Disney CEO Bob Iger addresses the company’s recent pattern of high-profile box office disappointments. One of the biggest names in the entertainment landscape, Disney is responsible for some of the biggest and most popular movies of all time. While the company has continued to put out hits, there’s no denying that this past year has seen a number of big releases either underperform or completely fall flat, including the likes of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and The Little Mermaid.
Now, during a recent earnings call (via THR), Iger addresses the recent disappointing Disney box office performance. The CEO stresses a new focus on quality over quantity, a seeming jab at his predecessor, Bob Chapek, who significantly ramped up TV and film production during his tenure. Check out Iger’s full comment below:
“That said, as I looked at our overall output, meaning the studio, it’s clear that the pandemic created a lot of challenges creatively for everybody, including for us. In addition, at the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making and I’ve always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality. And I think that’s exactly what happened. We lost some focus.
“We’re all rolling up our sleeves, including myself, to do just that. We have obviously great assets, great stories to tell from the assets that we either have or that we purchased. And I feel really optimistic about the slate going forward, which is going to be a balance between some really strong sequels to some very, very popular titles, as well as some good original content, starting with Wish, which comes out Thanksgiving weekend. So I feel good about the direction we’re headed. But I’m mindful of the fact that our performance from a quality perspective wasn’t really up to the standards that we set for ourselves.”
More to come…
