Walt Disney

[arthur]

Well.. so Disney has just acquired Star Wars. I guess Mickey & gang can start wearing black capes with oversized helmets breathing heavily in ashmatic conditions.

Jokes aside. Disney is very well received in China and if you can link piece to piece with China grooming to be the next consumer market...





The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company. The Company operates in five segments: Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products and Interactive Media. The Company has a 51% effective ownership interest in Disneyland Paris, a 5,510-acre development located in Marne-la-Vallee, approximately 20 miles east of Paris, France. The Company manages and has a 40% equity interest in Euro Disney S.C.A. The Company holds an 15% equity interest in The Active Network, Inc., a domestic online community and marketing platform for individuals and event organizers to participate in and promote sports and recreational activities. The Company owns a 47% interest in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort through Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited. It also has 43% ownership interest in the operations of Shanghai Disney Resort.


As of October 1, 2011, it had approximately 1,700 active produced and acquired titles, including 1,300 live-action titles and 400 animated titles, in the domestic home entertainment marketplace and approximately 2,900 active produced and acquired titles, including 2,400 live-action titles and 500 animated titles, in the international marketplace. In October 2011, the Company took full ownership of the mobile gaming unit of UTV Software Communications Ltd. In June 2012, The News Corporation has taken full control of its Asian joint venture ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), buying out The Walt Disney Company's 50% holding. On November 18, 2011, the Company acquired a 49% ownership interest in the Seven TV network.

[KopiKat]

Good! It's now easier to explain to the kids why we have Star Tours and Indiana Jones rides in Disneyland....

[sgd]

Jokes aside. Disney is very well received in China and if you can link piece to piece with China grooming to be the next consumer market...

For Singapore 5+ million disneyland won't come here we are way too small for them.

My impression is whever disney looking to setup franchise overseas must have at least 10-12 million population.

if you go to tokyo disneyland and tokyo disneysea every single day of the year is packed with visitors and all are mostly local japanese tourists of all ages.

And people are crazy about it young and old will buy disney apparel you will see adults ladies dress up like fairy tale princess go to disneyland alone unaccompanied by anyone.

Disneyland is to japanese like what macdonalds is to singapore I'm talking about the way they marketing.

[rogerwilco]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/201...y-in-china

By Bruce Einhorn November 12, 2013

With big plans for China, the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) can’t afford a long fight over the now-infamous segment on Disney-owned ABC last month in which a little blond-haired boy told Jimmy Kimmel that the U.S. should fix its financial problems by killing all the people in China. Gee, don’t kids say the darndest things? The comedian didn’t help matters by following up the tot’s comment by asking the other children on the panel, “Should we allow the Chinese to live?” Chinese-Americans are understandably upset and have demanded apologies from Kimmel and ABC.

Now the Chinese government is getting in on the umbrage action, with a spokesman yesterday calling on the network to “respond to the Chinese community’s demand in a sincere way,” the official Xinhua news agency reported. According to Xinhua, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang added that “spreading racism and hatred goes against the media’s social responsibility.”

In a worrisome sign for Disney, the call for an apology came after ABC had indeed apologized. “Please accept our heartfelt, sincere apology,” the network said in a Nov. 8 statement. Perhaps the Chinese Foreign Ministry doubts the sincerity of the apology, with the sort of mistakes-were-made passive construction your English teacher warned you never to use. “The simple fact is, the segment should never have been broadcast,” ABC said, adding: “steps have been made to try and prevent this kind of egregious mistake from occurring in the future.”

The Chinese media are certainly skeptical. “An apology letter purportedly written by Kimmel was posted on one of Xinhua’s official Sina Weibo (SINA) accounts on Monday,” the Global Times reported. (Emphasis added.) “In the letter, written in Chinese, Kimmel said that he felt sorry and ‘it was not his intention to offend anyone.’ “

If anti-ABC protests in the U.S. turn into anti-Disney protests in China, the bad publicity could spoil the company’s plans to win over Chinese consumers in time for the opening of its newest theme park, now under construction in Shanghai. Scheduled to open in 2015, the resort will have two hotels, as well as Shanghai Disneyland. The park will “blend classic Disney storytelling and characters with all-new attractions and experiences tailored specifically for the people of China,” Disney promises on its website.

As part of the runup to the Shanghai park opening, Disney is also planning the world’s biggest Disney Store, a 53,000-square-foot complex in Pudong that will include a 10,800-square-foot store, plus an outdoor plaza. The company is targeting Chinese families through its Disney English-language centers, and it is supporting Chinese entrepreneurs through its venture capital arm, Steamboat Ventures. The VC fund has invested in more than a dozen Chinese startups and last month joined with four additional funds to put $50 million into Beijing-based mobile game developer Chukong Technologies.

Fortunately for Disney, the company has a valuable ally in China. State-owned Shanghai Shendi Group is Disney’s partner in the $4.4 billion Shanghai project. That should help Disney control the damage to its image among Chinese consumers.

[cyclone]

Disney’s Iger Says Shanghai Resort Close to Breaking Even

Bloomberg News
June 16, 2017, 5:50 PM GMT+8 June 16, 2017, 9:35 PM GMT+8

Walt Disney Co.’s ambitious $5.5 billion Shanghai theme park is close to breaking even after its first full year of operations -- a mark none of its resorts have been able to hit in the last 30 years, said Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger.

