Disney Cashes in on Fox Acquisition at Oscars

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 14, 2020

The Walt Disney Company has cashed in nicely on its Fox acquisition in terms of Oscar nominations.

The battle between Hollywood titans – new and long established – was on display with the announcement of Oscar nominations, as Netflix – the new in Hollywood – garnered 24 nominations, and Disney – the long-established in Hollywood – came in number two with 23 nominations. One gets the feeling that the Netflix-vs.-Disney battle will be playing out in all kinds of ways for years to come, from the number of streaming subscribers to the luring of talent to the number of award nominations and wins. Although innovation and technology offer no guarantees to either Netflix or Disney.

As for Disney’s nominations, key big ones were thanks to Fox. For example, Disney’s two Best Picture nominees were both Fox products – Ford v Ferrari and JoJo Rabbit. (Check out our review of Ford v Ferrari in which we concluded: “Perhaps there will be some nominations at Oscar time that will give this worthy movie an extra boost at the box office.”) Scarlett Johansson also earned one of her two actress nominations for Jojo Rabbit. 

In total, Ford v Ferrari earned four nominations, and Jojo Rabbit came in with six. Toss in a nomination for sound mixing for Ad Astra (see our review of this solid film), and one for original song for Breakthrough, and 12 of the Disney nominations came thanks to Fox.

Among other notables, John Williams’ score for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker received a nomination, and Toy Story 4was nominated for best animated feature (see our review for a different take on Toy Story 4). For good measure, Avengers Endgame, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Lion King were all nominated for best visual effects.

Stay tuned. We’ll have more to say on Endgame in the next DisneyBizJournal piece on the Oscars.

The Oscars will be awarded on Sunday evening, February 9^th.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

The Big Jump Back for Star Wars at Disney

by Ray Keating

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 6, 2020

If any doubt existed about the success of Star Wars at the box office, it has been laid to rest. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is closing on $1 billion at the box office.

Perhaps some will respond: “Yeah, so what?” Well, let’s put this in perspective.

Consider that while Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) earned $1.3 billion in box office gross, it also – as we have noted before – failed miserably in terms of story and fan appeal. Its fan score on RottenTomatoes.com stands at a miserable 43 percent.

That was followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story, which, while a solid Star Warsentry, failed at the box office, taking in only $393 million. The likely total cost for the film topped $400 million.

So, Disney and LucasFilm had reason to be nervous about the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And then came mixed reviews from critics, with a score of 54 percent on RottenTomatoes.com. 

But actual moviegoers and fans have given a resounding thumbs up, with an 86 percent score on RottonTomatoes.com and handing over $919 million in box office gross through yesterday, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. So, while The Rise of Skywalker has only been out for two weeks, its gross has managed to beat the full box office take for Solo by 134 percent ... and counting. I’m guessing that Skywalker will wind up topping the $1.3 billion raked in by The Last Jedi.

At the same time, the lengthy lines and glowing reviews for the Star Wars: The Rise of the Resistance attraction in Walt Disney World – which will open on January 17 in Disneyland – and the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ points to Star Wars relief and profits at Disney. 

And yes, in a told-you-so moment, this is exactly what DisneyBizJournal predicted in previous pieces. You’re welcome. ;-) 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solutionand the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

The Rise of Skywalker Earns 4 Stars! Has “Star Wars Heart” (Spoiler Free Review)

by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 21, 2019

DisneyBizJournal.com Movie Rating: 4 stars out of 5

DisneyBizJournal.com Box Office Rating:  $$$$ out of $$$$

When I was growing up and the Star Wars-vs.-Star Trek battle raged, I ranked as a Trek fan. However, while still appreciating Star Trek – particularly the Kirk, Spock and McCoy relationship in the original series and related movies – I gradually have become much more of a Star Wars than a Star Trek fan. Why? I came to an answer only recently. In the end, Star Wars has more heart than Star Trek. And yes, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has plenty of “Star Wars heart.”

So, what’s “Star Wars heart”? Well, in the lingo of “The Force,” it’s a feeling emerging from a combination of joy, adventure, courage, determination, optimism, humor, a willingness to sacrifice, and hope, along with characters who moviegoers come to love.

After Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which suffered from a severe shortage of “Star Wars heart,” many people wondered if Star Wars could bounce back with The Rise of Skywalker. Director J.J. Abrams and the film’s cast pulled it off in stellar fashion. The Rise of Skywalker is a worthy end to the nine-movie, three-trilogies Skywalker tale. (Not, of course, the end of Star Wars stories.)

