News Dismal Q3 Earnings

[Villains0501]

JJ did a reboot ...his speciality...and wrote Ford a check.

Whatever “hashed out” arc he created...what ended up being was a pretty bland Rey/ren thing, useless ancillary characters...and pretty bad mishandling and offing of the original characters.

He gets little grief for his part in all this. He made a complete reboot and gleaned box office off the prequel angst and “event” status.

Can we call it a shovel...or do we need proof in December still?


Swapping Fisher for hamill was the only logical move...but that was too easy I guess?

Fisher shouldn’t have been brought back at all, frankly, it was a disservice to her own character.

Nothing in the trailers or coverage of this next movie doesn’t scream “desperation”...it all looks desperate.

Billy dee?

I do hope for legacy that it’s ok...the franchise has taken such a beating that I don’t want any more damage.

Those not old enough cans understand...it was an amazing, one of a kind thing. It was.

There was a taste of that amazement in 2015, leading up to the release of TFA. That was an event film if there ever was one. Too bad the sweetness soon turned sour. I knew there was a problem with the film when I couldn't remember the names of any of the new characters by the time I got to my car outside the theater. And I was only 21 at the time, so no memory loss excuses.

 

[Disney Analyst]

So what happens to the Q2 and Q3 earnings reports for next year when Disney's films segment won't have their billion dollar Endgame/Captain Marvel/Aladdin films to boost revenue?? YoY might be down significantly.

This is the issue with how corporations and shareholders view quarters and profit. It was the same in a restaurant chain I managed a store for.

Every quarter needs to be better then the last, which is obviously not a sustainable model. How do they ensure it is? Cut things. Cut labour, cut costs, cut quality.

It’s stupid. The big picture should be year over year, and in the end the even bigger picture should be... did we make a profit? How much did we make? How do we ensure a better profit next year?

For me personally... my hope would be that we are making decent money, covering our costs and hopefully have extra left to spread about.

But watch as the studios have a rough year down the line and how much a failure it’s seen as and then they start cutting quality... even if they still made a profit.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They blocked out nearly all of their clientele. What is that if not managing demand?

Obviously they managed far too much but that’s exactly what they did.

They could have lifted the limit...at any time.

It was a cluster...best to “say nothing”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

There was a taste of that amazement in 2015, leading up to the release of TFA. That was an event film if there ever was one. Too bad the sweetness soon turned sour. I knew there was a problem with the film when I couldn't remember the names of any of the new characters by the time I got to my car outside the theater. And I was only 21 at the time, so no memory loss excuses.

For me...it’s that I couldn’t rewatch it with any interest...neither in theater or at home.

Granted the originals weren’t that thrilling after a few times...but there was always “comfort” in rewatching them.

Not with the new stuff. Only R1 has any snap on repeat.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'd take all this with a large grain of salt.

What part of that doesn’t seem to fit the facts on the ground?

 

[peter11435]

They could have lifted the limit...at any time.

It was a cluster...best to “say nothing”

No they really couldn’t have.

The tickets were all sold with their block out dates understood.

You can’t sell annual passes with certain block out dates and offer a high priced premium pass without those block out dates and then start lifting the blocks on the cheaper passes.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No they really couldn’t have.

The tickets were all sold with their block out dates understood.

You can’t sell annual passes with certain block out dates and offer a high priced premium pass without those block out dates and then start lifting the blocks on the cheaper passes.

“Hours and limitations are subject to change by the issuer at anytime”

Check your ticket

It would be “impractical” - of course

 

[HauntedPirate]

They blocked out nearly all of their clientele. What is that if not managing demand?

Obviously they managed far too much but that’s exactly what they did.

All true. I think it's the part where she said, "...for the first few weeks after opening Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge..." that is a bit disingenuous. 11 weeks != "the first few". At the end of the day, it's just PR spin, and it was expected.

 

[Rodan75]

I believe what GE proves in Disneyland is a regional themepark dependent on annual passholders and blocking them out hurts attendance. That said the thing I hope Disney learns from this is to build major tourist dependent attractions at WDW first. Disneyland gets a good amount of tourists but nowhere near what WDW gets.

The big thing to remember is that passholders don't spend as much on every visit. That does not mean they won't buy a Lightsaber or Droid, but that they may buy one but visit 10 times so per cap is lower even though they make more money off the passholder than they do a one day visitor. Six Flags on their conference calls alway say their members spend more money on merchandise than do one day visitors. The one big thing Disney can learn from Six Flags is how to track what each passholder buys. Six Flags give a discount to their annual members but to get it your card has to be scanned. Disney could do this with magic bands, automatically take off the discount and charge the band. They could then offer special deals to members who spend more.

In a strange way, this whole thing has become a test of how much of a non-local tourist draw DLR really is. It doesn't seem to have passed the test with flying colors...based on the 'panic' some folks are reporting. Which should mean more attention paid to WDW in the future.

