We have been warning for a while that Hollywood studio cinema is going through a critical moment. On one hand, audiences are reacting negatively to many releases that were expected to gross over a billion dollars but have failed to even recoup their investment. On the other hand, both screenwriters and actors have gone on strike to demand their rights.
This is affecting all studios, but one is particularly suffering from it: Disney. The company that used to be synonymous with success after success is witnessing how many of its releases are not performing as expected. It is also not achieving the momentum it sought with Disney Plus, with notable failures like the recent series Secret Invasion.
According to recent reports, Disney is expected to record a loss of $800 million after the third quarter of 2023, unprecedented data that falls far short of the studio’s good times, such as when it bought Fox for 71.000 million dollars in 2018.
What nobody expected is that the situation would be so terrible that Bob Iger, the CEO of the company, would consider selling the company. That’s right, as reported from Bloomberg, Iger is seriously considering selling Disney. In addition, there is a buyer that the director himself would have in mind: Apple.
Bob Iger is clear on who Disney would sell to
Bob Iger’s strategy doesn’t seem to deviate from his understanding of the company. The acquisitions of 20th Century Fox, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm were carried out when he was the CEO of the company. However, he stepped down for a while and returned in 2022 to try to save what his successor, Bob Chapek, was sinking.
Since then, Iger has been doing everything possible to change the strategy, but the situation may have shifted to a new plan: selling the company. If that were the case, there would be very few bidders who could attempt to buy Disney, as it is one of the wealthiest companies on the planet. However, there is one potential interested party: Tim Cook.
It is widely known that Iger and Cook have a good relationship, and Apple has had a previous relationship with Disney. Additionally, Steve Jobs was involved with one of Disney’s brands: Pixar. However, if such a scenario were to occur, the audiovisual landscape would be completely transformed, and perhaps Disney itself as well. It would be an unprecedented change in the industry, but everything will be decided in the coming months.
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