Disney movies drive 4th qtr; Toy Story 4 coming

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MAE ANDERSON

NEW YORK (AP) — Movie heroines and superheros were the stars of The Walt Disney Cos. fourth-quarter results on Thursday, as the success of animated tale "Frozen" and Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy" helped revenue surpass expectations.

Disney Studios has had a string of hits that is likely to continue with the first of its annual "Star Wars" movie launching next year, titled "The Force Awakens." The company also announced Thursday that Toy Story 4 will hit theaters in 2017, directed by John Lasseter, who created the blockbuster franchise and directed the first two movies.

In a call with analysts, CEO Bob Iger said Disney's movie and TV offerings help it compete in the "new golden age for content."

"The studio business has been a tremendous content engine driving opportunities across the country," he said. He said the five Marvel movies that Disney has released since acquiring the brand in 2009 have averaged $1 billion in global box office receipts.

FULL story at link.



FILE - This file image released by Disney shows Kristoff, voiced by Jonathan Groff, left, and Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell, in a scene from the animated feature film, "Frozen." Disney reports quarterly financial results on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Disney, File)



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141106/us--disney-movies-c5b923e6dd.html

[Old Nick]

1. How is this LBN?

In the Entertainment section, certainly. But here?

[Omaha Steve]

2. It's financial news

Financial gets posted in LBN all the time. Disney is one of the most widely held stocks BTW. Last year we bought each of our grandkids one share for Christmas. They love their certificates like the one below. We bought them when Disney announced they wouldn't have these anymore. The stock is up about 50% since we bought it for them. They will get another dividend check next January.


Here is an example of financial in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014937911

[Ampersand Unicode]

3. How many Toy Stories do we really need?

(Spoiler) Andy, the kid from the original movie, is grown up and married. Jim Varney who played Slinky Dog is dead. What are they going to do, perpetuate this saga until Andy's great-grandchildren are playing with Buzz and Woody?

I hate franchises. Studios, of course, love them because they've got an established brand and a guaranteed set of customers. But I hate them because there's no originality involved. I hate reboots and remakes and sequels too. Yes, Disney has basically built its entire empire off of preexisting material, but at least these were "original" spins on an old story (Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, etc.). But recycling the same characters to appear over and over again in slightly different story lines is a TV show, not a feature-length film. The thing is, of course, movies make scads more Mickey bucks than TV series.

Still doesn't make it original or interesting. Unless, of course, the average age of your audience is 5 years old (not to mention the average mental age of your adult audience).

Pixar movies creep me out, too.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. Disney has a habit of taking otherwise enjoyable films and beating you over the head with marketing

Andy grew up, and gave up his toys to a happy new owner. It's done. Really, it is.

Frozen was a cute, enjoyable movie, but they are going to bleed it for every single dollar its worth and ruin it in the process.