Bob Iger Reveals Disney's Biggest Focus After Multiple Box Office Bombs
After a relatively short tenure, Bob Chapek was ousted as Disney's head honcho and replaced by his predecessor, Bob Iger, who came back as Disney CEO in November 2022. Since then, some of Disney's marquee releases have failed to meet expectations at the box office. According to a Hollywood Reporter piece, Iger addressed this downturn during a company earnings call and committed himself to refocusing Disney's output moving forward.
First, Iger highlighted the fact that, around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on everyday life in the United States, Disney started producing a higher volume of content. "I've always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality," Iger said. "And I think that's exactly what happened. We lost some focus."
Then, Iger hoped that the studio's upcoming output — consisting of sequels to existing properties and some original stories — will help the film and TV behemoth out of its current downturn. "I feel really optimistic about the slate going forward, which is going to be a balance between some really strong sequels to some very, very popular titles, as well as some good original content, starting with 'Wish,'" he said. "So I feel good about the direction we're headed. But I'm mindful of the fact that our performance from a quality perspective wasn't really up to the standards that we set for ourselves."
Disney's box office returns have remained largely subpar throughout 2023
While "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" were both unqualified successes at the box office, a considerably larger number of Disney films released throughout 2023 fell well below total projected returns. The studio's string of poor financial performances kicked off with "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and also includes "The Little Mermaid" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." Then in July, "Haunted Mansion" bombed at the box office. While Marvel Cinematic Universe entry "The Marvels" premiered after the earnings call in which Bob Iger committed the company to an increase in quality, advanced projections suggest a historically bad box office haul for an MCU release.
Back in July, Iger was already discussing his intent for Disney to produce less overall. Around the same time as the earnings call, however, Business Insider reported that some Disney employees are apprehensive about Iger's second reign. "There was a lot of excitement and hope at the return of Bob Iger a year ago," one employee told the outlet. "As far as I can tell, a lot of that, if not all of that, has dissipated."
It's clear, then, that Iger is in the midst of an uphill battle. For now, it seems he feels a focus on quality over quantity could be the solution to Disney's present-day woes.