Disney Headlines for December 29th, 2021
We’re putting 2021 in the books. So, all the Disney analysts are turning their eyes toward 2022.
This week’s Disney Headlines features plenty of discussions about what MIGHT happen in the wide world of Disney next year.
Oh, and we have mansion news, too!
Bold Predictions?
I’m not in the habit of making bold predictions, as I know that 95 percent of them never come to pass.
However, many of my fellow journalists like to grab Madame Leota’s crystal ball and peer into the future.
Three different writers at The Motley Fool took this opportunity to discuss 2022.
One of them believes that Disney will dominate the 2022 box office. That’s the boldest prediction since I said the sun would rise this morning.
We’ll both be right because this one’s a no-brainer. On Disney’s 2022 film schedule, we’ve got sequels to Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, and Black Panther.
Those three titles alone will absolutely wreck the competition, but Disney will release several more films in 2022. I’ll post a complete list in a few days.
Someone else at The Motley Fool uses this information to speculate about something more ambitious. Is 2022 the year that Disney surpasses Netflix?
I’ve previously evaluated this possibility in some of Disney’s recent quarterly earnings reports.
The current trajectory of Disney streaming subscription growth creates intrigue. Of course, Disney operates three services: Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu+.
So, Netflix remains at a disadvantage since it only offers subscriptions to a single service. Apples to apples, Disney+ won’t catch Netflix anytime soon, if ever.
The Disney Bundle trails Netflix by only 40 million subscriptions overall, though. So it’s entirely reasonable to believe Disney could catch up in 2022.
Right now, I think the odds are about 30/70 against that happening, as I project the scenario unfolding in the first half of 2023.
However, my opinion will change if Disney commits even more to the Disney Bundle in 2022.
Getting three subscriptions at once means that Disney would only need to make about 20 million sales there to catch Netflix by the end of 2022.
Other Bold Predictions
Rick Munarriz writes about Disney more than anyone else at The Motley Fool. So, I was most curious about his headline predictions.
Munarriz believes that Bob Chapek will survive 2022 as the CEO at Disney…as do I.
All the headlines calling for Iger’s return certainly make for sexy stories, but Bob Iger turns 71 in February. So I suspect he’s ready for new adventures.
Meanwhile, I don’t view anyone else in the corporate world as a viable fit with Disney save for Kevin Mayer. He appears to be enjoying his life as a would-be billionaire.
The author covers two other topics of note. First, he doesn’t believe Disney will bring back its stock dividends in 2022.
He doesn’t clarify whether he means fiscal 2022, which is 25 percent over, or the calendar year. Either way, I’m inclined to agree.
Disney’s opportunity cost is too high with that approach. Instead, the company behaves smarter by spending the money on growth and paying down debt.
Finally, Munarriz touches on something I’ll discuss here in a few days. It’s the question of whether Tron Lightcycle Power Run debuts in 2022.
The Motley Fool analyst believes that the answer is no. You’ll have to keep reading MickeyBlog to see whether I agree with him!
Orlando Real Estate Is Hot
The sexiest headline of the week came on Tuesday. That’s when the Orlando Sentinel revealed the top 10 real estate purchases of 2021.
This information applies exclusively to Orange County, Florida, home to Walt Disney World and the Golden Oak neighborhood(s).
Anyone following Central Florida real estate over the past few years knows that someone finally hooked the white whale.
NBA Hall of Famer and former Orlando Magic superstar Shaquille O’Neal sold his Isleworth mansion for $11 million.
Remarkably, that’s not great news for him, as he put the mansion on the market for $28 million in 2018. Three years later, he settled for less than half.
Another home with Cinderella Castle features actually sold for more than Isleworth, $12.5 million. THAT was a surprise.
Golden Oak Real Estate Is Even Hotter
For Disney fans, the remarkable part is what comes next. Five out of the other eight most expensive real estate transactions involved Golden Oak.
The most expensive of them remains something of a mystery. Someone paid $7.5 million for an unlisted property at Golden Oak. We know nothing about it.
However, the seventh, eighth, and ninth properties all appeared on the official Golden Oak website at various times.
The most expensive of them cost $7.5 million and is 6,510 square feet. The better value per square foot is #8, which is $6.4 million for 7,367 square feet.
Unless you’re housing an NBA team, I don’t know what you’re going to do with 7,367 square feet. Personally, I like to see my family when I’m living with them.
Anyway, the ninth selection is a resale. Someone sold their property for $6.195 million after purchasing it for $4.2 million.
Orlando housing has gotten nuts. In fact, no Golden Oak listings are available at the time of publication!
The final entrant is also a Golden Oak home with an interesting sidenote. The CEO of TheraNest, a behavioral health software, will work from home a lot.
He and his wife spent $5.999 million on a new Golden Oak mansion! What’s better for your mental health than living at Walt Disney World? NOTHING!
Just for Fun
Finally, here’s a fun challenge from BuzzFeed. You can only save one Disney film from each of the past 20 years! What do you pick?
In case you’re wondering, my answers are:
- The Emperor’s New Groove
- Monsters, Inc.
- Lilo & Stitch
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- The Incredibles
- Sky High
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
- Ratatouille
- Bolt
- Up
- Tangled
- The Muppets
- Brave
- Frozen
- Big Hero 6
- Tomorrowland
- Moana
- Beauty and the Beast
- Incredibles 2
- Frozen II
- Hamilton
(Even though it’s a flawed film, I have a soft spot for Tomorrowland.) Happy New Year, everyone!