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Disney is synonymous with entertainment worldwide. However, at the beginning of 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the company was slashing a rather sizeable number of jobs to stabilize its continual losses.
One of the major reasons behind the company's recent failure is its expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe project. On August 9, 2023, during the Quarter 3 Financial Year 2023 Earning Results Webcast, Bob Iger admitted that the recent Marvel films had performed poorly. He admitted back in 2023 that the rapid expansion plan adopted for the MCU backfired.
"In our zeal to basically grow our content significantly to serve our..mostly our streaming offerings we ended up...taxing our people way beyond in terms of their time and their focus," he said.
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"Marvel's a great example of that and frankly, it diluted focus and attention. The performance of some of our recent films has definitely been disappointing and we don't take that lightly. As you'd expect we're very focused on improving the quality and the performance of the films that we've got coming up," Bob Iger added.
Since the August 2023 webcast, Bob Iger has repeated the importance of quality over quantity five more times, including during the latest earning reports in May 2024. However, the company still retains a bloated release schedule for the upcoming year, which suggests the company is still some ways from focusing on quality over quantity.
Tracing Disney's recent failure
The studio's downfall began following the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019. The company tried to reproduce its earlier success with an overload of films and television series based on the MCU. Adding to its successive list of releases, Disney even produced several Star Wars series and films. Some of the few successes included titles like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki, and The Mandalorian.
The overreliance on sequels and remakes of their existing content has diluted much of its content over the years, resulting in a sharp fall in quality. However, it is not just the content that has landed the company in a troubling position. The company has been involved in numerous lawsuits over the years. Some of the plaintiffs include Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, and the State of Florida.
Domestically, Disney's theme parks were struggling due to disagreements between the corporation and the governor. Its major earnings from parks have been from the parks outside of North America. Charges related to contract violations, rights violations, payment withholding, and legal interference added to the downfall of Disney in 2023.
Why does the future still look bleak for Disney?
As per Empire Magazine, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Co-President Louis D’Esposito acknowledged the problems with MCU projects in recent years. Like Bob Iger, they admitted to the oversaturation of content and decided to reign in on the releases.
However, Disney looks to continue its flurry of releases in 2024, too, not learning from its past mistakes. The studio has a total of 11 films planned for release in 2024, including Marvel films, Pixar films, and other studio productions. Additionally, the studio has released three animated series. The studio has also scheduled the release of Agatha All Along and Staw Wars Acolyte.
X-Men '97 has fared extremely well and there is a lot of positive buzz around the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine. However, upcoming titles like Mufasa: The Lion King and Alien have already received ill will before their release.
The reliance on sequels and remakes reigns supreme for the company in 2024, which marks that the company might be headed towards doubling down on its past failure.
Additionally, the company has upended the Hollywood industry by raising the costs of its subscription services, which has led to a sharp plummet in its stock prices over the years. CNN reported that its poor approach to linear television is one of the major reasons for its underwhelming performance.
According to the company's latest fiscal report, they are rethinking their growth expectations. In more positive news, the company posted a profit for the first time in streaming, with growth in earnings through Disney+ and Hulu.
