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Disney CEO Bob Iger blames the pandemic effect as one reason for The Marvels’ dismal box office results.
At a New York Times business summit earlier this week, Iger said the studio needed some revitalization.
“The Marvels was filmed during Covid,” he explained. “There wasn’t as much oversight on set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] I really look at what’s being done day by day.”
He cited a number of reasons why the studio’s current slate of films is lagging, including streaming and messaging.
“The experience of reaching [the films] and watching them at home is better than ever,” he said. “And [it’s] a bargain when you think about it. You can stream Disney+ for $7 per month. This is much cheaper than going to the cinema with the whole family. So I think the bar is now being raised for the quality that gets people out of their homes and into the cinema.”
Iger also acknowledged that the messages in recent films have turned off a certain segment of audiences.
“The priority is the entertainment, not the message,” Iger said, adding that “positive messages for the world” sometimes overwhelm the storytelling.
“And I’m not sure another studio will ever reach the same numbers as us,” he said, citing past successes. “I mean, we got to the point where if a movie didn’t make a billion dollars at the box office worldwide, we were disappointed,” he said. “That’s an incredibly high standard and I think we need to be more realistic.”
Next year, Disney plans to release Deadpool 3, Inside Out 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King.