Disney’s cinematic drought may have opened a door for activist investor Peltz

Disney
has
struggled
to
return
to
the
lofty
box-office
records
of
2019
—
and
that
may
have
helped
open
the
door
for
its
recent
troubles
with
activist
investor
Nelson
Peltz.

Just
four
years
ago,
the
studio
had
seven
billion-dollar
films,
which
contributed
to
a

global
box-office
haul
of
more
than
$13.2
billion.
Its
studio
entertainment
segment
posted
revenue
of
$11.1
billion
and
operating
income
of
$2.69
billion
that
year.

More
recently,
the
House
of
Mouse
has
seen
these
revenues
fall
below
$9
billion
in
both
2022
and
2023
as
well
as
six
straight
quarters
of
operating
losses
within
its
content
sales
business,
in
which
its
box
office
and
home
entertainment
divisions
reside.
A
combination
of
pandemic
shutdowns,
dual
Hollywood
labor
strikes
and
a
failure
to
connect
with
audiences
have
lead
to
a
bleak
period
for
Disney’s
theatrical
business.

Other
than
2022’s “Avatar:
The
Way
of
Water,”
which
Disney
acquired
as
part
of
its $71
billion
deal
for
the
majority
of
21st
Century
Fox,
the
company
has
not
had
a
movie
generate
more
than
$1
billion
since
the
last
Star
Wars
movies
in
2019,
according
to
data
from
Comscore.
Sony
produced
and
distributed “Spider-Man:
No
Way
Home,”
which
made
$1.9
billion,
although
Disney’s
Marvel
Studios
did
serve
as
a
co-producer.

Disney’s
come
close
—
with
2023′s “Guardians
of
the
Galaxy:
Vol.
3,”
which
tallied
nearly
$900
million
at
the
global
box
office
as
well
as
2022
titles “Doctor
Strange
in
the
Multiverse
of
Madness”
($955
million), “Black
Panther:
Wakanda
Forever”
($859
million)
and “Thor:
Love
and
Thunder”
($760
million).

Yet,
other
big-budget
franchise
films
have
flopped. “Indiana
Jones
and
the
Dial
of
Destiny”
in
2023
generated
$378
million
globally, “Ant-Man
and
the
Wasp:
Quantumania”
secured
$476
million
worldwide,
unusually
low
for
a
Marvel
film
(until “The
Marvels”
reached
just
over
$200
million
late
last
year)
and
Pixar’s “Lightyear”
collected
less
than
$250
million
globally
in
2022.

Disney’s
recent
struggles
at
the
box
office
have
become
a
key
piece
of
fodder
for
Trian
Fund
Management
as
Peltz
seeks
a
board
seat
for
himself
and
former
Disney
CFO
Jay
Rasulo.
Peltz
has
been
critical
of
the
Disney
board,
stating
it “lacks
focus,
alignment
and
accountability”
and
has
failed
to
act
as
the
company’s
earnings,
reputation
and
stock
price
have
suffered.

Disney
shareholders
will
vote
on
board
nominations
at
the
company’s
shareholder
meeting
Wednesday.

As
part
of
Trian’s
white
paper,
released
in
early
March,
the
fund
listed “Wish,” “Indiana
Jones
and
the
Dial
of
Destiny,” “Lightyear,” “The
Marvels”
and “Haunted
Mansion”
as
examples
of
recent
commercial
disappointments
for
the
studio.

“We
are
concerned
with
the
current
state
of
Disney’s
studios
and
creative
processes
across
the
portfolio,”
the
white
paper
read.

Peltz
himself
has
publicly
questioned
what
he’s
called
Disney’s “woke”
content
strategy.
The
company’s
creative
team
has
actively
sought
to
create
films
and
television
shows
centered
on
nonwhite
and
nonmale
characters
as
well
as
explore
narratives
outside
heteronormativity.

“People
go
to
watch
a
movie
or
a
show
to
be
entertained,”
Peltz
said
in

recent
interview
with
the
Financial
Times. “They
don’t
go
to
get
a
message.”