Also, it is super weird that everyone is making judgements on the success of SWGE after one partial quarter. People were literally doing the same thing when Pandora opened and didn't instantly have material impact to the attendance. After a year of operation we really saw those numbers grow. Normal people don't plan expensive Disney Vacations with barely 6 months notice to the opening of a land with no guarantees that the whole land will be open on time. That is Fanboi bubble mentality only. Most people remember that launches are not great times to visit theme parks. (Hagrid's, Volcano Bay, ROTR not opening are all recent examples that will drive people away from not booking day 1, month 1 trips for a new attraction)

If by early next year they have quickly decided to add another attraction and entertainment offerings at DLR and DHS, then we can safely say SWGE didn't have the material impact they were hoping for and are working to salvage the project.

 

[Rodan75]

The studio has been something I have been worried about. You can only stay number 1 for so long. Eventually you cant keep increasing market share forever. Universal must be thinking that today because Hobs and Shaw barely beat Lion King on Monday. Bad sign for them. The entire movie industry has had a very bad year with the exception of Marvel, which also gives Disney an incorrect view. they should look at Fox and see the future. If Disney plus doesn't hit a homerun the company is in trouble. So is Comcast because the cable TV market is failing and the internet is about to fave major competition with 5G.

I'm super curious to see what the next round of greenlights are for Studio. I was encouraged yesterday when Lucasfilm took on a non-Star Wars, non-Indiana project that really seems to fit the Lucasfilm brand.

Disney is definitely due for a rough patch at the theatre. Although that can be stemmed if they find a way to bring more genre diverse projects to the table with the same level of quality that they've done with Marvel, Pixar and WDFA.

 

[monothingie]

They could have lifted the limit...at any time.

It was a cluster...best to “say nothing”

Can’t do that. All the people who bought $2000 APs would feel as if they were ripped off.

 

[mikejs78]

All true. I think it's the part where she said, "...for the first few weeks after opening Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge..." that is a bit disingenuous. 11 weeks != "the first few". At the end of the day, it's just PR spin, and it was expected.

Well, the quarter only encompassed a few weeks.... Also attendance did pick up in July, albeit still not enough or what they expected.

 

[peter11435]

“Hours and limitations are subject to change by the issuer at anytime”

Check your ticket

It would be “impractical” - of course

Not the same thing but you already know that.

This wouldn’t be changing hours or closing due to operatioal considerations or unforeseen circumstances. This would be a conscious decision to essentially invalidate a premium product you paid for.

Imagine being a day guest in the Magic Kingdom, paying $100 on top of admission for a ticket to the Halloween party, and then later being told they allowed everyone to stay for the party regardless if they had a ticket.

 

[peter11435]

All true. I think it's the part where she said, "...for the first few weeks after opening Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge..." that is a bit disingenuous. 11 weeks != "the first few". At the end of the day, it's just PR spin, and it was expected.

Only the first few weeks of the land being opened fell during the quarter being discussed.

 

[Villains0501]

For me...it’s that I couldn’t rewatch it with any interest...neither in theater or at home.

Granted the originals weren’t that thrilling after a few times...but there was always “comfort” in rewatching them.

Not with the new stuff. Only R1 has any snap on repeat.

And that snap in Rogue One's only provided by Vader snapping rebel necks. The first two acts are a chore to sit through.

 

[bubbles1812]

And that snap in Rogue One's only provided by Vader snapping rebel necks. The first two acts are a chore to sit through.

Speak for yourself. I actually enjoyed Rogue One all around, including the first two acts, though the last act was the best. My favorite moment was when the planet was zapped by the Death Star. Epic beautiful sad score. I didn’t think Solo was bad either overall, just miscast.

I wasn’t a fan of TLJ and therein lies the real problem with the franchise right now. Will be curious to see if TROS brings it back up.

 

[WDW Pro]

Only the first few weeks of the land being opened fell during the quarter being discussed.

That is not an accurate statement.

By the way, here is more info showing the mainstream is beginning to catch on that Star Wars is damaged. When Bloomberg claims the entire franchise depends on Episode 9, you know the narrative has changed.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

That is not an accurate statement.

By the way, here is more info showing the mainstream is beginning to catch on that Star Wars is damaged. When Bloomberg claims the entire franchise depends on Episode 9, you know the narrative has changed.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

I was just talking to my husband about the films and some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on. One of the things I've noticed about Iger and co. is that they seem to mis-read guests and fans on a pretty consistent basis. My hope is that if Episode 9 doesn't do well, that they take a good, long look at who is in charge of Lucasfilm and how the source material has been handled. There IS a way back for the film franchise if they can find the right people to pull it off and do a hard reset in terms of what is canon and what isn't. Fans WANT Star Wars to be awesome...but what we've gotten so far is a bunch of stuff people used put their own personal stamp on the films instead of people who love the franchise and want to see it continue past their own employment. Fans are showing their displeasure with their wallets, definitely, but they will come back if given a reason to do so.

Just my two cents.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That is not an accurate statement.

By the way, here is more info showing the mainstream is beginning to catch on that Star Wars is damaged. When Bloomberg claims the entire franchise depends on Episode 9, you know the narrative has changed.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

But what do they know??

They don’t go on chat boards and talk about “magic”, use countdown gifs, OR trip reports

 

[peter11435]

That is not an accurate statement.

Yes it is.

GE opened May 31. The third quarter ended June 29. The land was reservation only until June 24.