MickeyBlog News for November 18, 2019
Disney+ has finally arrived, and the news is glorious for The Walt Disney Company. And things are looking up in the movie studio division as well, as Disney locked down the number one film this week. We’ll cover both of those stories plus a bunch of holiday/theme park stuff in the latest edition of MickeyBlog News!
Putting the Plus in Disney+
I’ve read more detailed analyses of Disney+ over the past 18 months than any sane person should. And I’m here to tell you that absolutely no one projected the level of success that Disney claimed during the first 24 hours of its service.
The prevailing wisdom suggests that Disney planned for 2.5 million first-day visitors, while the most optimistic projections called for 3.2 million sign-ups. As a D-23 member, I took the three-year service offer and logged on almost immediately after the countdown clock hit zero.
While I had a few issues, I quickly pulled up the first episode of The Imagineering Story and did a bit of viewing/playing around with the service. After about an hour, logging in became problematic. I realized almost immediately that either Disney+ had significant issues or shocking user volume. Since I knew about the months of stress tests in The Netherlands, I presumed the latter.
Throughout day one, I read media reports about log-in problems with Disney+. The fairest evaluation came from Deadline, which reported that technical struggles “are inevitable given the demand for the service.” What we later learned is that the first-day demand was unprecedented.
Disney+ claimed 10 million subscribers during its first day of service. Many analysts had projected that number of users after a full year in operation. It more than tripled the most optimistic projections for opening day sign-ups. Disney+ performed so well that one analyst projected that the company could reach 60 million subscribers in two and a half years, which is half of what Disney had forecasted. Friends, Disney+ is a juggernaut.
Some Hiccups Occurred
Any time a company launches an undertaking this significant, some hiccups will occur. While the log-in issues and error messages grabbed most of the headlines, a couple of other problems cropped up, too.
The most inflammatory topic involved content warnings. As anyone familiar with Splash Mountain/Song of the South knows, some older content hasn’t aged well. Oddly, before it became a part of Disney, The Simpsons addressed a similar awkwardness involving the character, Apu. You can watch the video above to appreciate the parallels. While that show simply dropped Apu from future stories, Disney faced a more challenging choice.
Much of the earliest content in the Disney Through the Decades section could cause discomfort to some viewers. Disney officials chose to label these titles with disclaimers. Impacted films include classics like Dumbo and Peter Pan.
Of course, Song of the South is nowhere to be found on the service since it’s so controversial, but the content warnings somehow offended some folks, too. Some people are upset that Disney has chosen to warn guests about potentially offensive material. Disney just can’t win here.
Speaking of Simpsons Fans
Okay, I’m a day one, ride or die Simpsons fan, and even I’m a bit embarrassed by other Simpsons fans sometimes. We’re an *ahem* passionate bunch. And we’re obsessive about all things Springfield. For example…
One of the quickest complaints about Disney+ involved The Simpsons. Fans quickly noticed that the service streams reruns in the 16×9 format. This statement means nothing to casual watchers, but the projection style squashes the display. On The Simpsons, 16×9 causes a problem. Some visual jokes get cut out of the picture.
I presume that Disney chose this format to save money on conversion. However, the outcry from fans caused Disney+ to announce impending changes. Early in 2020, The Simpsons will air in its native 4×3 format, bringing back the full picture and those currently chopped jokes.
One final note about Disney+: Despite the criticisms, technical woes, and politically charged debates, all that matters to Wall Street is those 10 million first-day sign-ups. While Disney stated that it won’t release any additional numbers until its next quarterly earnings report in 10 weeks, everyone knows that the service is a blockbuster.
The shocking number of subscribers caused Disney stock to reach a record high the day after Disney+ launched. We’re talking about a stock that dates back to 1972! It’s good to be Disney right now…or a Disney fan who demonstrated their love by buying some shares of the stock.
Finally, A Fox Film Does Well
A while ago, I mentioned an uncomfortable topic in Disney’s film division. When executives carefully examined all of the Fox projects in development, they discovered precisely one that seemed like a guaranteed hit. Time has proven that evaluation correct, as Fox movies like The Dark Phoenix and The Art of Racing in the Rain bombed horribly.
This past weekend, Disney finally released the one Fox project that they believed was a likely hit. And they were right. Ford v Ferrari, the Matt Damon/Christian Bale movie, opened in theaters and immediately became a hit.
The film earned $31.5 million domestically and grossed almost as much as the rest of the top five combined. Ford v Ferrari also brought in $21.4 million overseas, giving it a global opening of nearly $52 million worldwide.
Ordinarily, this total wouldn’t seem great for a movie with a budget of $97.6 million. However, Ford v Ferrari also received the rarest of rare A+ Cinemascore. In the process, it becomes the fourth film this year to earn that grade and only the second major release.
The two smaller films are Overcomer and Harriet, while the other blockbuster is…Avengers: Endgame. It’s Disney’s world at the movie theaters while other studios are just living in it. To a larger point, Ford v Ferrari seems likely to be a significant end-of-year awards contender and is currently a strong candidate for multiple acting nominations at the Academy Awards.
Park News
Let’s quickly run through the Disney park news of the moment, some of which is extremely important. For starters, Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland will close for part of 2020. Dates are still up in the air and somewhat in flux. The ride celebrates its 25th anniversary in March, while Raiders of the Lost Ark turns 40 in 2021. So, Disney has a tight window to overhaul the outdated aspects of the attraction.
Another Disneyland ride will also get some work done in 2020. Snow White’s Scary Adventures, an opening day attraction in 1955, gets plussed every few years. This time, Imagineers will perform more extensive maintenance to get the ride to tip-top shape.
Disney will renovate one other part of the Disneyland Resort in January. Carthay Circle Restaurant at Disney California Adventure will close from January 6th through the end of the month.
The other intriguing news at the Happiest Place on Earth involves one of its classic attractions. It’s a Small World Holiday is now in operation for 2019. Also, Disney has chosen to reward its most loyal customers this week. After Disneyland closes, annual passholders can ride the attraction and even partake in a special photo op. This offer is available from November 18th through the 22nd.
Over on the other coast, a popular restaurant will make its return around the time that Carthay Circle closes. Beaches & Cream is now accepting reservations starting on January 19th. Since reservations here are so hard to get, you should act quickly to enjoy a Kitchen Sink with your friends.
Finally, if you haven’t already done so, you should take a trip to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge this holiday season. For the first time ever, the resort has constructed a thematic Gingerbread Cabin in the lobby. It’s a meticulously detailed, rustic work of art that also smells delicious. In my opinion, it’s the best Disney holiday add-on in several years and totally worth your time.
Okay, that’s it for this week. Now, if you’ll excuse, I’ll go back to watching The Emperor’s New Groove on Disney+. “Why do we even have that lever?”