Disney CEO Bob Iger alluded to “productive conversations” he’s having with unnamed AI companies — talks that he said could eventually let Disney+ subscribers generate their own content on the platform.
The entertainment exec made the revelation during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings conference call this week, saying Disney+ is “in the midst of rolling out the biggest and the most significant changes — from a product perspective, from a technology perspective” since its launch in 2019, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/disney-plus-gen-ai-user-generated-content-1236426135/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.
Some of the changes Iger highlighted include “game-like features” and user-generated short-form content generated by AI.
“The other thing that we’re really excited about, that AI is going to give us the ability to do, is to provide users of Disney+ with a much more engaged experience,” the Disney CEO said.
Iger mentioned that “it’s obviously imperative for us to protect our (intellectual property) with this new technology.” 
Though no further details were given, these hints at a user-generated, AI-based future were enough to send social media into a frenzy, with most commenters agreeing it&#8217;s a very bad idea.
“Hey! so, we don&#8217;t want this! at all, actually! it&#8217;s a disgrace to Walt Disney and real animators &amp; artists—also a super quick way to lose your entire fanbase,” one viral X comment <a href="https://x.com/bigdaddyankee/status/1989033420949975175?s=43">said</a>.
“On a serious note, this is a disgrace to the entire animation industry,” another account <a href="https://x.com/farkingfangirl/status/1989014498028712266?s=43">echoed</a>.
“Imagine going on a years long losing streak at the box office, and thinking the answer was cheaply produced AI slop,” another <a href="https://x.com/JollyRogX/status/1988999938307436859">said</a>.
&#8220;User generated AI content on Disney+ is either going to be amazing or absolutely terrible. No middle ground on this one,&#8221; a third commenter predicted.
<div class="css-175oi2r">
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<div id="id__j5h40ekd7j" class="css-146c3p1 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-37j5jr r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-bnwqim r-135wba7" dir="auto" lang="en" data-testid="tweetText">Another said, &#8220;I am very pro AI and I think this is a big mistake.&#8221;</div>
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Earlier this year, Disney and Universal teamed up to sue the AI image generation firm Midjourney for what they described as copyright infringement and a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bottomless-pit-of-plagiarism-disney-and-universal-sue-ai-image-generator?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Bottomless+Pit+Of+Plagiarism%E2%80%99%3A+Disney+And+Universal+Sue+AI+Image+Generator">reported</a>.  
The future of AI and how it’s being applied to the entertainment industry has been a hotly debated topic lately among everyone from company execs to actors, unions, and everyday consumers.

Disney AI

Social Media Rips Disney’s Plan For AI-Generated Fan Content

Artificial Intelligence

Bob Iger

Business

Disney

Entertainment

Technology

Disney CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bob-iger">Bob Iger</a> explained that the company will be reducing the number of sequels and television spinoffs they put out every year.
The entertainment exec made the comments during a quarterly earnings call Tuesday. Iger said this decision is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a>’s broader strategy of shifting focus from quantity to quality, which is &#8220;particularly true with Marvel,” per <a href="https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/marvel-tv-shows-movies-reduced-bob-iger-disney-1235994149/">Variety</a>.
“We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">TV series</a> a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three,” Iger said. “And we’re working hard on what that path is.”
The exec continued, saying <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marvel">Marvel</a> has “a couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more ‘Avengers,’ which we’re extremely excited about.”
“Overall, I feel great about the slate. It’s something that I’ve committed to spending more and more time on. The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we’re mining, including all the sequels that we’re doing, is second to none,” Iger said.
The only Marvel movie coming out in 2024 is “Deadpool &amp; Wolverine.”
The outlet noted that Marvel Studios has four films scheduled for 2025, including “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts,” “The Fantastic Four,” and “Blade.” The studio also has several films slated for 2026, including the fifth “Avengers” movie.
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Iger has expressed his intention to reduce the number of sequels and franchise films in the past, but this is the first time the Disney CEO put a specific number on it.
When asked to explain the balance of content, Iger said, “We’re gonna balance sequels with originals. Specifically in animation, we had gone through a period where our original films and animation, both Disney and Pixar, were dominating. We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels.”
Disney has had more than its fair share of box office flops in recent years, especially in the superhero genre. Both “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels” were box office disappointments in 2023.
Iger was formerly the CEO of Disney from 2005 until 2020. He was replaced by Bob Chapek and then reinstated to his position in November 2022 when Chapek got fired. In November, Iger said he believed the studio was too focused on sequels.
“I don’t want to apologize for making sequels,” he said at the time, also admitting that “we’ve made too many” and “we have to have a reason to make it beyond commerce.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger Promises To ‘Reduce Output’ Of Marvel Movies, TV Spinoffs After Multiple Flops

