Much as I like to see Disney knocked down a peg, I have no illusions about the cause.
Disney's parks and merchandise divisions generate billions when they're running at full steam but very quickly become money-losers if they're idled. Travel has collapsed and retail is depressed nationwide.
Disney's initial response to covid was to accelerate their backlog of construction projects into work phase, which made sense. The parks were facing a dead season so better to cram all the work in and reopen. But that means the parks are doubly expensive; they're making nothing, and spending a lot.
To add to the other three who already answered, I think the movies now aren't so important for raw revenue; we're seeing a shift in their function from being the product, to being the face of the product, so to speak, with profits from revenue just becoming gravy for something else. There's a word for it, I'm sure, but I can't think of what it is at the moment.
Seems to me most of international business is basically just a bunch of legal money laundering, so yeah, that's what happening to the money itself, but I'm looking for a word that refers to how the films are being used - their changing function as a form of propaganda (at least it used to be expected to make money and entertain people. Now they're more like ... PSAs, "Duck and Cover" or those Donald Duck wartime shorts. Or Triumph of the Will, for that matter. Doesn't matter if they make money, that's not their purpose. Hell, they're barely even caring about "entertaining".
Loss leader might be the term you're looking for. Something you sell below profit margins because it gets people through the door and puts their eyes on the products you make your actual revenue from.
The complete irony of that is, it was Star Wars that first touched off the phenomenon of "merchandising" to begin with. Before that movie, there weren't really much in the way of toy tie-ins with other media, beyond lunchboxes and Flintstone Vitamins and oddball stuff like that.
But Star Wars? They were selling light sabres and 'droid toys before the movie even came out/came to certain cities, ffs. Coca-Cola had one of the first "look under the cap liner and collect" contests, with the old glass bottles. It was nuts, right through having kiddie merch for movies we weren't allowed to see because we were too young, like Alien.
It was almost like the Droids and lightsabres were designed to be toys. Hrm. :P (And I remember hearing a theory, long ago, that the story was really meant to be about the droids; after all, they're the first ones we see, and follow.)
They could probably hide it in their books if they wanted too, but it is a good time to start calling in favors from the Harris administration for money.
While I'm sure they are failing on more than one front, their closed parks alone mark a gigantic loss in revenue.
See, lockdowns aren't all bad.
Not a worthwhile trade in my estimation.
Much as I like to see Disney knocked down a peg, I have no illusions about the cause.
Disney's parks and merchandise divisions generate billions when they're running at full steam but very quickly become money-losers if they're idled. Travel has collapsed and retail is depressed nationwide.
Disney's initial response to covid was to accelerate their backlog of construction projects into work phase, which made sense. The parks were facing a dead season so better to cram all the work in and reopen. But that means the parks are doubly expensive; they're making nothing, and spending a lot.
To add to the other three who already answered, I think the movies now aren't so important for raw revenue; we're seeing a shift in their function from being the product, to being the face of the product, so to speak, with profits from revenue just becoming gravy for something else. There's a word for it, I'm sure, but I can't think of what it is at the moment.
Money laundering?
Seems to me most of international business is basically just a bunch of legal money laundering, so yeah, that's what happening to the money itself, but I'm looking for a word that refers to how the films are being used - their changing function as a form of propaganda (at least it used to be expected to make money and entertain people. Now they're more like ... PSAs, "Duck and Cover" or those Donald Duck wartime shorts. Or Triumph of the Will, for that matter. Doesn't matter if they make money, that's not their purpose. Hell, they're barely even caring about "entertaining".
Loss leader might be the term you're looking for. Something you sell below profit margins because it gets people through the door and puts their eyes on the products you make your actual revenue from.
Yes, but with the shadings of deliberate political manipulation of the audience, rather than "just" the commercial aspect that "loss leader" implies.
Almost like a "glamour" in the original sense, but then, hollywood was always about .. "glamour".
"MERCHANDISING! Where the real money from the movie is made." -Spaceballs
Yes, only now the merchandise is really an ideology, that just comes with the movies and the toys as a sub-sub-layer.
The complete irony of that is, it was Star Wars that first touched off the phenomenon of "merchandising" to begin with. Before that movie, there weren't really much in the way of toy tie-ins with other media, beyond lunchboxes and Flintstone Vitamins and oddball stuff like that.
But Star Wars? They were selling light sabres and 'droid toys before the movie even came out/came to certain cities, ffs. Coca-Cola had one of the first "look under the cap liner and collect" contests, with the old glass bottles. It was nuts, right through having kiddie merch for movies we weren't allowed to see because we were too young, like Alien.
It was almost like the Droids and lightsabres were designed to be toys. Hrm. :P (And I remember hearing a theory, long ago, that the story was really meant to be about the droids; after all, they're the first ones we see, and follow.)
Good start.
Pretty sure thats coronavirus related and not their wokeness.
Is to be expected, not necessarily cause of woke, although it did have an impact. No one is going to their movies or their parks anymore.
They could probably hide it in their books if they wanted too, but it is a good time to start calling in favors from the Harris administration for money.