even after a summer full of big releases.
According to box office analyst Valliant Renegade, Walt Disney Co. has lost nearly $900 million following its last eight studio releases, including box office flops like LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD.
Valliant Renegade’s report mentioned one of the main reasons why Disney is having so much trouble getting audiences in theaters: their own streaming service. However, Movieguide® knows the truth is actually in the morals their recent releases have promoted.
Movieguide® reported:
Disney and Pixar movies used to be a sure thing at the box office, but it looks like the movie studio is still struggling to connect with audiences.
The studio’s last two offerings, LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD, both suffered at the box office for multiple reasons, but the biggest one is content.
Both LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD failed to find their footing with audiences and failed at the box office — LIGHTYEAR made $226 million off a $200 million budget, while STRANGE WORLD majorly flopped, making just $70 million off a $180 million budget.
Each of these movies featured content that was not family-friendly, which meant many parents chose not to take their children to the theater.
It’s not just Disney who lost money from immoral content. As Movieguide® also reported:
If anything is clear from the 2022 slate of releases, should movies contain moral values and not fall back on immoral content, like excessive violence and sex, they soar.
One example is Paramount’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK, which became the highest grossest movie ever released by the studio in a year that many considered a throw-away in terms of box office revenue.
As Movieguide®’s review of MAVERICK notes, the movie championed moral themes such as sacrifice and patriotism, and kept immorality to a minimum.
In contrast, Paramount’s grossly immoral BABYLON, which boasted a cast of A-list actors, bombed.
Unfortunately, it was not only the movies geared towards adult audiences that suffered due to a misjudgment of what audiences want to see on screen.
Walt Disney Studios’ STRANGE WORLD and LIGHTYEAR both are now expected to lose the company $100M each, Variety reported.
However, it was not due to a lack of willing families, but rather Disney’s recent obsession with sexuality over story.
MINIONS: RISE OF GRU, which was the only animated feature to break into the top ten highest grossing movies in 2022, proves that families were willing show up to theaters, so long as they strayed away from adult topics like sexuality.
Both LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD contained LGBTQ+ characters that the studio hoped would hold up weak stories, but ultimately ostracized their largest audience.
Another money-loser tied to Disney+ is the fact that they no longer license their content to other streaming services or networks. For example, the Marvel shows like DAREDEVIL and JESSICA JONES created by Netflix, or AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. which ran on ABC.
Disney has been working to offset these losses by cutting jobs. Marca reported that the company plans to cut 7,000 jobs as part of a $5.5 billion cost savings plan.
Movieguide® previously reported on these lay-offs:
According to Deadline, Disney began their third round of planned layoffs yesterday. Disney recently began their previous layoffs in late March.
The third round of layoffs is expected to affect more than 2,500 people across the entire company. The Parks and Resorts divisions are likely to remain untouched, however it is unclear as to where the main division cut will be.
In the second round of layoffs, the television division was the main one affected. Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO confirmed in March that this third round of layoffs is expected to be the last. However, there could still be small job cuts in the future.
The third round of layoffs is primarily due to the writers’ strike. Which has halted the film and TV development industry. For TV and film development to get back on its feet again, content will be a major factor as far as profits go.