Disney CEO Bob Iger Promises To 'Reduce Output' Of Marvel Movies, TV Spinoffs After Multiple Flops

Marvel

Movies

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walt Disney Company</a> may be on the verge of picking its first female head in its century-long history: Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden.
Walden, 59, is on the shortlist to replace Bob Iger, 73, as Disney’s CEO, and she may be the first choice, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/01/disney-ceo-race-dana-walden-could-defy-critics-and-make-history.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>. Iger, who retired from the company in 2021, was replaced as CEO in 2020 by Bob Chapek. Iger took his place back at the head of the company after Chapek was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reeling-disney-fires-ceo-as-woke-culture-blamed-for-stock-plunge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a> in 2022.
Walden is a longtime entertainment industry executive with deep ties to Hollywood and a reputation for an impeccable sense for what will sell in the world of television. When she was at Fox, her division made hits such as “24,” “Homeland,” and “How I Met Your Mother.” Since moving to Disney, she’s been instrumental in the creation of shows such as “The Bear” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
In addition to her experience in entertainment, Iger is reported to want to tap Walden to succeed him in part because he wants to have a role in Disney naming its first-ever female CEO. He also wants to rectify his previous pick Chapek, which he now regrets and sees as a mistake, according to CNBC.
Walden also has her critics, however, with some questioning her business acumen and ability to transition from her time in entertainment to being the head of and international corporation with many different facets, such as prestigious parks and resorts.
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“She’ll be eaten up by real investors,” one person told CNBC. “Does she have the necessary depth of business knowledge? She can learn, but you can’t have someone teach you decades of finance, business and tactics in a year or two.”
Others have dismissed criticism of Walden as misogynistic.
“There’s something about looking at female execs where questions are asked that would never be asked of men,” Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who previously worked with Walden, said. “Can they scale? Can a creative person be a business leader? I find that to be a huge bugaboo. She’s in charge of billions of dollars of assets, but she’s not capable of being a business leader?”
Iger retook the CEO role at Disney after a tumultuous two years at the company under Chapek, which saw the company get into a high-profile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-disney-court-battle-ends-in-legal-settlement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feud</a> with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over a piece of legislation that banned sexual orientation and gender identity lessons for young students. Disney publicly denounced the bill. In return, DeSantis stripped Disney of special privileges it had enjoyed on about 25,000 acres that housed the company’s landmark Disney World theme parks and resorts.
Florida and Disney settled a legal battle over the special district last month.

Dana Walden

Hollywood Insider Dana Walden Could Be Next CEO Of Disney

General

Hollywood

According to a new video released by Christopher Rufo, Disney&#8217;s hard left turn into politics can be traced back to then chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bob-iger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bob Iger&#8217;s</a> reaction to the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve obtained exclusive new video from Disney marking the exact moment the company decided to become political—days after January 6, 2021,&#8221; Rufo said in an <a href="https://twitter.com/realchrisrufo/status/1757483737888194746" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X post</a> teasing the video.
A short time later, he posted the two-minute clip with the following caption: &#8220;In January 2021, then-Disney chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-ceo-bob-iger-hosting-fundraiser-vulnerable-paul-bois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bob Iger</a> told employees he was committing the company to &#8216;taking a stand&#8217; on politics because of January 6, then praised himself for making Black Panther, which he said was an example of &#8216;diversity and inclusion.'&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
EXCLUSIVE: In January 2021, then-Disney chairman Bob Iger told employees he was committing the company to &quot;taking a stand&quot; on politics because of January 6, then praised himself for making Black Panther, which he said was an example of &quot;diversity and inclusion.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Rb41540cGW">pic.twitter.com/Rb41540cGW</a>
&mdash; Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) <a href="https://twitter.com/realchrisrufo/status/1757494954895815142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We&#8217;ve kind of shied away from politics, and in doing so, I think we&#8217;ve shied away from talking about issues that aren&#8217;t political at all,&#8221; Iger began, arguing that people were so afraid of what might be considered political, they avoided what he believed to be important but apolitical topics.
&#8220;Because we believe in doing so, maybe it looks like we were taking a stand, but in that reality, we should be taking a stand,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;By the way, I take responsibility for this. I was CEO for 15 years. And so I managed the company&#8217;s public-facing processes and how we were portraying ourselves.&#8221;
Iger went on to use January 6th as an example, saying that he believed it was time for the company to be &#8220;less cautious&#8221; about weighing in on events like that going forward.
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&#8220;That&#8217;s not political on our part at all,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We know that what we saw was fundamentally wrong and it was rooted in hatred, disrespect, and contempt and intolerance.&#8221;
Iger followed with a call to lean in more to projects like &#8220;Coco&#8221; and &#8220;Black Panther,&#8221; saying that he had allowed himself to get self-congratulatory and &#8220;complacent&#8221; rather than building on those projects to push further projects championing diversity.
Rufo made headlines with an earlier series of videos showing just how deep the &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-at-all-secret-gay-agenda-disney-employees-break-down-adding-queerness-to-shows-and-degenderizing-theme-parks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not at all secret gay agenda</a>&#8221; went in Disney programming — a series of videos that ultimately prompted Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-daily-wire-releases-new-kids-app-bentkey-with-full-slate-in-surprise-drop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launch the Bentkey kids streaming app</a>.

