Disney CEO Bob Iger has been making several changes at the company in the past year.
©Disney
Iger took back his role as CEO toward the end of 2022 and has since restructured the company, readjusted the priorities, and even made some theme park changes. We’ve been waiting to see what changes Iger might make in the future, and based on problems at the box office in 2023, it looks like the film studios might be a target. Recently, Iger made comments about how movies aren’t performing because creators are focusing more on “messages” than “entertaining” — but is that really the problem?
Disney hasn’t exactly had a great year at the box office in 2023. There were no billion-dollar films this year, and several movies performed lower than expected, especially when coming from a media giant like Disney. In a recent town hall meeting, Iger shared that since his return he has been busy “fixing” things around the company — so what needs to be fixed to make Disney’s movies perform well?
AMC Theater
According to Alex Sherman with CNBC, at the New York Times Dealbook Conference on November 29th, Iger shared more about the potential company agenda. He stated that the creators at Disney had “lost sight” of what their jobs should be — that it should be to “entertain first” and not be about “messages.” He said the messages that were being pushed got worse when he left as CEO. He’s said previously that he’s ready to share more original stories to entertain not “pushing an agenda.”
AMC Theaters
Is it really true that Disney’s film “messages” are hurting the company at the box office? Well, ScreenRant reports that the 2023 box office may prove this statement incorrect. Barbie and Oppenheimer were two of the year’s most popular movies, and both movies had strong social and political messages.
©WB Hi, Barbie!
If “messages” aren’t the problem, then what is? ScreenRant names a few possibilities. First, it’s possible that Disney is relying too much on sequels and live-action remakes, instead of new, original franchises. This year alone saw a live-action The Little Mermaid and another Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford. The problem may also extend to things like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where there are just SO many movies and series that it’s hard for casual fans or new fans to keep up.
©Lucasfilm
No matter what’s happening, Disney will likely need to make some adjustments if it hopes to perform better at the box office in 2024. There are several films on the slate, and we’ll be interested to see how those numbers look!
Bob Iger Says Disney Is Making Too Many Sequels — Click Here!
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Did you see any Disney movies at the theater in 2023? Tell us in the comments!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
The problem is not some made up thing like being “woke”. All that term means is being aware of other’s feelings and beliefs with respect, last time I checked, that was not bad. The issue with the box office and the lack of billion dollar movies is the fact that it cost well over $100 for a family of four to go out to the movies. My family still goes out and sees every Marvel movie released, but we only see it once. In the past we would go multiple times, and it just cost too much to do that any more.
way to many live actions based on remaking older movies and two many sequels. its like overload so it becomes unbalanced coupled with a bit of what he claims. also people are changing. why is there no tinker bell movie and where is johnny D in another P of C movie or another stitch movie a huge seller and following. To easy to blame one thing. Disney is great and he is right they need focus on story but not because everyone must make the most money 💰. good story telling and good presentation always sells!
Look at the new cartoons, they didnt perform. Barbie was a movie that mothers and daughters were going to together. Oppenheimer was a historical movie. So the two movies that were not pushing a message actually performed well.
Disney needs to go back to making movies based off Grimm’s Fairytales. That’s where the original stories all came from and what they need to get back to doing. Disney has strayed too far from European mythology and fairytales and tried to become to “worldly”.
Barbie and Oppenheimer were movies for ADULTS. We do not want agenda messages in movies targeted to CHILDREN.
IIger stated that the creators at Disney had “lost sight” of what their jobs should be — that it should be to “entertain first” and not be about “messages.” Whether I agree or disagree with this statement is irrelevant. BOB, YOU sign off on ALL projects, so look in the mirror. Stop throwing employees under the bus
It is clear that there is a push of a social and political nature in almost every new Disney movie, and show. Every parent and grandparent that I talk to understands this and will not let their kids watch anything. It’s not hard to figure it out. There is a woke agenda and both sides understand this. Hoping capitalism will win out.
Disney needs to think “what would Walt do” before doing anything. People loved and still love Walt, be the company that Walt created.
It is less about “messages” in a general sense, but more about what “message” is being forced. Ironically the most recent movies that “underperformed” where signed off on during Iger’s first run as movies/tv shows take several years to go throughout the creative process to the finished product. Diversity in a movie isn’t a bad thing, both Coco and Encanto show this recently. But a movie with more of a “we checked the boxes” feel too it has a tendency to “underperform”.
