News Bob Iger is back! Chapek is out!!

[Jedijax719]

Chapek was never in a good situation to start with. Maybe he did or didn't handle things well, but whether it be he, Iger, the reincarnation of Walt and Roy, or Mickey personified, the climate was always going to crush Disney from all sides. Nobody wants anyone to succeed ALL the time. There was COVID which killed it. Money had to come back in and there were many different ways to do it. The ways chosen may not have been seen as the best, but are we in the company? Then there was the political crap. Disney was completely slaughtered by both hardcore right-wing and hardcore left-wing activists. The "Don't Say Gay" thing doomed Chapek. The left-wing extremists said he spoke too late about it and basically labeled him a bigot (without using those exact words it was a implied). The right-wing extremists chastised him and the company for the statements he DID make, calling him "woke" (a made up work that is a loaded canon) and led to Desantis retaliating against him (is that even legal?). All for what? A law that nobody truly understands, probably doesn't need to exist, and was given a nick-name that is far from accurate.

If Disney releases something that is not inclusive nowadays, they are brutally attacked by the left for not being inclusive enough and accused of being selective about what they make inclusive and how they use that inclusiveness. If they are inclusive at all, they are brutally attacked by the right for being "woke"-EVEN if that "wokeness" is subtle, indirect, or not even really noticeable at all. Personally, I can't stand EITHER side of that argument.

Disney and Chapek are victims of the hate-filled divisive nature of our nation or even world. Does anyone REALLY think Iger's return will fix any of that?

 

[Casper Gutman]

In between Endgame and TFATWS.

There is no real evidence of this. He's old and possibly back in another timeline and non-Avengers think he's dead.

 

[Casper Gutman]

You know that the major theater chains are going bankrupt, fewer and fewer movies are busting blocks, and people are going to the movies far less than they ever have, right? And this began well before COVID. The entire industry knows this, and it’s why they’re all in on streaming. They don’t want to be stuck selling CDs to an audiences who have iPods.

As I've said before, this isn't true. The big story of 2022 is that blockbusters, low budget films, and even (amazingly) mid-budget star vehicles are thriving. Thor 4 and Strange 2 both earned more domestically then their predecessors. Hollywood, trapped in an outdated mindset, released a lot fewer films, but there were still a string of Summer blockbusters. The big news this weekend is that if Netflix had given Glass Onion a normal release they would have banked $50 to $60 million in the theaters. The only films that are struggling are Oscar-y prestige pics. What you're referring to is the streaming-mania mindset that gripped Hollywood before Covid and has been shattered in a number of different ways by actual evens.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You're assuming, however, that the money lost from those who feel as you do outweighs the money gained from those who welcome greater diversity. Perhaps that's the case now—I don't know the data, if any is out there to begin with—but I believe that Disney's progressivism will ultimately prove a wise choice from a financial perspective also.

There is zero doubt that the analysts think this is the better strategic move.

I think the problem is Iger-chapek-Iger promised the stock brokers that “the brand” would prevent short term loses.
And that’s not really realistic.

 

[ILoveWDW4ever]

For those who told me off for supposedly playing dumb: this is what I meant about surprising answers.

Have you watched Turning Red? I can only assume you haven't, because it's hardly accurate to say that the film is about menstrual cycles.

I have not!

I did just Google it though….

 

[CaptainAmerica]

There is no real evidence of this. He's old and possibly back in another timeline and non-Avengers think he's dead.

"Steve represented the best in all of us."

 

[Casper Gutman]

Eternals did multiple times when - you even had one trailer the night before the film release with the kiss in it in one in the UK, you had Pixar going on tour touting the the first openly gay scene in a Pixar film and the same around D23.

When and where, precisely, did they "tout" it?

 

[LittleBuford]

I have not!

I did just Google it though….

I suggest you watch it if you truly wish to make any informed statements about what it is and isn't about.

 

[Heppenheimer]

But it is strange to think about the movies which 'advertised' gay characters have massively under performed ... Eternals/Lightyear/Strange Worlds I think it should be obvious that Iger needs to tell the creatives that they have to start thinking about business side and their experiment has failed so time to go back to the status quo. Also for the love of all things common sense get rid of the arbitary 45 days before films hit Disney+, make films have long cinema run, digital buy, digital rent, blu ray, DVD then streaming to get some value and to make some money.

I don't think the gay character was particularly advertised... because the movie itself was barely marketed.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There is no real evidence of this. He's old and possibly back in another timeline and non-Avengers think he's dead.

I hope…because evans portrayal of that character was the $10,000,000,000 glue in that franchise.

