The Era of Movie Theater Monopolies Is Over... Even OTT Becomes a 'Gyeryuk'
Bold CEO Replacement... 'Avatar: The Way of Water' Anticipates a Wish List Offensive
Armed with Familiarity and Empathy... Freshness Filled by APAC Content
Mickey Mouse and Luke Kang, President of Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Region[Photo by Walt Disney Company]
The era when The Walt Disney Company monopolized the content market is over. This year, the highest-grossing film in theaters was Paramount Pictures' Top Gun: Maverick ($1,486,657,763). Disney has failed to reclaim the top spot for three consecutive years since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame ($2,797,501,328). Only three Disney films made it into the top 10: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($955,775,804), Thor: Love and Thunder ($760,928,081), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($678,244,647). In 2019, there were seven. These included Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King ($1,656,943,394), Frozen II ($1,450,026,933), Captain Marvel ($1,128,274,794), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($1,074,144,248), Toy Story 4 ($1,073,394,593), and Aladdin ($1,050,693,953). All earned over one billion dollars.
The situation for Disney+?the ambitiously launched online video streaming service (OTT)?is also challenging. It recorded a loss of $1.47 billion in the last quarter alone, more than double the loss from the same period last year. Since its launch three years ago, the total loss has reached about $8 billion. The main cause is undoubtedly excessive content production. To attract subscribers, Disney has poured about $30 billion into content over the past year, approximately 1.8 times more than competitor Netflix’s $17 billion. The results fall far short of expectations. Although Disney+ surpassed Netflix (220 million subscribers) to become the world’s largest streaming service with 221 million subscribers, it struggles to retain them. According to media analytics firm Antenna, the churn rate in the U.S. surged to 4% in the second quarter. CEO Bob Chapek’s move to raise prices could increase this rate further.
On the 20th of last month, Disney took decisive action. CEO Bob Chapek was fired, and former CEO Robert Iger was brought back as a savior. Iger is a legendary figure who rose from a low-level ABC employee to become the highest-paid CEO of a major U.S. corporation. He led Disney for 15 years, overseeing acquisitions of Pixar Studios, Marvel Studios, and 21st Century Fox. During his tenure, Disney’s market capitalization increased about fivefold. This move reflected confidence that he could maintain the influence Disney showed in 2019.
Changing the landscape immediately is impossible. However, Disney has an abundance of content to keep subscribers engaged. With proper promotion and marketing support, a rebound seems possible. Leading the charge is the film Avatar: The Way of Water, premiering first in Korea on the 14th. It is the sequel to Avatar (2009), the highest-grossing film worldwide ($2,922,917,914). Armed with the latest technology, it unveils itself after 13 years. Once again, the megaphone is held by director James Cameron, a master who directed The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), True Lies (1994), and Titanic (1998). On the 9th of next month, he will visit Korea with the cast and crew to personally explain the upgraded technology and expanded scale.
The ‘Disney Content Showcase Asia-Pacific (APAC) 2022’ held on the 30th of last month at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore was an event that expanded such promotion and marketing efforts to the entire lineup for next year. It detailed about fifty pieces of content prepared ahead of Disney’s 100th anniversary. All were highly anticipated works from its subsidiaries such as Marvel Studios, Disney Animation, Lucasfilm, and Pixar Studios.
At the forefront were Marvel Studios’ works that will decorate the 5th phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). These include the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania releasing on February 17 next year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (premiering May 5 next year), and Disney+ series Secret Invasion (release date TBD) and Loki Season 2 (summer release next year).
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is once again directed by Peyton Reed, who has helmed the series. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer reprise their roles. Luis Desposito, co-president of Marvel Studios, who attended the event via video, called it the most anticipated work of next year, describing it as “an exciting story where Ant-Man and the Wasp face off against MCU’s greatest villain Kang (Jonathan Majors).”