“The King’s Man” World Premiere – Arrivals

New Video Ties Disney’s Hard Left Turn To Bob Iger’s Reaction To January 6th

New Video Ties Disney's Hard Left Turn To Bob Iger's Reaction To January 6th

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

January 6

Media

The executives at the Walt Disney Company almost certainly hoped that its newest animated film, &#8220;Wish,&#8221; would represent a culmination of 100 years of pop culture ascendancy — a hit on the level of &#8220;Beauty and the Beast&#8221; or &#8220;The Little Mermaid.&#8221;
The movie&#8217;s style, story, and songs all deliberately <a href="https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/wish-disney-references-snow-white-fairy-godmother-1235789256/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay homage</a> to those great classics of yesteryear in an attempt to garner as much nostalgic goodwill as possible for the company&#8217;s centennial.
Instead, it seems more likely that &#8220;Wish&#8221; will capstone another year of box office disappointments for the House of Mouse.
In the past, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend has been a great success for Disney. &#8220;Frozen&#8221; was released on November 22, 2013, took in $67 million during opening weekend, and eventually grossed over $1.2 billion at the box office. Its sequel, &#8220;Frozen II,&#8221; was released on the same day in 2019, achieved a whopping $130 million opening weekend and $1.4 billion overall, becoming the second highest-grossing animated film of all time (after Disney&#8217;s own &#8220;live action&#8221; remake of &#8220;The Lion King&#8221;).
In contrast, &#8220;Wish&#8221; was projected to pull in a lower but still respectable $45-$50 million from November 22-26, but only ended up with an anemic $31.6 million, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-wish-thanksgiving-1235683915/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Hollywood Reporter. 2021&#8217;s &#8220;Encanto,&#8221; which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and overall underperformed at the box office, still managed to take in roughly $40 million in its debut.
<div id="attachment_661963" style="width: 926px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-661963" class="size-large wp-image-661963" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1804707763-916x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 20: Julia Michaels, Ariana DeBose and Rochelle Humes attend the &quot;Wish&quot; UK Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on November 20, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)" width="916" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1804707763-916x576.jpg 916w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1804707763-300x189.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1804707763-768x483.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1804707763.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 916px) 100vw, 916px" />Mike Marsland/WireImage</div>
&#8220;Wish&#8221; was beaten handily by &#8220;The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,&#8221; the 5th entry in a franchise whose last installment debuted nearly a decade ago. That movie took in over $42 million over the holiday weekend. And it was even edged out at the box office by Ridley Scott&#8217;s &#8220;Napoleon,&#8221; a nearly 3-hour behemoth that has received only <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/napoleon_2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lukewarm reviews</a> from both audiences and critics.
ScreenRant <a href="https://screenrant.com/wish-movie-box-office-second-weekend-disney-comparison/#:~:text=Summary,a%2064%25%20drop%2C%20worse%20than" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the film&#8217;s second weekend will be an even bigger disaster, with only $7 million at the box office, making &#8220;Wish&#8221; an almost guaranteed flop.
Another animated film released in 2023 under the Disney umbrella, Pixar&#8217;s &#8220;Elemental,&#8221; initially lagged at the box office, garnering only $27 million during its opening weekend in June. Eventually, the movie barely managed to break even, making $495 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, but still well behind pre-pandemic Pixar releases. It should be noted that a film generally needs to make 2.5x its budget to be considered profitable. This is a massive problem for &#8220;Wish,&#8221; which also had a budget of around $200 million and a worse opening weekend than &#8220;Elemental.&#8221;
Disney&#8217;s last animated November release, 2022&#8217;s &#8220;Strange World,&#8221; only took in a dismal $18 million during its opening weekend and barely made half of its reported budget ($135-$180 million).
Disney&#8217;s live action movies have fared <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2023/08/04/the-four-flops-of-2023-that-cost-disney-1-billion/?sh=3d62d5da3bed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even worse</a> in 2023. &#8220;Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,&#8221; &#8220;Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,&#8221; &#8220;Haunted Mansion,&#8221; &#8220;The Marvels,&#8221; and the live action remake of &#8220;The Little Mermaid&#8221; cost over a billion dollars to make (that doesn&#8217;t include post-production and advertising costs), and all of them <a href="https://twitter.com/PAHAU6/status/1729451668276723796" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flopped hard</a>.
