The last few months have not been particularly kind to Disney at the box office. They’ve dominated theaters with titles like ‘Toy Story 5’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, but where some succeed others fail. After months without taking off in cinemas, today one of the company’s biggest representatives publicly acknowledged what everyone knew: two of its latest films have disappointed the company.
It was spoken by the very Disney CEO, Josh D’Amaro, who did not hesitate to point the finger at these flops. He specifically mentions ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and ‘Moana’, two of the company’s biggest bets for 2026. They failed to convince neither the audience nor the critics, so the losses tied to them are undeniable for the executive.
There Is a Lesson in Every Setback
Even with this gloomy tone, D’Amaro believes that both productions have a positive side to highlight beyond the cinema. “Even when our franchise films do not meet our box-office expectations, as happened with ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ and with the live-action version of ‘Moana’, our investments in these properties drive other areas of the company,” he explained in a statement to Disney shareholders.
“‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ propelled solid growth in the franchise’s Star Wars retail sales and drew visitors to the Millennium Falcon attractions at Disneyland and Disney World, in addition to boosting the video game sector. Meanwhile, we expect the live-action version of ‘Moana’ to be a major success on Disney+, leveraging the success of the original film, which is one of the most-watched streaming titles of all time”.
No problem
Josh D’Amaro’s words won’t fix the box-office disappointment of the films, but they shed light on a company truth: Disney goes far beyond cinema. The company thrives on intellectual properties that endure in popular culture, which leads people to spend much more money on theme parks and merchandise. Star Wars will press ahead with expansion plans in film with ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’, and the company’s live-action projects have their sights set on the sequel to ‘Lilo & Stitch’.
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