I’m sure he has a price

 

[Touchdown]

Turning Red is about a teenager becoming an adult. Shockingly, said teenager is a female, and as such part of it involves the event that makes her physically an adult, but the movie is about her becoming an adult, not about her getting her period. The period is like the beat box skeletons in the David Pumpkins sketch, “it’s part of it” but not the actual meaning of the story.

 

[Casper Gutman]

"Steve represented the best in all of us."

Yes, the world thinks Steve is dead. We know that, at least for a while after Endgame, that isn't true. He may not be in this timeline, which would make this statement accurate to reality as well as to what everyone believes.

If Marvel wants Steve back and Chris Evans wants to come back he'll be back. But neither wants it right now.

 

[LittleBuford]

It’s a metaphor…

Sanskrit refers to Indian scripture.

 

[ILoveWDW4ever]

I suggest you watch it if you truly wish to make any informed statements about what it is and isn't about.

I don’t really need to watch it. It’s not appealing to me.

I think, you are missing the point though. It is a movie that’s perceived to be about a girl getting her period. Not quite what you’d call “family fare” for a lot of folks in this country.

We can hem and haw about wether it’s good for our particular families, but the reality is, it’s a hard pass for a lot of families.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Sanskrit refers to Indian scripture.

Crap…I meant papyrus

 

[celluloid]

I don’t think theaters are dead…but the financial strife is real. They are incredibly low margin…they can’t take any dip in revenue and survive

That is partly because the big studios are just doing tent pole films with inflated budgets and franchise names instead of middle of and low budget frequency of the 90s.

Universal's Illumination Animation is proof that they are doing fine and want theaters and streaming.
Blumhouse proves it too.
A24.

Obviously just streaming would now allow things to survive either.
Just because Disney can't figure it out and times are odd does not mean it is as dire as cinema is dead.

As much as the lonely don't want to admit it. The theater experience and films are meant for the visceral and group share. As an introvert, even I can admit this.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That is partly because the big studios are just doing tent pole films I stead.of middle of and low budget frequency of the 90s.

Universal's Illumination Animation is proof that they are doing fine and want theaters and streaming.

Obviously just streaming would now allow things to survive either.
Just because Disney can't figure it out and times are odd does not mean it is as dire as cinema is dead.

You meant before digital on demand/streaming content existed??

…think I see the problem…

 

[celluloid]

Well it's compounded there. Universal and other studios are doing ok, even when things are not great.
Disney has the mostly tent pole menality chasing synergy three times a year and inflated budgets.
Disney is the only one so tent pole heavy. Back to Iger vs early Eisner's mentality. 20th century fox should be their touchstone.

Any middle of the road budget now is a straight to Disney Plus spin off or sequel.

And seeing how Glass Onion at a smaller budget made over 15 million plus in one week, when Disney's latest and family animated.festure came out at the same time.
It is working out well for Netflix. This was a pilot for what they do next

 

[_caleb]

As I've said before, this isn't true. The big story of 2022 is that blockbusters, low budget films, and even (amazingly) mid-budget star vehicles are thriving. Thor 4 and Strange 2 both earned more domestically then their predecessors. Hollywood, trapped in an outdated mindset, released a lot fewer films, but there were still a string of Summer blockbusters. The big news this weekend is that if Netflix had given Glass Onion a normal release they would have banked $50 to $60 million in the theaters. The only films that are struggling are Oscar-y prestige pics. What you're referring to is the streaming-mania mindset that gripped Hollywood before Covid and has been shattered in a number of different ways by actual evens.

The fact that we can point to a handful of recent successful films does not mean that we're about to see a radical 180º in North American theater attendance. I'm not talking about a decline in the last 3 years, but an overall trend. Theater attendance peaked in 2001.

Meanwhile, costs are going up: costs to make and market a blockbuster film and costs to run a movie theater (many smaller theaters went out of business because they couldn't show certain films that studios required be shown only using expensive high-def digital projectors and digital surround sound systems). And the risk is going up: sometimes, even with all the right ingredients, a big movie will bomb and nobody but the experts on fan message boards knows why.

Other factors in the demise of cinema:

• Home equipment is better/cheaper than ever
• Word of mouth via internet drowns out marketing efforts
• Piracy (bad), and streaming (owned by the studios, cuts out the middle man)
• Online makes YOU the consumer and the product (data is king)
• The long, slow death of the American shopping mall
• Movie ticket and concession prices
• Video games (seriously, compare revenues)

These things predate the pandemic, which was a huge hit to already-struggling theaters. Sure, lots and lots of people came out for Top Gun, Minions, Spider-Man, etc. but these are vestiges of the glory days, not an indicator of some return to the glory days.

I know you don't believe me, but all the major movie studios sure do. Chapek didn't invent streaming, and Iger didn't jump into Disney+ on a whim after a flashy presentation by Hulu execs.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Crap…I meant papyrus