<div id="attachment_661975" style="width: 922px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-661975" class="size-large wp-image-661975" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1255071524-912x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 15: (L to R) Jonah Hauer-King, Jacob Tremblay, Melissa McCarthy, Halle Bailey, Rob Marshall, Javier Bardem and Daveed Diggs attend the UK Premiere of &quot;The Little Mermaid&quot; at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on May 15, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage)" width="912" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1255071524-912x576.jpg 912w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1255071524-300x190.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1255071524-768x485.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/12/GettyImages-1255071524.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 912px) 100vw, 912px" />Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage</div>
A major reason for Disney&#8217;s recent spate of commercial flops is its full-throated embrace of leftist social causes, particularly LGBT ideology. The company has practically become the industry leader in pushing leftist propaganda on kids. GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-the-magic-is-leaving-the-kingdom-at-disney" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> in October that Disney is one the top companies in Hollywood for LGBT-inclusive content. Top-ranking employees within the company <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/not-at-all-secret-gay-agenda-disney-employees-break-down-adding-queerness-to-shows-and-degenderizing-theme-parks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have admitted</a> that they are pushing a &#8220;not-at-all-secret gay agenda&#8221; with their programming.
However, the backlash from conservatives has been just as robust as leftists&#8217; praise. According to a Rasmussen Reports survey released in early October, 60% of Republicans hold an unfavorable view of Disney, including 35% who say they have a “very unfavorable” opinion.
Both the Ant-Man and Indiana Jones sequels were torched by fans for seemingly trying to replace their titular heroes with younger female counterparts. In &#8220;Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania,&#8221; Ant-Man&#8217;s daughter <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania-cant-hide-disneys-fake-populism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has become</a> a teenage activist fighting against oppression and eventually acquires a super-powered suit similar to her father&#8217;s. In the latest Indiana Jones movie, Indy&#8217;s goddaughter Helena is also an archeologist on the hunt for rare artifacts and when she is <a href="https://screenrant.com/indiana-jones-movie-woke-controversy-dial-destiny-explained/#:~:text=The%20fifth%20Indiana%20Jones%20movie%20faced%20controversy%20over%20its%20%22woke,attitudes%20in%20the%20movie's%20setting." target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> of stealing items from native people, she quips, &#8220;it&#8217;s called capitalism.&#8221;
Two of Disney&#8217;s animated films released in 2022, &#8220;Lightyear&#8221; (another flop) and &#8220;Strange World,&#8221; were pilloried by conservatives for pushing LGBT themes. &#8220;Lightyear&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-pixar-reinstates-same-sex-kiss-in-lightyear-film-over-so-called-dont-say-gay-bill-source-shares" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> a same-sex kiss between two female characters, which was initially omitted from the film but was reinstated by Disney after Florida passed a bill banning classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity for young children. &#8220;Strange World&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/animated-gay-teen-romance-film-is-woke-disneys-latest-box-office-bomb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upped the ante</a> by introducing Disney&#8217;s first canonically gay main character, whose romance with another boy is a major plotline. The movie also pushed a hamfisted environmentalist message.
It&#8217;s other animated movie released last year, &#8220;Turning Red,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/my-panda-my-choice-mom-disney-and-pixars-turning-red-has-some-parents-outraged-over-themes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was criticized</a> for having sexual themes and a line echoing the pro-abortion &#8220;my body, my choice&#8221; mantra.
Disney movies that haven&#8217;t even come out yet are already getting blasted for catering to the woke crowd. The company&#8217;s live action remake of &#8220;Snow White&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-worst-woke-kids-content-that-came-out-since-last-thanksgiving" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made headlines</a> for the wrong reasons after star Rachel Zegler made disparaging comments about the 1937 classic, which was also the company&#8217;s first full-length animated film.
