News Bob Iger talks about attendance declines, ticket pricing, the feud with Ron DeSantis, and his huge optimism for Disney Parks and Resorts

[el_super]

But they aren't. In fact, they are throwing some mild perks at passholders, such as extra days, free magnets, candy, and higher discounts to get them in the park. Their bookings for fall are rumored to be soft. They are pithy efforts, but they are there nonetheless and indicate Disney needs more bodies in the parks.

But are those APs paying more now?

 

[el_super]

* The absolutely absurd level of pre-planning, up-charges, logistical nonsense in what used to be (and most consumers expect) to be a care-free experience

All based on demand.

What's better... higher prices and lower demand, or demand that's so high you have to call ahead and get reservations before you can be let in?

 

[monothingie]

Im surprised he didnt Blame DeSantis or did he and i missed that segment?

“The last thing that I want for the company is for the company to be drawn into any culture wars.”

I think his comments about the response to the controversy were scripted poorly for him. It hardly did anything to deescalate, rather it doubled down on the controversy.

 

[Dranth]

I'll agree with you on Marvel, but Pixar and Lucasfilm are much more tempered on their distribution approach. Pixar especially has been hit hard on both ends, one an extremely popular franchise spin-off and the other new IP.

Lucasfilm similarly has not been as aggressive, but yet lost out big time on Indy 5, Willow, and to a large extent the last two films of the Sequel Trilogy.

These are groups within Disney that have been historically great at capturing and maintaining an audience. I would say that Audience fatigue is not being caused by the quantity of productions, but as a byproduct of the story not appealing to both fans and mass-market audiences.

Willow and Indy 5 yes, not so much on the last two films of the sequel trilogy, at least not monetarily as both cleared the billon dollar mark worldwide.

Sure, those two films made me wonder why I wasted my time going to the theater to see them and yes, if they were better they could have made even more money, but they weren't flops. I also don't think they destroyed the franchise. People will still show up if they manage to make a good Star Wars movie.

 

[AEfx]

I'll agree with you on Marvel, but Pixar and Lucasfilm are much more tempered on their distribution approach. Pixar especially has been hit hard on both ends, one an extremely popular franchise spin-off and the other new IP.

Lucasfilm similarly has not been as aggressive, but yet lost out big time on Indy 5, Willow, and to a large extent the last two films of the Sequel Trilogy.

These are groups within Disney that have been historically great at capturing and maintaining an audience. I would say that Audience fatigue is not being caused by the quantity of productions, but as a byproduct of the story not appealing to both fans and mass-market audiences.

I largely agree - Marvel is the only one that needs to slow down. It's just too much - too many movies and too many TV shows. And the quality of the majority of the TV shows hasn't been great (really, only Wandavision was really a stand-out).

They really couldn't "slow down" Star Wars any more, by the next time a film is in theaters, it will be at least a 7 year break. And the once or twice a year TV show isn't an issue, either - they are the only things that do really well on Disney+ (the ratings and now awards recognition with the Emmy nominations show they are going strong, in spite of the internet chatter).

The biggest factor with Pixar is that they just aren't the only ones making lavish CGI family films any more. They don't just stand out for the production values alone like they used to - families attracted by the "oh, it's Pixar, it's got to be good" label.

I've never been a big fan, they just never were my thing, but just observing what comes out - one wants to give them points for not repeating themselves with the same IPs all the time, but on the other hand, when the new ones are released, they are difficult to distinguish from each other. It's like they are new and the same at once - and not in positive ways. It may be totally wrong, and I'm sure it is - but just based on the promotional stuff I've seen, I can't tell Elemental from Inside Out (and I had to look up the name of the latter to remember it, and I only know about Elemental from the McDonalds promotion, LOL). They also just don't seem to be films that capture a larger audience outside of "families with kids" that are needed for those billion dollar grosses.

There is just so much entertainment out there for kids/families right now, that the urgency to run to the theaters just isn't there unless you have some trifecta of things going for you, like Super Mario did (long desired but underused IP, appeals across age groups, high quality production).

 

[SamusAranX]

But are those APs paying more now?

I can't speak to their numbers. I know I am not. I traditionally do not spend alot in the parks. I took my free magnets and ran

 

[monothingie]

Willow and Indy 5 yes, not so much on the last two films of the sequel trilogy, at least not monetarily as both cleared the billon dollar mark worldwide.

TLJ significantly underperformed TFA. ROS did even worse.

Return of Skywalker Palpatine grossed $1.07B and had an estimated budget of $275M. Initial estimates showed the film netted $300M.

It was later revealed in UK tax filings prior to all the post work being complete, that the actual production cost was around $420M. Using that number and not accounting for the cost of any additional post production work, the film had to clear $1.05B just to break even.

Not good.

 

[hopemax]

Have they ever announced much at Destination though? I don't except much more than Hatbox ghost and figment M&G updates.

Now they better have a lot of solid plans at D23 next year.

Nope. Destination: D is for nostalgia and plusses, which we know Disney doesn't do anymore. It's a different crowd that attends. Used to be uber-fans, holdovers from the old Disneyana Convention days. Now it's pin traders who paid a cover charge for Mickey's of Glendale pin purchases that can be flipped for $$$.

