When Disney CEO Bob Iger returned eight months ago, he did not realize just how big the problems he was facing would be. But Iger had an easy out; he could blame everything on his predecessor, CEO Bob Chapek. But Iger didn’t realize that a lot of the problems that Disney is currently facing are leftover from his first tenure as CEO, and now, he has issues that he has created.
Related: Disney is About to Take Another Hit. Company Considering Delaying Remaining 2023 Releases
In his interview with CNBC, Iger sabotaged himself with some of his comments. He said he was “disappointed” with the actor’s strike and that their demands were “unreasonable.” His words were even worse because he made them from an exclusive billionaire convention in Sun Valley, Idaho. SAG President Fran Drescher jumped all over his remarks, saying:
There he is sitting in his designer clothes, just got off his private jet at the billionaires’ camp, telling us we’re unrealistic. How do you deal with someone like that who’s so tone-deaf? Are you an ignoramus?
Iger also said he was open to selling as much as a third of Disney’s media interests. Those comments added stress to Disney’s media properties, which have suffered through massive layoffs over the last six months. Iger met with executives within the media division and tried to ease their concerns, but he only added fuel to that fire.
If that doesn’t make things bad enough, Disney also finds itself embroiled in another First Amendment lawsuit, this time over Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), which has been a box office disaster for Disney Studios. Put that on top of Disney, Marvel, and Pixar’s other disappointing box office numbers, and Iger has a problem in his creative division: it isn’t creative anymore.
And now, Walt Disney Studios is considering delaying the release of the remainder of its 2023 films because of the SAG-AFTRA Strike. There will be no actors to promote the movie, so Disney may delay the releases until the strike ends. This will add to the stress of the Walt Disney Company’s box office woes.
Then, there’s Disney Parks. Iger attempted to downplay reports that attendance was down at Disney World. Bob Iger argued that “it wasn’t the pricing,” as he refused to acknowledge that attendance was down.
Now Iger will have to pull a rabbit out of his hat when meeting Wall Street investors in two weeks. This earnings call comes as Walt Disney Company’s stock has hit a one-year low.
A longtime Iger associate told the Hollywood Reporter:
These are raw, highly emotional times. He has just laid off 7,000 people. He’s not a cold, callous, cruel guy. That’s hard. He’s gotten forced by [dissident shareholders] Nelson Peltz and Ike Perlmutter to do this deep-cleaning of people. He’s been forced to cut content. None of these things is fun. Never underestimate Bob Iger. He could still have a transformational move. Bob is a master. While some may wonder if he’s lost a step, others may think he’s six moves ahead.
So, let’s see what tricks Iger has up his sleeve because he will need something.
We will continue to update this story at Disney Fanatic.