“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937,” Zegler said of the new film. “We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ [who’s] not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be, and the leader that her late father told her she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”
<div id="attachment_644241" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-644241" class="size-large wp-image-644241" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1243099093-e1698444288358-864x576.jpg" alt="D23 EXPO 2022 - The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by VISA - brings together all the worlds of Disney under one roof for three packed days of presentations, pavilions, experiences, concerts, sneak peeks, shopping, and more. The event, which takes place September 9, 10, and 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center, provides fans with unprecedented access to Disney films, series, games, theme parks, collectibles, and celebrities." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1243099093-e1698444288358-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1243099093-e1698444288358-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1243099093-e1698444288358-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/GettyImages-1243099093-e1698444288358.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images Gal Gadot, Rachel Zegler</div>
After it was revealed that the iconic seven dwarfs had been reimagined as &#8220;seven magical creatures&#8221; who didn&#8217;t resemble the original characters at all, Disney backtracked on their design in the face of intense backlash.
In the wake of all the bad press, the studio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-delay-reportedly-comes-from-fears-it-will-be-a-financial-disaster-insider-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed the project</a> to 2025.
While &#8220;Wish&#8221; hasn&#8217;t received nearly as much scrutiny as other Disney movies of the last couple of years, some have pointed out that its central theme could be problematic. Daily Wire co-founder and Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywood-struggles-over-holiday-with-disney-and-apple-duds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed out</a> that &#8220;It seems that the plot is, essentially, about how God is bad. So, what it is is a king [who] grants people’s wishes, but he has an apprentice … and this apprentice finds out that the king is only selectively granting people’s wishes, and is picking and choosing.&#8221;
“This is a terrible, terrible thing — she will grant everyone’s wishes!” he added sarcastically. “Which, you don’t have to go far afield to understand that what that kind of is is, ‘God is bad because he said no to you sometimes.’ So it would be better if there were an empowered female character to get up and make sure that all wishes be granted across the board.”
While Disney&#8217;s animated films have struggled this year, its main competitors thrived — and largely stayed out of politics. Sony Pictures Animation, DreamWorks, and Illumination (the latter two owned by NBC Universal) have all seen massive hits in 2023 with &#8220;Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse&#8221; ($690 million), &#8220;Puss in Boots: The Last Wish&#8221; ($484 million), and &#8220;The Super Mario Bros. Movie&#8221; ($1.3 billion), respectively.
<div id="attachment_526063" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-526063" class="size-large wp-image-526063" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-864x576.jpg" alt="Special Screening Of Universal Pictures' &quot;The Super Mario Bros. Movie&quot; - Arrivals" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/GettyImages-1478931287-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Leon Bennett/FilmMagic</div>
Sony&#8217;s &#8220;Across the Spider-Verse&#8221; did garner attention after some fans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/did-sony-make-gwen-stacy-trans-in-new-spider-man-film" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speculated</a> that several minute details in the movie suggested one of the main characters, Gwen Stacy, was transgender, but ultimately the backlash against the alleged insinuation pales in comparison to what Disney has faced over the past couple of years.
Overall, the successes of those films in 2023 indicate that there is still a robust demand for kids&#8217; animated content — especially content that doesn&#8217;t proselytize to children about the latest Left-wing social causes.
And Disney CEO Bob Iger seems to realize that fact. In the wake of &#8220;Wish&#8217;s&#8221; disastrous opening weekend, Iger <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/30/disney-ceo-bob-iger-says-movies-have-been-too-focused-on-messaging.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during a Wednesday appearance at the DealBook Summit in New York that &#8220;Creators lost sight of what their No. 1 objective needed to be. We have to entertain first. It’s not about messages.”
Whether Disney can recover and regain its pre-eminent position in the world of animation before its repeated commercial flops take a severe financial toll on the company or a new competitor overtakes them remains to be seen. But The Walt Disney Company is undoubtedly reeling from its choice to put politics before profit — and good storytelling.

