In a period where the entertainment industry is on the cusp of dramatic change, Disney has had what can be described as a chaotic year. Fresh off the departure of Bob Chapek, former CEO Bob Iger returned to post in Nov. 2022 to lead Disney anew, which initially pleased many longtime Disney fans. Iger’s previous tenure as CEO included many of the company’s acquisitions — Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, and 20th Century Studios were all acquired during his time leading the company — and many Disney lovers attributed much of the company’s success to Iger’s leadership. Even with Iger back at the helm, this year has been anything but easy for Disney.
Apart from Disney’s stock trending downwards (more on that shortly), the company’s high-budget theatrical releases have struggled to recoup their massive production costs. $1 billion sounds like a lot — and don’t get me wrong, it is — but it used to be seemingly easy for Disney’s productions, especially those using existing IP, to make that in the box office. Those days might be behind the company as audiences become less inclined to go to the movies, especially to see bigger franchise films. When a film manages to tell a unique story, audiences do respond, albeit sometimes a little later like with Pixar’s Elemental; that’s what makes a film like Rebel Moon, a former Star Wars film turned into its own unique story, so compelling.
Meanwhile, Disney’s streaming service has been going through its own struggles as subscribers lament new price raises amidst several massive content purges of its streaming catalogue. As a new Charles Dickens’ series (yes, really) heads to Disney Plus, could it suffer the same fate?
Disney stock hits lowest close in nearly nine years
Disney’s stock has not been faring well this year, but on Thursday things took a turn for worse as shares closed at their lowest level in almost nine years. After speculation from observers and shareholders when the stock was trading lower in the morning, Disney stock officially closed at $82.47. According to a report from Reuters, this is the lowest shares have been since October 16, 2014 when shares closed at $83.83 (via MarketWatch) and analysts predict the price could drop even lower in the coming months.
After reporting losses in recent quarterly reports, Iger has attempted to allay shareholders’ fears by terminating some 7,000 employees and raising Hulu and Disney Plus subscription prices in an effort to cut costs by $5.5 billion. While Disney’s recent box office performance, lackluster critical reviews, and growing pains when it comes to its streaming efforts are certainly part of why Disney’s stock is falling so low in price, Disney isn’t the only entity to blame. Wall Street as a whole was trending downward Thursday as investors anticipate U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s annual Jackson Hole speech. While normally the speech has minimal effects on the stock market, last year Powell scared Wall Street when he warned the U.S. may be entering a “lengthy period of very restrictive monetary policy.”
Despite the country’s current state of inflation, Powell’s speech is expected to be less inflammatory toward the market this year, but that doesn’t mean Disney is out of the woods yet. Some market observers believe stock could potentially dip as low as $80 or under by September (does this mean it’s a good time to buy Disney stock?).
Rebel Moon, Zach Snyder’s own space opera with Star Wars roots, is coming to Netflix
Zack Snyder’s newest film, Rebel Moon, is coming to Netflix this December — or at least, part one is — and with the release of its first teaser trailer, we’re already looking forward to what’s shaping up to be a delightful fantasy film. It’s no doubt a cool-looking trailer, but you might be asking yourself, “what does this have to do with Disney?” (Or, given how in-the-know our readers are, you might not be) Before it made its way to Netflix, Rebel Moon started out as a Star Wars spinoff right when Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. Snyder shared the film was always going to be an outlier even if it stayed in the Star Wars universe, as he wanted all original characters and for the film to have an R rating, which the filmmaker recognizes was always “a big ask.”
“The sale had just happened. There was that window where, you know, who knows what’s possible? I was like, ‘I don’t want any of your characters. I don’t want to do anything with any known characters, I just want to do my own thing on the side.’ And originally I was like, ‘It should be rated R!’ That was almost a non-starter. I knew it was a big ask, to be honest. But the deeper I got into it, I realized it was probably never going to be what I wanted.”
The concept was then explored as a telvision series before it began development as an original Netflix film, albeit one with a budget approaching that of a Star Wars film. Despite occasionally tackling heavier themes, Star Wars is nowhere near releasing something as adult as Rebel Moon is shaping up to be, so it seems Snyder’s new space opera might be better off as its own thing.
The Artful Dodger, Disney Plus’ original sequel to a Charles Dickens novel nearly two centuries old, sounds good — hopefully, we can find out
Disney Plus recently released photos of its new series The Artful Dodger, an original followup to Charles Dickens’ 1937 novel Oliver Twist. The show will follow Jack Dawkins (played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster), the Artful Dodger himself, after he’s parlayed his skills at thievery into becoming a masterful surgeon. Set in 1850s Australia, the arrival of Fagin (David Thewlis) will tempt Dawkins to return to a life of crime while Lady Belle (Maia Mitchell) will tempt Hawkins in matters of the heart. It sounds like a cute premise and one I’d honestly enjoy watching, but after Disney’s content purge(s) earlier this year, it’s hard to imagine it will stick around for long.
Disney famously removed hyped, but ultimately under-performing, content like Willow from the streaming platform only six months after its premiere, effectively making it impossible to watch the show online. Shows generating even less excitement could be gone even sooner, like Crater, the $50 million sci-fi film removed only seven weeks after it was released. There’s not a ton of excitement nor promotion for The Artful Dodger as of now and as its Nov. 29 release date approaches, I’m unsure if that will change. With a talented cast and an interesting premise, I’d hope the show can survive on merit alone but given Disney’s track record with original content, I’m not too sure it’ll be on Disney Plus long enough to discover said merit.