Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed to slow down the production of new films and television shows based on the Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm franchises, such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
The decision is an attempt to save expenses at a time when the company's movies, both Marvel and animated, have fallen short of expectations.
"You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less," Iger stated during an interview with Iger on CNBC on Thursday, July 13.
Disney announced earlier this year a major restructuring of the company that would result in $5.5 billion in cost savings. About $3 billion of which would come from content excluding sports.
Iger noted that several strategic moves had been taken to strengthen the company's primary streaming service, Disney+, and attract new users. He pointed to Marvel as an example of Disney's "zeal" to pump up its original content on streaming, while also acknowledging that the business had some Pixar animation failures in recent months.
"Marvel is a great example of that. It had not been in the television business at any significant level, and not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of TV series," Iger remarked.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Disney paid almost $4 billion to purchase Marvel in 2009, and the firm has since made billions of dollars from the property at box offices across the world.
Iger has previously said that the business needs to evaluate how many sequels each character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) should develop. He said it was time to investigate the "newness" of the brand.
After 15 years in theaters, the MCU entered its fifth phase with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania earlier this year. The film's second-weekend ticket sales were the lowest of any installment in the series. The reviews for the Marvel film were mostly unfavorable.
While the film fell short, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 grossed over $800 million worldwide.
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Lucasfilm Franchises
While the Emmy-nominated Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+ have kept Lucasfilm busy, the last theatrical release of a Star Wars picture was in 2019. The fifth film in Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones series starring Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, has struggled at the box office despite a prime release date during the week of the Fourth of July.
Nonetheless, Disney's investment in Lucasfilm has proven to be a lucrative one, much like its one in Marvel.
After investing $4 billion in Lucasfilm in 2012, the firm saw a return on its capital in only six years because of the success of the new trilogy and standalone films like Rogue One.
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