DisneyLGBT

Disney Tried To Force Leftist Causes On Audiences. Now It’s Paying The Price

Disney Tried To Force Leftist Causes On Audiences. Now It's Paying The Price

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LGBTQ

Readers Pass

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a> CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bob-iger">Bob Iger</a> shared his thoughts on why he believes the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) installment, “The Marvels,” was such a disappointment at the box office.
“The Marvels” earned just $47 million domestically over opening weekend, making it the lowest-ever opening for a Marvel movie. The low numbers have been blamed on general superhero fatigue and fallout from the recent actors and writers strikes, which affected promotional plans. Iger said prioritizing quantity over quality was also a major factor.
&#8220;Quality needs attention. &#8230; It doesn&#8217;t happen by accident. Quantity, in our case, diluted quality,&#8221; the media exec said on Wednesday at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit in New York, per <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/disney-ceo-reveals-thinks-marvels-bombed-box-office-rcna127254">NBC News</a>. He also mentioned how “The Marvels” was filmed during the COVID pandemic, which meant less oversight. 
&#8220;There wasn&#8217;t as much supervision on the set &#8230; where we have executives there really looking over what&#8217;s being done,&#8221; Iger said.
Iger was formerly the CEO of Disney from 2005 until 2020. He was replaced by Bob Chapek and then reinstated to his position in November 2022 when Chapek got fired. Iger says he’ll “definitely” leave the role in 2026 when his contract is up.
“I was disappointed in what I was seeing in the transition period and while I was out,” he said of Chapek’s performance, per <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/bob-iger-criticizes-chapek-disappointed-in-what-i-was-seeing-1235813338/">Variety</a>. “I worked hard at distancing myself from it.”
Iger said he’s been “fixing a lot of problems that the company has had, and dealing with a lot of challenges,” which he claims “were brought on by decisions that were made by my predecessor.” The exec also said some of Disney’s issues “are just basically the result of a tremendous amount of disruption in the world and in our business.”
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The exec said Disney needs to be more “realistic” about movie earning potential amid the changing habits of viewers and the domination of streaming services. 
Iger also addressed a question about sequels when it was mentioned how much the company’s founder despised them. 
&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to apologize for making sequels,&#8221; he said, admitting that &#8220;we&#8217;ve made too many&#8221; and &#8220;we have to have a reason to make it beyond commerce.&#8221;
&#8220;We will only greenlight a sequel if we believe the story the creators want to tell is worth telling,” Iger said while confirming a fifth installment of &#8220;Toy Story&#8221; is currently in the works.

Disney CEO Bob Iger Reveals Why He Thinks ‘The Marvels’ Flopped, Admits They Made ‘Too Many’ Sequels

Disney CEO Bob Iger Reveals Why He Thinks 'The Marvels' Flopped, Admits They Made 'Too Many' Sequels

Disney CEO <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-ceo-bob-iger-defends-marvel-says-cooglers-work-on-black-panther-not-less-than-what-scorsese-or-coppola-have-done" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bob Iger</a> addressed the recent flops at the box office for Marvel movies like &#8220;Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and animated Pixar films such as &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-asked-too-much-of-the-audience-disney-exec-offers-excuse-for-lightyear-flop-makes-no-mention-of-same-sex-kiss" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lightyear</a>&#8221; and &#8220;Elemental.&#8221;
During Iger&#8217;s appearance at the Sun Valley Conference, he called the Disney film&#8217;s performance &#8220;disappointing,&#8221; adding that most of the problem was the decision to offer too much content on the Disney+ streaming service, <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/marvel-flops-too-many-disney-tv-shows-bob-iger-1235669262/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Variety</a> reported.
&#8220;There have been some disappointments,&#8221; Iger admitted. &#8220;We would have liked some of our more recent releases to perform better. It&#8217;s reflective not as a problem from a personnel perspective, but I think in our zeal to basically grow our content significantly to serve mostly our streaming offerings, we ended up taxing our people way beyond — in terms of their time and their focus — way beyond where they had been.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Bob Iger has acknowledged that Pixar movies going straight to Disney+ has caused an impact in the demand for seeing new Pixar movies in theaters.
However, he also adds that the studio has had some “creative misses.”
(Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNBC</a>) <a href="https://t.co/CWZKoxbiKV">pic.twitter.com/CWZKoxbiKV</a>
&mdash; DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1679516690600665089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Marvel&#8217;s a great example of that,&#8221; he added. &#8220;They had not been in the TV business at any significant level. Not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of television series, and frankly, it diluted focus and attention. That is, I think, more of the cause than anything.&#8221;
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And when it comes to such Pixar flops as &#8220;Elemental,&#8221; Iger said the COVID-influenced decision to skip theaters and go straight to streaming, which was also the strategy for movies like &#8220;Luca&#8221; and &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/my-panda-my-choice-mom-disney-and-pixars-turning-red-has-some-parents-outraged-over-themes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turning Red,</a>&#8221; was a mistake.
&#8220;That may have created an expectation in the audience that they&#8217;re going to eventually be on streaming and probably quickly, and there wasn’t an urgency,&#8221; said Iger.
&#8220;And then I think there was some, I think you&#8217;d have to agree that there were some creative misses, as well,&#8221; he added, without specifying further.
The &#8220;Ant-Man and the Wasp&#8221; sequel was released in February and, to date, has failed to earn $500 million worldwide.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/woke-disney-lost-almost-900-million-on-last-8-films-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woke Disney Lost Almost $900 Million On Last 8 Films: Report</a>

