In the current global situation, many of the big names in various industries have already started to sweat from the fiscal issues it has brought. The Walt Disney Company is no doubt one of the more prominent names in entertainment to have been hit by the coronavirus, and it is slowly taking various measures to combat its recent financial woes.
At the company’s most recent investors call, it was revealed that Disney had taken a massive US$1.4 billion hit in terms of revenue, and foresees that it will continue to plummet in the coming months, having already rescheduled many of its films over the next year or two. As a result, it confirmed that it will rely more on its Disney+ streaming service to release more upcoming movies for the foreseeable future.
“We very much believe in the value of the theatrical experience overall for large blockbuster movies,” said new Disney CEO Bob Chapek during the financial call. “We also realise that either because of changing and evolving consumer dynamics or because of certain situations like COVID, we may have to make some changes to that overall strategy just because theatres aren’t open or aren’t open to the extent that anyone needs to be financially viable.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Disney’s change in business strategy could have come much earlier, given how many other studios have already adapted to releasing upcoming movies to premium VOD. To a greater extent, film piracy has also risen as a result of the inaction of big studios like Disney to change up its release strategy during this period.
Whether Disney+ can be the saving grace for the House of Mouse’s upcoming films for the current global situation, and whether it will be a viable alternative to release movies on digital alongside theatrically remains to be seen.
In other Disney-related news, the company has also announced its decision on the production of upcoming movies, as well as reopened its Disneyland Shanghai theme park at limited capacity.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
