Disney Reveals a BOLD New Streaming Strategy

The Walt Disney Company just dropped a ton of news on just how the House of Mouse is doing.

From parks to cruises to movies and more, things seemed to be “all good” for Disney this past quarter — especially when it comes to streaming, which saw profitability for the first time. But, Disney is placing big bets on the box office this time around, and we think we know why.

After quite the dry spell, it seems like Disney is back on top at the box office! Inside Out 2 is officially the most successful animated film ever, and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine has also been a smash hit. Those films plus 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes have brought in a whopping $2.8 billion at the global box office.

During Disney’s most recent earnings call on August 7th, CFO Hugh Johnston shared that the company’s success at the box office is “really what’s driving things more than anything else,” especially when it comes to licensing and streaming. Disney’s whole strategy recently has been producing great Intellectual Property (IP) as it pertains to the box office, streaming, and consumer products.

CEO Bob Iger chimed in as well, using one of his favorite terms to say that the company is “bullish” about the future of this area of the business. He listed the impressive slate of upcoming releases in Disney’s lineup, including Moana 2, Mufasa, Captain America: Brave New World, Snow White, Fantastic 4, The Mandalorian, and the Avengers franchise as well as potential box office wins.

“When you think about not only the potential of those in box office but the potential of those to drive global streaming value, there’s a reason to be bullish about where we’re headed,” Iger said.

©Disney

Not only that, but how a movie does at the box office can directly impact how it will perform once it hits streaming platforms. Folks will often prepare for the new film by streaming older related content, and those who didn’t make it to the theaters but have still seen all the hype surrounding a movie’s success will want to stream it for the very first time.

For example, Disney said, “in the lead-up to and following the theatrical release of Inside Out 2, millions of viewers turned to Disney+ to watch the original Inside Out film from 2015, driving over 1.3 million Disney+ sign-ups and generating over 100 million views of the original film globally since the first Inside Out 2 teaser trailer dropped.”

Ahead of the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Disney saw “heightened viewership with the original Deadpool films” and is expecting “similar engagement with the upcoming releases of Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King.

Disney seems pretty confident that its “multi-platform approach” to streaming and linear (box office) content allows it to “seamlessly deliver high-quality
entertainment to consumers across a range of demographics.” As for how this strategy will continue to play out at the box office, we’ll have to wait and see!

In the meantime, we’ll be on the hunt for the latest news on all things Disney movies, streaming, parks, and more — so make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for more!