Disney CEO Bob Iger Addresses Recent Marvel And Pixar Flops

Bob Iger Addresses Recent Marvel And Pixar Flops

Elemental

Pixar

Disney CEO Bob Iger made his feelings about the ongoing writer’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strike">strike</a> in Hollywood known.
The executive discussed his opinion during an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday morning, per <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bob-iger-writers-actors-strike-disney-ceo-1235669169/">Variety</a>. 
The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has been dominating headlines and affecting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">Hollywood</a> production schedules for three months now. Most recently, The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) <a href="https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-talks-break-down-1235658176/">announced</a> that its negotiating committee had voted unanimously to recommend its 160,000 members go on strike, joining the writers. The union is set to hold a press conference on Thursday afternoon when an official announcement is expected. 
This move would basically halt all TV and movie production until an agreement is reached.
“It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Iger said of the situation. 
“I understand any labor organization’s desire to work on behalf of its members to get the most compensation and be compensated fairly based on the value that they deliver. We managed, as an industry, to negotiate a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contribute to this great business,” Iger continued. 
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“We wanted to do the same thing with the writers, and we’d like to do the same thing with the actors. There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”
Iger said that unions have a right to “get as much as they possibly can in compensation for their people.” Even so, he warns that these individuals should “be realistic about the business environment, and what this business can deliver.”
Iger said, “It will have a very, very damaging effect on the whole business, and unfortunately, there’s huge collateral damage in the industry to people who are supportive services, and I could go on and on. It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business. It’s a shame, it is really a shame.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger Says Writers and Actors Are Not ‘Realistic’ With Demands: ‘It’s Very Disturbing to Me’

Disney CEO Bob Iger Says Writers and Actors Are Not 'Realistic' With Demands

strike

Disney has confirmed that Marvel Entertainment Chairman Issac &#8220;Ike&#8221; Perlmutter is out following massive layoffs by the House of Mouse as part of its cost-cutting efforts.
Marvel Entertainment is a subsidiary of the Disney Company.
Perlmutter was let go along with Marvel Entertainment&#8217;s co-president Rob Steffens and chief counsel John Turitzin, <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/disney-marvel-entertainment-ike-perlmutter-layoffs-1235567927/">Variety</a> reported.
The ex-chairman worked over the last few months to try and shake things up in the Walt Disney Company&#8217;s board by backing and lobbying for the addition of activist investor Nelson Peltz, the outlet noted.
The months-long battle ended in February with Peltz withdrawing after Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger had announced plans to restructure things, cut costs, and the return of the dividend payment for shareholders by the end of 2023, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/business/media/disney-marvel-ike-perlmutter.html?smid=tw-share">The New York Times</a> noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment, has been laid off, as his division — which is separate from Marvel Studios — is absorbed into other units of Disney. <a href="https://t.co/cPOOYDnL2P">https://t.co/cPOOYDnL2P</a>
&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1641112287225458688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Perlmutter&#8217;s <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/03/marvel-entertainment-chairman-ike-perlmutter-cut-from-disney-1235312663/">division,</a> which centered on consumer products, comic book publishing, as well as game licensing and arena shows, will now be folded into larger Disney business units, according to two Disney executives briefed on the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/business/media/disney-marvel-ike-perlmutter.html?smid=tw-share">New York Times</a> reported.
The move comes after Disney announced Monday that 7,000 jobs were being eliminated to cut $5.5 billion.
Perlumetter had been with the company for more than a decade after selling Marvel to Disney in 2009 for $4 billion, <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/03/marvel-entertainment-chairman-ike-perlmutter-cut-from-disney-1235312663/">Deadline magazine</a> noted.
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The former chairman first took over at Marvel Entertainment in the 1990s when the comic book publisher was in the throes of bankruptcy and was folded into Toy Biz, Variety noted. The toy company was run by Perlmutter and Avi Arad.
On Wednesday, fired Marvel Studio executive Victoria Alonso said, via her attorney, that her firing was about more than just a breach of contract.
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">announced plans</a> for kids&#8217; entertainment content.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fired-marvel-exec-slams-disney-said-she-refused-to-do-something-she-believed-was-reprehensible">Fired Marvel Exec Slams Disney, Said She &#8216;Refused To Do Something She Believed Was Reprehensible&#8217;</a>