Stop with the live-action remakes. They are mostly all terrible!
Iger is pushing to blame onto other people here. Chapek had very limited power in his role as Iger was still there as an advisor because of the timing of the pandemic, etc.
This is all under his (Iger’s) umbrella.
I agree with Christian. I expect, and in some ways desire certain movies to express or promote socio-political messages. Movies from Disney based on fairy tales and targeting children and the family unit are not expected to be, nor is it desired by the majority of families and responsible parents that they be agenda-driven. We expect basic truths that don’t push division and controversy. We go to Disney to escape from political agendas and constant complaints about perceived offenses. If they want to push a controversial message, do it under the Searchlight or 20th Century Studios labels. Disney and Pixar need to push what a Wonderful World this is and can be. They should be our refuge from the daily onslaught against our collective peace of mind.
For once, Bob is right!
I don’t believe that there should be any political messages in the movies, and the only agenda should be that everybody has a good time. You go to the movies to escape from the real world, not see more of it. To the person that is saying Blame Iger, well, he wasn’t the one signing off on the projects, nor was he there during the production. I will agree that there are way too many Marvel and Star Wars off shoots. And the original movies are not original, they are remakes, and when they do have an original movie they load it up with social dreck. You can blame John Carter because since then, there have rarely been original ideas because creative is scared to fail
I’ve been an Iger supporter, but Bob Iger gave the green light to most of the movies that underperformed so he should stop placing blame on creators and realize that he and the leadership of the company are out of touch with consumers.
Many fans have been saying to stop the sequels for the past decade. As for Marvel, it needs put on ice for a long time. There have been way too many Marvel movies and that universe has become too complicated. Hit movies are hits because people can easily understand them and are entertained.
In my Disney-loving family, remakes and sequels have lost our interest. My Indiana Jones and Toy Story fanatic has not seen the fifth IJ movie, nor the fourth TS movie. He was not happy to hear about TS5.
Our princess fanatic never even mentioned wanting to see the live version of Little Mermaid.
However, we all loved Haunted Mansion – just not having it released in July with little fanfare. It erased the previous movie from our brains.
Make a good story, Disney. Make us want to go to Alamo Drafthouse and pay over $200 to watch your movie.
I think Bob Iger is 100% right Enough of the “woke” messages Disney is great at what it use to do from “Bambi” to “lady & The Tramp” to “Cinderella” to “The Lion King” & endless stories in between All perfect & all full of Disney Magic Also enough of the “half live” remakes of animated masterpieces like The Lion King -they never live up to the originals
It seems to me your story is a bit hollow. Mr. Iger’s Disney has really done a number on American audience goodwill with every facet of their storytelling and that includes parents’ trust. Barbie and Oppenheimer are films for adults. If you want to make that comparison then consider just how sad it is that more people are streaming a recent South Park episode on Paramount than have watched Disney content lately. Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, probably a duck.
I acutally think the messaging could be playing a role. Like commenter Christian said. the compared movies’ target Audience was adults. Whereas Disney is meant to be child-friendly. I do know there were a lot of parents boycotting Disney after Lightyear came out and even more joined that bandwagon when Strange World came out. It may not be the whole picture but I do believe it is definitely part of the revenue issue Disney faces currently.
Oppenheimer and Barber were both adult movies. Not children’s movies. They are not the same thing and not directed at the same audience.
So families vote with their purses and they have voted resoundingly that they will not spend their entertainment dollars on these films.
We were just on the disney dream and didn’t even bother going to see Wish that they were showing on the boat.
There is no doubt that making movies targeting families that pushes agendas has put Disney in a bad position. Families want to be entertained, parents have become very sensitive to material being included in entertainment that is targeting their children . Disney definitely needs to get back to entertainment without messaging. Make quality family-friendly movies and programming and let parents instruct their children .
For years Disney was the preferred family entertainment, sadly that is no longer the case.
The issue is that messages are ALL one-way traffic. This is compounded by a complete lack of nuance hitting that message home.
Too many people who are extremely woke are writers and they HATE (and I mean hate) anyone who disagrees with their world view and it shows when they caricature their political enemies which they also try to do at every avenue making some stuff unwatchable for those people.
Of course, woke people don’t see it because they love satirizing everyone and are never the subject of it in this medium
Changing pre-existing IPs instead of creating new characters is a cop-out and an insult to minorities whom Disney lacks the faith in to carry new material.
