Staff Reports
Oh boy, the House of Mouse is having a tough go of it lately! Shares of Walt Disney have plummeted a whopping 3.9%, hitting their lowest point in nearly nine years. Ouch! Looks like their CEO Bob Iger’s big plans to turn things around aren’t quite hitting the mark.
Iger’s brilliant strategy includes jacking up prices for Disney’s streaming services, bombarding us poor viewers with more ads, and even resorting to some good ol’ cost-cutting and layoffs. But guess what? Investors are saying “Thanks, but no thanks!” because the stock has dropped more than 5% since Iger made his big announcement.
Disney $DIS is currently on pace to close trading today at its lowest level in almost 9 years
Disney shares haven’t closed lower than $84 since Oct. 17, 2014 pic.twitter.com/u5ckm2s4Ds
— Evan (@StockMKTNewz) August 24, 2023
And let’s talk about Disney’s flagship streaming service, Disney+. It’s not looking so magical anymore. Last quarter, they lost over 300,000 subscribers in the U.S. and Canada alone. That’s like if the Seven Dwarfs suddenly decided they’d rather hang out with Grumpy on the couch than watch another Disney flick. Total subscriptions are down to a mere 46 million domestically, while their competition over at Netflix is chilling with a cool 76 million.
But hey, it’s not just the streaming service that’s struggling. Disney’s movie division is also taking a beating. Their last nine releases have been more like bombs than blockbusters, costing the company over a billion dollars! Seriously, it’s like they hired Jafar to manage their finances.
And don’t get started on these movies’ content! Pixar’s Lightyear decided it needed to include a same-sex kissing scene, because apparently, pandering to a particular agenda is more important than entertaining kids. And let’s not forget Elemental, where they tackled themes like systemic racism and even threw in a “nonbinary” character. Come on, Disney, we just want to watch some good ol’ escapism, not be lectured about social justice!
To add insult to injury, Disney’s latest box office flops came with sky-high budgets and expensive re-shoots. They dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into marketing, especially for Indiana Jones and The Little Mermaid, but still couldn’t dig themselves out of this financial hole.
Oh, and get ready for another potential disaster. This time it’s a live-action remake of Snow White, and the star Rachel Zegler is on a mission to destroy the original. She says it’s out of touch and that the princess won’t be saved by a prince. Well, don’t you know, Disney? It’s not the 1930s anymore, apparently!
Some box office analyst, Valiant Renegade, believes that Snow White will be one of Disney’s biggest bombs yet. They’re even predicting this remake will only make half of what The Little Mermaid did, and we all know how that turned out.
All in all, it looks like Disney’s magic kingdom is starting to crumble. Maybe they should stop pushing their political agenda and go back to their roots of good, wholesome entertainment. Just a thought, Mickey.