In
particular,
he
called
out
Marvel
films
that
feature
Black
Panther,
an
African
prince-turned-king,
and
Captain
Marvel,
a
female
U.S.
Air
Force
pilot
who
gains
extraordinary
cosmic
powers.

“Why
do
I
have
to
have
a
Marvel
that’s
all
women?
Not
that
I
have
anything
against
women,
but
why
do
I
have
to
do
that?
Why
can’t
I
have
Marvels
that
are
both?
Why
do
I
need
an
all-Black
cast?”
he
said
later
in
the
FT
interview.

The
film “Black
Panther”
did
not
have
an
all-Black
cast
and “Captain
Marvel”
and “The
Marvels,”
in
which
Captain
Marvel
is
the
central
character,
did
not
have
all-female
casts.

Peltz’s
comments
echo
those
made
previously
by
former
Marvel
Entertainment
Chairman
and
CEO
Ike
Perlmutter,
who
was
ousted
from
Disney
last
year
and
is
a
friend
of
Peltz
and
a
supporter
of
his
proxy
fight.

Peltz
has
also
taken
particular
issue
with
Disney’s
failed
succession
plans
and
what
he’s
described
as
a
disjointed
streaming
strategy.

Storytelling
isn’t
the
only
factor
in
Disney’s
recent
dismal
box-office
performance,
however.

During
the
pandemic,
the
company

debuted
animated
films
on
streaming,
and
parents
got
used
to
the
idea,
denting
box-office
sales.

Disney
also

diluted
its
Marvel
brand
with
too
many
Disney+
spinoff
shows
and
theatrical
sequels,
according
to
CEO
Bob
Iger.

And
on
top
of
it
all
Disney
has
had
to
contend
with
a
rapidly
changing
consumer
who
needs
more
than
just
a
nostalgic
title
to
be
lured
away
from
their
couch
and
into
a
cinema,
especially
as
budgets
tighten.

Iger
has
addressed
these
theatrical
concerns
several
times
since
returning
to
the
helm
of
the
company
in
late
2022.

Last
March,
he
told
attendees
at
the
Morgan
Stanley
Technology,
Media
and
Telecom
Conference
that
he
wanted
Marvel
to

have
more
fresh
content
and
to
do
fewer
sequels,
or
at
the
very
least,
be
more
selective
about
which
sequels
it
greenlights.
He

reiterated
that
sentiment
in
November
during
the
DealBook
Summit
in
New
York,
where
he
also
said
he
would
no
longer
tolerate
his
company’s
partners
and
creative
team

prioritizing
messaging
over
storytelling.

“We
have
to
entertain
first.
It’s
not
about
messages,”
he
said.

Change
at
Disney’s
studios
will
take
time,
especially
after
shutdowns
due
to
the
writers
and
actors
strikes
of
last
summer
hindered
production.
However,
box-office
analysts
foresee
a
solid
turnaround
coming
for
the
company
in
2026.

The
2025
movie
calendar
wraps
up
with
a
third
Avatar
film
in
mid-December,
meaning
ticket
sales
will
bleed
into
the
following
year.
Then
that
summer
starts
with
an
Avengers
team-up
film,
currently
titled “The
Kang
Dynasty,”
followed
by
a “Mandalorian”
Star
Wars
movie
over
Memorial
Day
weekend.
Another
Star
Wars
film
will
round
out
Disney’s
big
year
in
December
2026.

Those
franchises’
track
records
suggest
they
could
drive
a
staggering
box-office
haul.

“Disney
reached
the
absolute
pinnacle
in
2019
…
boasting
an
assortment
of
films
that
perfectly
placed
the
disparate
puzzle
pieces
of
Marvel,
Pixar,
Lucasfilm
and
Walt
Disney
Animation
into
a
non-stop
hit
machine,
and
the
result
was
the
box
office
equivalent
of
the
100-year
flood,”
said
Paul
Dergarabedian,
senior
media
analyst
at
Comscore.

The
2026
slate
also
includes
three
untitled
Marvel
movie
dates,
an
unnamed
Pixar
film,
a
Disney
Animation
film
slated
for
Thanksgiving
and
six
other
Disney
titles.