You can gender and race swap all day long, but don’t expect everyone to be excited about it, and don’t use the redundant racist and sexist card when movies tank because they didn’t appeal to the majority.
In politically dividing times, you make money by staying out of politics and socio-cultural issues. This is hard for ideologues to grasp because control over narrative precludes and excludes cerebral conversation.
What is a story without a message?
It’s wallpaper.
Whether it’s Jiminy Cricket sitting on Pinocchio’s shoulder telling him to do right and tell the truth, or exploration of mental health in Inside Out, Disney movies have always had messages to impart. That’s fundamental to storytelling.
It seems that these days too many people are too bitter and twisted and too wrapped up in hate to see this, and view any message that resonates with kindness and inclusivity as a mortal threat to their way of life.
I am so sick of the word woke
J.cricket I agree with everything u said there has always been messages from Disney movies from Bambi and list is endless so tired of all hate and negativity and that word woke some people just want find something wrong n everything instead of being positive that’s what a wrong n this world and am tired of that
Here’s an idea!! Let’s see a NEW idea. A NEW story. Something that with no agenda and NO SUPERHEROES. Walt Disney did NOT produce Superhero movies.
So happy to see that I agree with most of the comments. Disney needs to set an example and stop worrying about what everyone will think of them. Stop checking all the boxes nobody cares about and just get back to old school story telling. We don’t want to be forced messages and race swapping is really old too. Just make good movies. They used to be so good at it.
The vast majority of consumer don’t care at all about “woke” messages! What about Barbie? That was the top movie of 2023 and is filled with “woke” messages. Why was The marvels called a flop and Wonka a hit? The Marvels had a bigger opening box office. It’s because of budgets. Disney needs to reduce production costs as its top priority.
The fact is, people just aren’t going to the movies like they did. Streaming not “woke” has shrunk Disney’s box office audience. It’s also shrunk Warner Bros. and Universal audiences. Despite the lower results for Disney films, Disney is still the top grossing studio in 2023. The simple fact is that more people prefer to watch content at home on streaming rather than at the movies. What will change in coming years is far less theatrical releases and more streaming content. When big budget and star-filled films like Maestro and series like Percy Jackson go straight to streaming, the Hollywood model has clearly changed. The Little Mermaid, The Marvels, Elemental, Wish, and Indian Jones were all well made films and none were “woke.” Most audiences are just waiting for the streaming release dates.
As a Christian I can admit that Christian movies are almost never good. (“A Quiet Life” being a major exception.) Why are they so bad? Because the message is so “on the nose” that the story is uninteresting. All the time is spent on getting the message out and not on developing original\interesting characters. That’s what Disney movies have become.
I saw the preview for Elemental and I knew already it would be a moral fable about diversity. Same for Strange World. Same for The Marvels. No need to see the movie. As a massive Star Wars fan, I didn’t go see The Rise of Skywalker because I was so interested in what would happen to Rey. Now the Mandalorian (who was a GREAT character in seasons 1 and 2) has lost its way.
I wonder if Disney will swallow its pride and make some hires that bring some IDEOLOGICAL diversity. Much like great music happens when genres are blended, great storytelling could come from truly diverse perspectives about life.
Out of touch.
Families are priced out of the parks, and some families are priced out of simply going to the movie theaters. A lot of families pay for Disney+, and it’s cheaper to wait for new movies to come to the platform.
Yes, the sequels are annoying. But there were new IPs that didn’t get traction in theater either. And I agree, I don’t have the time or energy to keep up with Marvel at this point in my young family phase. Busy paying $445/wk for daycare for luxuries.
Honestly, I was so shocked and upset that they went down this “woke” agenda path. Disney and Pixar are studios targeted to families and kids, as they’re supposed to be. I understand they were trying to be inclusive, and a friend of mine was so happy to see a character in Turning Red who has diabetes like she has. Sadly, it didn’t work. And their box office was absolutely disastrous in the last two years because of this, along with too many remakes and sequels, their movies just being too expensive and Disney+ stopping everyone from going to theaters. Disney really needs to get their act together this year so we can regain their trust. And please stop making agenda-driven content, it’s not right for you and the kids!
He has it right. It is the “woke” agenda being pushed onto children. It’s also changing characters instead of creating new ones.
Story first, agenda second. And this comes from someone who generally votes dem.