Disney is shelling out big money to take on streaming giants like Amazon Prime and Netflix, and that includes spending cash on exciting new series and movies to entice audiences. But even Disney has a limit, and recently CEO Bob Iger said they aren’t looking to debut massive blockbusters like Star Wars on the service. So much for avoiding massive lines and cosplayers on opening night.
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While speaking with Barrons (via SyFy), Iger talked about how they’re looking to put tens of millions into shows like THE MANDALORIAN, as well as other movies, like the live action version of LADY AND THE TRAMP starring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux. Though that makes sense for something like a television show or smaller movies, that same financial outlook doesn’t fit so well into the blockbuster model – such as with a big Star Wars movie.
“Almost every movie the studio makes is a $100 million-plus movie, and we’re not looking to make movies at that level for the service. We’re looking to invest significantly in television series on a per-episode business, and we’re looking to make movies that are higher-budget, but nothing like that.”
He continued, saying that with Star Wars audiences will flock to the theaters opening weekend, which is great for a movie that costs around $200 million to make. And even if the movies aren’t made specifically for the service, that doesn’t mean they won’t end up on there eventually.
“We wouldn’t make a Star Wars movie for this platform. When everybody goes out on the weekend and you have a movie that opens up to $200 million, there’s a buzz that creates that enhances value. We like that. And eventually the movies we’re making are going to [end up on] the service.”
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Between all the franchises they own – like Star Wars and Marvel – to all the smaller animated movies they can remake into live-action outings, the studio has no shortage of content for the big and small screen. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to create smaller but still big-budget shows for the service, like the planned Loki and Scarlet Witch shows, while keeping big movies (AVENGERS: ENDGAME) for theaters. The bigger movies, like last year’s AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, can make well over a billion dollars around the world, which may be hard to make the equivalent of in subscription fees – the price of which Iger doesn’t currently know.
Clearly, Disney is looking to play the long game here, knowing how much to put into their big-name series, but staying cautious when it comes to spending. No, they won’t make STAR WARS: EPISODE X for Disney+, but we do have MANDALORIAN and a spinoff show around Diego Luna’s character from ROGUE ONE on the docket. Meanwhile, Netflix is shelling out about $150 million for a new movie from Michael Bay and Ryan Reynolds, so to each their own.
Disney has a wild year in store for us, with STAR WARS: EPISODE IX capping it off December 20.