Disney Cuts Marvel Entertainment Chair Ike Perlmutter Following Massive Layoffs

Economy

Disney CEO Bob Iger admitted Thursday that the company has charged consumers exorbitant prices at the entertainment giant&#8217;s theme parks.
Iger, speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, said the Disney brand must be &#8220;accessible,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11842523/Disney-CEO-Bob-Iger-admits-firms-theme-parks-rip-thanks-aggressive-pricing.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>. The CEO, who came out of retirement last November to retake the company&#8217;s reins, indicated lower prices were necessary to expanding the company&#8217;s consumer base.
&#8220;In our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing,” Iger said. “I think there’s a way to continue to grow that business, but be smarter about how we price so that we maintain that brand value of accessibility.”
Iger suggested that the high prices had helped make the theme park experience more enjoyable for those who could afford them.
“One of the things that we had to do was we had to improve the guest experience by reducing crowding,” Iger <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-03-09/bob-iger-says-disney-price-hikes-too-high" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>. “It’s tempting to let more and more people in, but if the guest satisfaction levels are going down because of crowding then that doesn’t work. We have to figure out how we reduce crowding but maintain our profitability. And we did that well.”
Disney has recently moved to lower some prices at the theme parks, <a href="https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/">reinstating</a> overnight free parking at Disney World and offering more days at Anaheim’s Disneyland in Anaheim when adults can buy tickets at the lowest price option.
Prices at Disneyland have <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11307811/Disneyland-hikes-ticket-prices-costs-soar-244-DAY.html">soared</a> to as high as  $244 for a single day&#8217;s pass. Preferred parking at the theme park <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/disneyland/article/cost-disneyland-17801824.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">costs</a> $50 per vehicle, self-parking $30 per vehicle. Disney Genie Plus, which permits booking specific time windows for certain rides, costs an additional $25.
At Disney World, Disney opened a Star Wars-themed hotel titled “Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser” in March 2022. It has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/business/disney-star-wars-galactic-starcruiser.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charged</a> guests between $5,000 and $20,000 for two nights. The hotel has charged $13.50 for a single beer and $23 for cocktails.
During the global pandemic, when Disneyland was closed, Disney’s Annual Passport system was <a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2561461/disneyland-is-going-to-make-a-massive-change-when-it-reopens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">canceled.</a> After the park reopened, Annual Passports were replaced by Magic Keys, which included the Dream Key, the Believe Key and the Enchant Key, then became temporarily unavailable.
One disgruntled Disneyland fan <a href="https://twitter.com/gingernspicee/status/1349841487572307970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1349841487572307970%7Ctwgr%5E0fc2119eb35828565f55a4d1fb3f2bb91629dc42%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cinemablend.com%2Fnews%2F2561496%2Fas-disneyland-shutters-annual-passes-those-fans-have-a-lot-of-feelings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote,</a> “i am HEARTBROKEN about disneyland canceling annual passes. (i mean who knows when they’ll reopen &amp; i wasn’t planning on going to disneyland during the pandemic) i can’t afford to go to disneyland 1-3x a month without my pass, so this totally sucks.”
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">announced plans</a> for kids’ entertainment content.

‘Our Zeal To Grow Profits’: CEO Admits Disney Charged Too Much At Theme Parks

CEO Admits Disney Charged Too Much At Theme Parks 

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