Unlike MCU Phase 4, familiar characters lead the narratives in the other works. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 focuses on the emotional development between Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and a new-dimensional Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Secret Invasion and Loki Season 2 center around Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), respectively. The film The Marvels, releasing in July next year, highlights the cooperation between Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani). It has garnered much attention domestically due to Park Seo-joon’s involvement from early production stages. Desposito said, “Work crossing between films and series will continue as it did this year,” adding, “You can also look forward to the Disney+ series Ironheart, based on the world of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Disney Animation Studios will release Wish (scheduled for November next year) as its 100th anniversary work. This feature animation depicts the origin of a shooting star, with actress Ariana DeBose voicing the lead. Other releases or premieres include The Little Mermaid, which sparked controversy over casting a Black mermaid, the Nigerian animation co-production Iwaju, Mufasa: The Lion King portraying Mufasa’s growth from The Lion King, and Peter Pan & Wendy. A live-action version of Snow White is also in production, targeting a 2024 release.
Perhaps to dispel controversy over the Black mermaid casting, Disney put considerable effort into spotlighting Halle Bailey. They released a scene of her singing the original soundtrack (OST) song “Part of Your World” and detailed the casting process. Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Production, praised her, saying, “Bailey is an exceptionally talented actress and a great singer. When we did the screen test, she perfectly embodied Ariel, and we immediately knew she was the right fit for the role.”
Lucasfilm, famous for the Star Wars series, will present The Acolyte starring Lee Jung-jae, along with The Mandalorian Season 3, Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2, and Star Wars: Visions. Lee Jung-jae, currently filming in the UK, said via video, “I’m very happy to be part of the Disney family,” and asked for “lots of anticipation, interest, and love.” Lucasfilm will also release Indiana Jones 5 on June 30 next year. Starring Harrison Ford and directed by James Mangold, this action-adventure film is produced by Steven Spielberg. The trailer released at the event received the most enthusiastic response.
Pixar Studios, which revolutionized the animation industry with high-quality works, aims to continue its reputation with Inside Out 2 and Elemental. The latter is directed by Korean-American Peter Sohn. It personifies the elements that make up the world: water, fire, earth, and air. The story follows Amber, who embodies fire, and Wade, who embodies water, on their journey together.
Director Sohn explained, “This film is inspired by my immigrant parents who started a new life in New York in the early 1970s with nothing. It’s a love story carrying the message that although we are all different, we can live together peacefully.” Pete Docter, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, said, “Works inspired by personal experiences guide us to the outside world and offer new perspectives. It will provide an amazing experience that deepens understanding and empathy for others.”
The lineup, armed with familiarity and empathy, is complemented by fresh and innovative Asia-Pacific content, which generally involves less production cost. Disney presented 45 Asia-Pacific region contents this year, achieving results such as streaming hours increasing more than eightfold compared to last year. Luke Kang, President of The Walt Disney Company Asia-Pacific, said, “Streaming services like Disney+ continue to show steady growth in the Asia-Pacific region,” and “a positive future is expected.”
The greatest driving force behind this progress is undoubtedly Korean content. Especially, the drama Big Mouth, Soundtrack #1, and the variety show In the Soop: Friendship Trip ranked among the top three most-watched contents in the Asia-Pacific region during their first week of release. Including Connect and Casino, which will be released at the end of this year, thirteen titles are scheduled for next year. These include Moving, based on Kang Full’s webtoon, the second seasons of Soundtrack #1 and Detective Records, Race starring Lee Yeon-hee and Moon So-ri, The Worst Evil starring Ji Chang-wook and Wi Ha-joon, and Say I Love You starring Lee Sung-kyung and Kim Young-kwang. The variety show The Zone: Survive to Live, featuring Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Kwang-soo, and Kwon Yu-ri, will also return for a second season.
K-pop content is also extensively prepared. These include BTS Monument: Beyond the Star, which covers BTS’s past nine years and future plans; a solo documentary of BTS member J-Hope; Super Junior: The Last Man Standing, which looks back on Super Junior’s behind-the-scenes stories and the K-pop industry; and NCT127 The Lost Boys, highlighting NCT127’s world tour. These are either in filming or final production stages.
Disney will also present seventeen contents produced in Japan, Indonesia, Australia, and other countries. These include Cannibal, directed by Shinj? Katayama; Tokyo Revengers, created in collaboration with Japan’s Kodansha; and Indonesian horror-themed works Blood Curse and Tira. Kang said, “We aim to strengthen investment in areas that highlight regional uniqueness and focus on local storytelling,” and expressed confidence that “the core of Disney’s centennial plan will be stories from the Asia-Pacific region.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
