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The Disney CEO was interviewed at a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, where he called the Nelson Peltz-led proxy fight a "distraction" for the company.
By Alex Weprin
Media & Business Writer
Disney CEO Bob Iger is pursuing a major overhaul of the company’s film output.
In the midst of something of a strike-induced box office drought and after a challenging year for Disney’s film slate, the executive said Tuesday that “we’re doing a lot” to turn around Disney’s feature film business, which “hit on hard times that needed addressing.”
Iger, speaking at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley in San Francisco on Tuesday, was pressed about what he is doing to turn the film business around.
“You have to kill things you no longer believe in, and that’s not easy in this business, because either you’ve gotten started, you have some sunk costs, or it’s a relationship with either your employees or with the creative community,” Iger said. “It’s not an easy thing, but you got to make those tough calls. We’ve actually made those tough calls. We’ve not been that public about it, but we’ve killed a few projects already that we just didn’t feel were strong enough.”
Iger added that he has been “spending a lot of time with the creators, watching these films, giving detailed notes in these films, engaging in a respectful process that results in improvement.”
And he pushed back on the idea of superhero or franchise fatigue, saying that it was “not an accident” that Marvel’s first 33 films generated just under $30 billion at the box office.
“A lot of people think it’s audience fatigue, it’s not audience fatigue. They want great films. And if you build it great, they will come and there are countless examples of that. Some are ours and some are others’. Oppenheimer is a perfect example of that. Just a fantastic film,” Iger said. “Focus is really important. We reduced the output of Marvel, both number of films they make and the number of TV shows, and that really becomes critical, but I feel good about the team. I feel good about the IP we’re making. I talked about a lot of the projects. We look years ahead, really. And it’s iterative.
“Not only do you look at the films you’re making, you you look at every part of that process, who the directors are, who’s being cast, reading scripts, I personally watch films three to five times with the team and just create a culture of excellence and respect, which is really important with the creative community,” he added. “And again, the track record speaks for itself.”
On a related note, Iger also touted Disney’s 2024 film slate, calling the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes “one of the better films in the franchise,” the upcoming Inside Out and Moana sequels, and also the big Marvel release of the year, Deadpool & Wolverine, which Iger predicted “will be one of the more successful Marvel movies we’ve had in a long time.”
Iger’s comments come amid a pivotal moment for Disney, with a pair of activist shareholders — Nelson Peltz’s Trian and Blackwells Capital — each seeking board seats.
During Disney’s last earnings call, Iger announced a slew of projects and deals hoping to push back against the activists, including a partnership and $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games that will bring Disney franchise IP to the Fortnite universe; a surprise Moana sequel, which will hit theaters this year; a deal to bring Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie to Disney+ next month; and a fall 2025 launch date for ESPN’s direct-to-consumer flagship service.
At the Morgan Stanley conference, Iger said that “this campaign is, in a way, designed to distract us, to take our eye off all those balls that we talked about.
“It’s that simple. And I am working really hard to not let this distract me,” he added. “Because when I get distracted, everybody who works for me gets distracted. And that’s not a good thing.”
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