(UnitedVoice.com) – In 2022, Bob Iger took over at Disney again after the company fired CEO Bob Chapek. Iger had previously led the company for about 15 years before handpicking his replacement. While Chapek was in charge, Iger was still the head of the company’s “creative endeavors” in 2020 and 2021. He recently admitted the approach Disney has taken in recent years is wrong.
On November 29, Iger spoke at the DealBook Summit in New York. According to reports, he said Disney’s creative teams have “lost sight of what their [number one] objective needed to be.” He explained they are supposed to “entertain first,” and their content shouldn’t be “about messages.”
Iger tried to blame Chapek’s leadership, though he didn’t mention the former CEO by name. He stated that the decision to prioritize the messages over the storytelling peaked in 2022 when he was not serving as CEO. Iger pointed out that the “Black Panther” franchise was a good example of how the company wants to incorporate its values into films in a way that has a “positive impact on the world in many different ways.”
Iger said he enjoys entertaining audiences across the world by infusing positive messages into the films. But he said that “should not be the objective.” He’s trying to shift the company away from that theme and “return to [Disney’s] roots.”
Disney has suffered a series of failures in recent years. For example, the company spent $100 million to make “Raya and the Last Dragon.” It had to gross about $250 million to be profitable but only ended up earning $130 million. “Strange World” was another box office bomb for the company. The company had to earn $450 million to break even but only grossed $73 million.
Iger plans to cut back on the number of movies the company makes and focus on the quality of films hitting theaters. Whether his new strategy helps the flailing entertainment giant remains to be seen.
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