Disney not letting ‘Frozen’ go as box office biz struggles
Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger revealed “Frozen 4” could be in production just months after the company confirmed a third installment of the “Frozen” franchise will also be coming to theaters.
“‘Frozen 3’ is in the works and there might be a ‘Frozen 4’ in the works too,” Iger said in an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday. “I don’t have much to say about those films right now. [Director] Jenn Lee, who created the original ‘Frozen’ and ‘Frozen 2,’ is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.”
The news comes as Disney has struggled at the box office with its recent live action film “The Marvels” drawing a dismal $47 million domestically during its opening weekend — the worst performance in MCU franchise history.
Shares have lagged the broader markets, up about 8% year to date compared to the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) 17% gain over that same time period.
Analysts have warned the company’s content business will likely continue to struggle in 2024.
“I don’t think the studio is going to be an engine that’s going to help Disney grow for the next 18 months,” said Doug Creutz, analyst at TD Cowen. “I don’t think it’s going to get worse, but I don’t think it’s going to get better either.”
Disney has lagged competitors at the box office, despite once being the leader in the industry. Marvel, in particular, has struggled as a franchise ever since 2019’s “Endgame.” Creutz blamed the results on oversaturation and a decline in FOMO, or fear of missing out, on the part of the consumer.
“There was a lot of FOMO where it’s like, ‘Man, if I miss this Marvel movie then I’m going to miss something important,” Creutz told Yahoo Finance. “The thing with FOMO is if the ask on people gets too big, they won’t go see it,” he said, adding he wasn’t surprised “The Marvels” flopped, especially given the harsh critic reviews.
“Marvel has asked a lot of audiences and they’ve done it at a time when the quality hasn’t been there because they’ve been trying to do too many different things,” he continued. “So here we are. [Disney] now has to try and fix what it broke.”
But it’s not just Marvel. Disney’s animation business has also underperformed, especially compared to competitors like Universal (CMCSA) and Sony (SONY).
Creutz said demand for animation “has definitely gone down” post-pandemic, driven by the excess of kids content on streaming platforms like Disney+. He added: “The only animated films that have done well since pandemic have been big sequels. … Disney’s pipeline didn’t have any sequels in it.”
Perhaps the upcoming “Frozen” sequels could put Disney’s box office back on top.