As for the reviewers who either didn’t like The Rise of Skywalker, or found it middling or uneven, I struggle wondering what movie they wound up watching. Because it certainly wasn’t the film I saw and thoroughly enjoyed. Maybe each of those less-than-pleased critics had a bad day, or perhaps they don’t like epic films that excel in storytelling (including some needed repairs after The Last Jedi), visual effects, emotional power, drama, and humor.

And unlike the character mess in The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker stays true to and advances each character, which should be appreciated by Star Wars fans and filmgoers in general

Quite simply, to not like The Rise of Skywalker is to not like a great time at the movies.

As for the box office numbers, things look strong for Star Wars and Disney, with the opening box office tally as of Friday, December 20 (i.e., opening day), registering $149 million globally.

So, grab the popcorn (check out the cool souvenir popcorn bucket I picked up at an AMC theater) and a cool drink, and enjoy Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And when you get a chance, go see it again. That’s my plan.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Fans Ignore Critics – Apparently Love “Rise of Skywalker”

by Ray Keating

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 20, 2019

According to RottenTomatoes.com, fans seem to love Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – serving up a stellar score for the film. The fans’ assessment stands in stark contrast to the score offered by assembling reviews by critics.

Earlier this week, I asserted that critics don’t generally “get” Star Wars, and while not having seen the movie yet myself, the critics vs. the audience scores seem to back up this declaration. Indeed, as noted in the following graphic, fans got it right on The Last Jedi,while reviewers were dead wrong. 

So, I’m betting that the fans get it on The Rise of Skywalker compared to critics.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Disney Stock Price Falls on “Rise of Skywalker” Reviews – Really?

by Ray Keating

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 19, 2019

Trying to explain stock price movements minute-to-minute and even day-to-day can be a dangerous game. That includes movement in the price of a share of stock in The Walt Disney Company based on critics' reviews of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

But in this Internet age of clickbait, why not, right? As a result, we see the following head line from Investor’s Business Daily: “Disney Stock Falls As Reviews For 'Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker' Come In.” It was stated: “Walt Disney has high hopes pinned on ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ to revive a flagging franchise, but critics are mostly meh about this finale to the monumental Skywalker saga. Disney stock fell...” – “down 1%.”

Hmmm. Given that we haven’t seen audience reactions as yet, and the reviews actually are not “mostly meh,” but instead are deeply divisive so far, ranging from declaring The Rise of Skywalker to be among the best or the worst Star Wars movies, perhaps we should keep our investing powder dry until we’re able to gauge what audiences think. After all, critics are, well, just critics, and their views often fail to line up with audience reactions and spending.

Disney might or might not have a hit on its hands. But I think it’s safe to say that The Rise of Skywalker will not be any kind of box-office bomb. Rather, this movie seems destined to make big bucks. Oh yes, and given The Mandalorian on Disney+ and the positive response to the Rise of the Resistance attraction in Disney World, “flagging franchise” might not exactly be the right phrase for the current state of Star Wars. More on that with our upcoming review of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker this weekend.

One more thing: Investor’s Business Daily did note that Disney’s stock is up 35 percent so far this year.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Before Succumbing to Dark Side Reviews of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

by Ray Keating

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 18, 2019

But for the most extreme cases, I never put much stock in the opinions of movie critics. That’s worth keeping in mind before seeing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

I haven’t seen the movie yet. That’s scheduled for Saturday afternoon. And yes, after seeing the film, I will write my own review. But whether it be my review or any other, it’s always best to see the movie for yourself, and formulate your own views.

And that piece of common sense might be more important when seeing a Star Wars film more so than any other movie. Why? It seems pretty clear to me that movie critics – and I’m generalizing here – tend not to “get” Star Wars. How can I make such an assertion?

Well, consider that the RottenTomatoes.com aggregated critics score for Star Wars: The Last Jedi was 91 percent. And that was for the worstStar Warsfilm EVER MADE. Therefore, when glancing at a RottonTomatoes.com score of 57 percent (as of this afternoon) from critics for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I am heartened. 

Indeed, consider the following comment from Ryan Parker at The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s amazing. Last Jedi haters will be very pleased.” Yes! Bring on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker!

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.