Disney, it seems, bet high on live-action Moana and Star Wars: The Mandalorian; however, both stumbled at the box office.
However, the company CEO, Josh D’Amaro, said he focused on a silver lining amid the titles’ underperformances.
“Even when our franchise films don’t meet our box office expectations, as with the ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ and the live-action ‘Moana,’ our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company,” he shared.
With other parts of the company, D’Amaro points to strong merchandise and theme park sales, and streaming value build-up.
“‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ drove healthy growth in retail sales for the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming as well.”
“And the live-action ‘Moana’ is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most-streamed movies of all time,” he continued.
Capping it off, D’Amaro doubled down on the optimistic outlook of Moana and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu by saying, “These franchise investments contributed to value creation beyond their theatrical releases.”
The entertainment giant’s head remarks come during the earnings release; however, Disney had a record-breaking success with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