 

[Splash4eva]

“The last thing that I want for the company is for the company to be drawn into any culture wars.”

I think his comments about the response to the controversy were scripted poorly for him. It hardly did anything to deescalate, rather it doubled down on the controversy.

Or is he admitting they should have kept quiet?

 

[lentesta]

We are less than 2 months out from Destination D23 - so I assume some announcements come out of that

Now if there are no concrete things like " we are building X and Y and they will be open by 2025 and 2026" with walls going up shortly after then I will be really concerned

In March, my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.

I don't think they've gone from that to "here's stuff that we can open in the next 42 months, tops"

The best they might be able to do is announce clones of C- and D-ticket attractions from other parks around the world. But even then, wouldn't we have heard something about that?

 

[mysto]

"Discussing pricing at the parks, Iger says that pricing is not an issue since he addressed it on his return late last year."

Did I miss something?

I've been thinking about this, and I'm going to guess he's talking about the reintroduction of AP sales. That is a large price sensitive group. Disney's complaint count probably dropped convincing this guy who runs things by the numbers that it's solved.

Nice comment, you got a lot of replies, right to the heart of it.

 

[AEfx]

Sure, those two films made me wonder why I wasted my time going to the theater to see them and yes, if they were better they could have made even more money, but they weren't flops. I also don't think they destroyed the franchise. People will still show up if they manage to make a good Star Wars movie.

Initial box office grosses are only 1/2 the reason Star Wars films exist, though. The other half, and the half the keeps on giving, is merchandising.

No one bought merchandise from TLJ, so much so, they made very little period for RoS. And then what little was there disappeared.

The Star Wars collecting market overall is stronger than ever, new products coming out all the time, highly successful toy lines, highly successful high-end collector lines, etc. - and it's all original trilogy, then Mando-verse/Baby Yoda, and then Clone Wars (not specifically prequel film, but that era).

Every company that makes these products has moved on, and did so long ago - if you look at all the releases that have come out for the past few years, what's coming out now, and what's been announced - it's like the Sequel Trilogy never even existed once RoS was out of the theaters.

 

[drew81]

In March, my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.

I don't think they've gone from that to "here's stuff that we can open in the next 42 months, tops"

The best they might be able to do is announce clones of C- and D-ticket attractions from other parks around the world. But even then, wouldn't we have heard something about that?

Absolutely. And even if they added a clone, the timetable for that addition would drag on forever. 2 years at a minimum, I would assume.

 

[mightynine]

In March, my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.

That's....pretty damning.

 

[el_super]

That's....pretty damning.

In part... a consequence of the Lake Nona move.

 

[SamusAranX]

In March, my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.

I don't think they've gone from that to "here's stuff that we can open in the next 42 months, tops"

The best they might be able to do is announce clones of C- and D-ticket attractions from other parks around the world. But even then, wouldn't we have heard something about that?

Wow. That's discouraging

 

[monothingie]

In March, my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.

I don't think they've gone from that to "here's stuff that we can open in the next 42 months, tops"

The best they might be able to do is announce clones of C- and D-ticket attractions from other parks around the world. But even then, wouldn't we have heard something about that?

That's....pretty damning.

In part... a consequence of the Lake Nona move.

Imagineering had been gutted long before then. Bob I deserves a lot of the credit for that.

 

[Dranth]

Initial box office grosses are only 1/2 the reason Star Wars films exist, though. The other half, and the half the keeps on giving, is merchandising.

No one bought merchandise from TLJ, so much so, they made very little period for RoS. And then what little was there disappeared.

The Star Wars collecting market overall is stronger than ever, new products coming out all the time, highly successful toy lines, highly successful high-end collector lines, etc. - and it's all original trilogy, then Mando-verse/Baby Yoda, and then Clone Wars (not specifically prequel film, but that era).

Every company that makes these products has moved on, and did so long ago - if you look at all the releases that have come out for the past few years, what's coming out now, and what's been announced - it's like the Sequel Trilogy never even existed once RoS was out of the theaters.

Which makes sense, those weren't good movies and the success of content released post prequals tells me that the damage wasn't as bad as it could have been. As bad as they were though, they didn't lose money so I don't throw them in the same category as something like an Indy 5 which looks like it is going to bomb completely despite being a better movie.

 

[Dranth]

Nope. Destination: D is for nostalgia and plusses, which we know Disney doesn't do anymore. It's a different crowd that attends. Used to be uber-fans, holdovers from the old Disneyana Convention days. Now it's pin traders who paid a cover charge for Mickey's of Glendale pin purchases that can be flipped for $$$.

Which is more in line with what I thought and why I don't expect anything.

I kind of wish they would change it up and announce WDW stuff at Destination D and Disneyland stuff at D23. Throw cruise, worldwide parks and additions that would be on both coasts in whichever is going on the year they are ready to announce.

 

[TP2000]

Already so many spot-on comments here, but this one is going to stick with me forever...

Sweaterman and sidekick tightpants might get too hot

Josh D'Amaro as sidekick tightpants.

I love that one. Absolute perfection. Can I please borrow it @GhostHost1000? I'll only use it for the powers of good, I promise.