Disney CEO Bob Iger confirms his plans to exit the company in the near future amid the studio’s recent lackluster box office run. For decades, Disney has reigned supreme as one of the biggest and most successful media conglomerates in the world. The studio – through its subsidiaries such as Marvel Studios, Pixar, and Lucasfilm – has produced some of the most successful movies of all time. However, in recent years, Disney has struggled at the box office with a series of movies underperforming.
Now, amid Disney’s recent lackluster box office run, Iger has confirmed his plans to exit the company in the future. At the New York Times’ DealBook Summit (via Variety), the Disney CEO said the succession planning process “is robust right now” and he will “definitely” exit as chief executive after his recently extended contract expires at the end of 2026. Iger previously served as Disney CEO from 2005 to 2020 and selected Bob Chapek to succeed him, who was ousted in 2022, allowing Iger to return.
Disney’s Recent Lackluster Box Office Run Explained
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney releases have struggled to perform at the box office. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which once seemed immune to flops, has seen multiple movies disappoint at the box office – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. The former failed to break even during its theatrical run, while the latter is the lowest-grossing film in the MCU and the franchise’s first box-office bomb.
Disney’s box office woes extend beyond Marvel and into their own animated features. Strange World was one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time, while Disney’s centennial film Wish recently opened well below projections. Pixar’s Lightyear was a box office failure, and Elemental also opened well below projections, though it did go on to become a sleeper hit.
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Disney’s live-action remake, The Little Mermaid, also underperformed at the box office considering its massive budget. Another remake, Haunted Mansion, and the Lucasfilm sequel, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, were also box-office bombs. Reports suggest Disney lost an estimated $900 million from these releases and Iger is “overwhelmed and exhausted” by the series of flops, though he isn’t expected to exit Disney until his contract expires in three more years.
