Disney CEO Bob Iger was a guest at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday. I’ll now be covering some of the key parts of his speech, via CNBC’s Alex Sherman.
Iger started off by stating that the process for his succession has been "robust" and he’s set to exit the company in 2026, which is when his contract expires. He does not plan on renewing his tenure at the mouse house. He wants out.
Disney’s released nine big movies theatrically in 2023 and it looks as though only one movie is set to make a profit — “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” There have been reports of the company having lost well over $1 billion due to all of their flops this year.
Iger then tried to explain why Disney has had such a rough time at the box office this year . This is where things get very interesting …
Iger blamed the creators at Disney for losing sight of what their jobs should be — he explained that it got worse when he left as CEO/Chairman. In his own words, Iger says “entertain first, not messages”. He adds that stories infused with “positive messages for the world” can be great, but that it shouldn’t be forced upon an audience.
Is Iger actually laying the blame of Disney’s failures on the “progressive” messaging behind their movies? I am stunned that he said this out loud. You don’t even need to read between the lines, it’s quite obvious what he is saying.
Iger is practically telling audience segments Disney has lost that they've changed, and begging them to come back: “We’re apolitical now!”
If you remember, last month Iger had hinted that he wanted to “quiet things down” at Disney “after years of culture wars.” This seemed to be in reference to the company having been accused, many times, of promoting a “woke agenda” in their movies.
Today’s Iger comments come less than 48 hours after, in a released SEC report, Disney acknowledged that the company’s “efforts to achieve certain social goals” drained the value of shareholder stock.
The report stated that Disney lost a billion dollars just on four of its recent movie flops.
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.