“That’s an extraordinary achievement. I’m not sure we’ve ever done that,” said Iger in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Tom Mackenzie on Friday as the Shanghai Disney Resort celebrated its first anniversary. “After the first year, I’m pleased to say that prospects are really strong for continued success and continued growth.”

The park logged more than 11 million visitors earlier this week, Iger said. The Shanghai development, Disney’s first in mainland China and its largest foreign investment, throws the Burbank, California-based giant into the race to dominate the country’s $204 billion media and entertainment industry.

More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...aking-even

[CY09]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney...2017-12-14

Disney is taking over Fox for US$52.4 Billion. What this means is that we will be able to see all Marvel superheros in the same movie and possibly at Disneyland

[Wildreamz]

What is Disney Life?
By Dominic Preston | 12 Dec 2017

Disney Life is a Netflix rival that boasts almost every Disney and Pixar film and TV show. Here's what you need to know, including the price and US launch date.

https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/new-produc...e-3628961/

[Wildreamz]

---

Disney IMO is the ultimate content company, one that you can own forever.

(ex-shareholder, monitoring)

[cyclone]

Comcast offers US$65 billion for Fox, creating bidding war with Disney
Comcast’s bid for 21st Century Fox represents a 19 per cent premium over Disney’s previous offer, setting up a bidding war

Bloomberg
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 14 June, 2018, 5:08am
UPDATED : Thursday, 14 June, 2018, 5:08am

Comcast Corp. made a long-awaited offer to acquire much of 21st Century Fox Inc., topping a previous proposal by Walt Disney Co. and setting up a bidding war for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

Comcast, the largest US cable-TV provider, said its cash offer reflects a US$65 billion value for Fox’s entertainment assets. At US$35 a share, the bid represents a 19 per cent premium over the Disney offer, the company said on Wednesday.

The move follows AT& T Inc.’s victory over the Justice Department in its antitrust battle to take over Time Warner Inc. That outcome is expected to spur a wave of media consolidation, emboldening companies to make offers they might otherwise have skipped.

Disney and Comcast are locked in a high-stakes contest for the entertainment assets, which include the Fox film and television studios, television networks such as FX, and multichannel providers like Star India and Sky Plc.

With Wednesday’s bid, Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts is seeking to disrupt Disney CEO Bob Iger’s plan to use Fox properties to bolster his company’s already-vast entertainment offerings.

More details in http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-st...idding-war

[cyclone]

Disney’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ shatters box office records with $1.2 billion global debut
* In just five days, “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in more than $1.2 billion at the global box office.
* In the U.S., the Marvel superhero flick took in a record-breaking estimated $350 million during its opening weekend, shattering expectations.
* Internationally, “Endgame” has grossed an estimated $859 million, breaking the highest opening weekend haul of any film released internationally.

Sarah Whitten
PUBLISHED SUN, APR 28 2019 • 11:36 AM EDT  UPDATED SUN, APR 28 2019 • 12:08 PM EDT

“Avengers: Endgame” has done the impossible.

In just five days, the Marvel film hauled in more than $1.2 billion at the global box office.

This shatters the previous record for the highest weekend total of $641 million set by “Avengers: Infinity War” last year. This has never happened before and marks the fastest a film has ever reached the billion dollar mark.

“Infinity War” was the previous record holder with 11 days.

In the U.S., the Marvel superhero flick took in a record-breaking estimated $350 million during its opening weekend, shattering expectations. The previous domestic record was held by “Avengers: Infinity War,” which opened last year to $257.6 million.

Disney bumped up its estimates for the film’s full weekend Saturday after a record opening day debut, saying it expected the film to gross between $310 million and $340 million in the U.S.

Industry predictions ahead of “Endgame’s” opening had originally pegged the film’s debut between $260 million and $285 million. However, on Saturday, analysts revised their estimates to be even higher than Disney’s, suggesting the film could haul in $360 million or more before Monday.

Internationally, “Endgame” has grossed an estimated $859 million, breaking the highest opening weekend haul of any film released internationally in the history of cinema. “The Fate of the Furious,” the previous record holder, had earned $443 million during its opening weekend in 2017.

“Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team have continued to challenge notions of what is possible at the movie theatre both in terms of storytelling and at the box office,” Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement Sunday.

Only days ago, it seemed impossible that “Avengers: Endgame” could haul in even close to $300 million domestically during its opening weekend.

Theater owners have contracts with other studios to show their films during the weekend and “Endgame’s” running time — three hours two minutes — makes it difficult to screen the film more than three times in a 12- hour period.

Additionally, no film has averaged more than $59,900 per theater before, a feat reached by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015. The film played in 4,100 locations during its debut and hauled in a total of $247.9 million in its first weekend.

“Infinity War,” which was the previous record holder for highest weekend box office gross in the U.S., showed in around 4,470 theaters when it was released last year and hauled in an average of $57,000 per theater, according to data from Comscore.

Opening in 4,662 theaters, it was expected that “Endgame” would follow a similar pattern, earning between $60,000 and $65,000 per theater. Instead, it earned an average of $75,075 per theater.

The film, the 22nd installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is the long-awaited culmination of more than a decade of storytelling. Ahead of its release this weekend, advanced ticket sales on Fandango had led to more than 8,000 sold out showings of the film and theater owners were eagerly adding more screenings, some at odd hours, to meet the demand.

More details in https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/28/avengers...debut.html