Bob Iger Admits Disney “Lost Focus” in Its Movies

For a long time, The Walt Disney Company was not known for its theme parks, but for the incredible films that it made. Walt Disney and his team of animators changed the film industry with the 1937 release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. From there, it created some of the most memorable animated films of all time, including Sleeping Beauty (1959), Cinderella (1950), The Little Mermaid (1989), Frozen (2013), and so many more.

Related: Iger Has Some Explaining to Do After Disney Drops $1 Billion on Four Flops

Unfortunately, over the past few years, the company has been struggling to succeed at the box office. While there have been some amazing hits, like the 2021 film Encanto, there have been even bigger flops. In 2022, Disney had the biggest box office flop of the year with its animated film Strange World. The movie lost an estimated $197.4 million, making it one of the company’s biggest flops.

Related: Prolific Pixar Producer Explains What Went Wrong With Lightyear

Then, there was Lightyear. The movie faced an uphill battle from the beginning when it was announced that Chris Evans would be voicing the famous Space Ranger instead of Tim Allen. Then, there were those who did not like that the film had a gay couple — which also caused the movie to be banned in several countries. Lightyear, which was released in June 2022, lost an estimated $106 million at the box office.

For months — and maybe even years — fans have been hoping for a turnaround when it comes to new Disney movies. And it looks like that might be coming sooner rather than later.

On November 8, The Walt Disney Company held its fourth-quarter earnings call. Overall, things were incredibly positive. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that something exciting had happened — Disney+ had experienced a subscriber increase. The company is also on target to save more than originally anticipated, and its giant parks division is still seeing success.

During the Q&A portion of the call, Iger was asked about Disney’s box office struggles and what the company is going to do to turn things around. It was then that Iger admitted that the company had “lost focus” in recent years. He said that the company was not maintaining the standards that had been in place for decades.

While he did not place the blame on former CEO Bob Chapek, it was not missed that Chapek was in charge when flops like Strange World, Pinocchio (2022), and Lightyear were created and released.

Related: Fans Are Loving Disney’s Wish Trailer!

Iger said that the company is now more focused than ever on quality over quantity. He said that Disney is really excited about some of its upcoming new releases, including Wish, which will be released in theaters nationwide on November 22. In addition to Wish, Disney is also excited about its upcoming releases Inside Out 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King.

Related: Disney Announces Snow White’s Release Replacement

It was not mentioned, but Disney has also delayed some notable films. On October 27, it was announced that the highly controversial Snow White remake was having its release moved from March 2024 to March 2025. Disney and Pixar’s animated film Elio will also see a yearlong delay and will now be released in June 2025.

What new Disney movie are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!