Disney Headlines for May 10th, 2023
This week, we talk about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Disney’s shifting entertainment lineup, and the future of ESPN.
More importantly, we don’t talk about Reedy Creek for a change! Hooray!
Photo: Marvel
Here are the recent Disney Headlines of note.
Disney Changes Its Streaming Plans
Photo: Collider
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has officially started its strike. We previously discussed how these changes could impact Disney.
In fact, we’re already witnessing some of the ripple effects of the strike.
None of these will sound problematic in and of itself, but when combined, they paint a picture.
Photo: Marvel
For starters, Disney has delayed the upcoming Blade remake starring Mahershala Ali.
This move isn’t a surprise and reflects the troubled nature of the production thus far. Disney previously delayed the title last fall.
Recently, Mia Goth had joined Blade’s cast, but the film remains in a no man’s land of sorts.
Photo: Marvel
A new writer had only started working on the script a couple of weeks ago. Ambitious plans called for a summer shoot, but that was a bad idea.
Now, Marvel can save face by blaming the writer’s strike for another delay. Disney should feel grateful for this part of the conversation.
Photo: Marvel Fandom
Alas, the news isn’t as good in other departments. A Headline that will depress your child involves Bunk’d, the eternal Disney Channel series.
This show was prepping for season seven, which isn’t even the most impressive part. Its roots trace back to Jessie, which debuted in 2011.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Yes, kids who started watching these characters when they were five are 17 now!
So, Bunk’d has become one of the steadiest products in Disney’s children’s programming library. It’ll run late next season due to the strike, though.
Disney Plans Ahead
Photo: ABC
Finally, Disney has announced that Dancing with the Stars will return to ABC. Those of you who watched it on Disney+ shouldn’t worry. It’ll still air there as well.
Disney is hedging its bets in case the strike lasts for a while.
Heavy doses of reality programming will become the norm on network television channels like ABC throughout the strike.
Photo: ABC
Previously, the Disney+ team had persuaded its bosses to commit to the future of media consumption, which is streaming.
Dancing with the Stars evolved into a trial balloon for the conversion of network shows to streaming…and it didn’t work well.
Photo: ABC
Disney never once reported streaming numbers for the dancing competition. That’s the polite way of acknowledging that the numbers were terrible.
Still, this move does nothing to address Disney’s lingering problem.
Conventional broadcast television remains one of the company’s highest profit margin businesses.
Photo: ABC
With so many people cutting the cord, the old form of media consumption is dying at an alarming rate.
Disney needs its streaming services to replace those lost revenues. Instead, those services lost $1 billion last quarter.
Disney will report updated numbers later today, but the trend troubles CEO Bob Iger.
Photo: ABC
To support the struggling medium, Disney released films on Disney+ quickly after their theatrical releases.
That strategy cannibalized box office revenue and reduced what is effectively a free marketing phase for these products.
Photo: ABC
So, Disney is now reinforcing box office campaigns at the expense of Disney+. And that brings us to…
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Saves the Day
Image: Marvel
Marvel Studios needed a hit with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
As a reminder, thus far in 2023, here are Marvel’s lowlights:
- Fired high-profile executive Victoria Alonso
- Fired Isaac Perlmutter, the person who sold Marvel to Disney
- Suffered a box office bomb with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Watched Jonathan Majors face allegations that could end his career
Image: Marvel
All of this was bad for various reasons, but Disney had pot-committed to Majors for the next few years. That one’s gonna have long-term ramifications.
Meanwhile, Disney delayed the Disney+ debut of Quantumania to boost its box office. That strategy *ahem* didn’t work as planned.
Image: Marvel
However, this release pattern does hint at Disney’s upcoming approach to its most expensive movie productions.
Quantumania starts on Disney+ on May 17th, three months to the day after its theatrical debut.
Image: Marvel
If we extrapolate this for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it should be available on Disney+ on August 5th.
Gone are the days when a title would arrive on Disney+ within 45 days of theatrical release. I doubt we’re going back to that era, either.
Image: Marvel
Realistically, Disney may wait even longer with the latest Guardians movie, as it’s exceptional.
Positive word-of-mouth increased its Saturday/Sunday box office, which is rare to find in Hollywood these days.
Disney’s Other Streaming Worries
(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Television and movie executives share other concerns regarding the WGA strike.
Several productions are well underway, with some filming as we speak. Writers contribute to those sets.
Photo: Cincinnati Enquirer
Similarly, Disney creates content like a manufacturing plant makes plastic bottles. The system must operate smoothly.
This aspect of the corporate “flywheel,” as Bob Chapek called it, has forced Disney down a frustrating path.
Photo:Variety
Disney isn’t trying to break the guild or anything, but it made some questionable decisions last week.
The company asked for showrunners to return to work. Here’s the specific language of the request/demand:
Photo: NBS News
“We want specifically to reiterate to you as a showrunner or other writer-producer that you are not excused from performing your duties as a showrunner and/or producer on your series as a result of the WGA strike…”
Disney added that its studio system “intends to stay in production during the WGA strike and we are legally entitled to do so.”
Here’s the part that has outraged members of the Writers Guild:
Image credit: @dyllyp
“If you are engaged to provide non-WGA services but happen to be a WGA member – for example, as a Director, Actor or Producer – Disney will defend and indemnify you from any fines levied against you.”
In other words, Disney knows that its request should lead to fines for showrunners because they are crossing the picket line.
Image credit: @dyllyp
Disney is still asking showrunners who are also WGA members to do so, promising to pay their guild fines.
What Disney’s message ignores is that any producer who honors this request is persona non grata in Hollywood for a long time to come.
Guild members have loooooong memories regarding this sort of thing.
Disney wouldn’t be doing this unless it feared the worst for its content machine in the event of a prolonged strike.
Stay tuned, folks. This Headline is only getting started.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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