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.

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.

Disney Will Have Seven $1-Billion-Plus 2019 Releases

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 16, 2019

Over the weekend, Disney’s Frozen 2 topped $1 billion in box office receipts. That makes the sixth Disney release in 2019 to exceed the billion-dollar mark.

According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Frozen 2 has now raked in $1.03 billion worldwide. The other five billion-dollar babies so far this year for Disney have been:

• Captain Marvel at $1.13 billion

• Aladdin at $1.07 billion

• The Lion King at $1.66 billion

• Avengers: Endgame at $2.8 billion

• Toy Story 4 at $1.07 billion

But, of course, the next billion-dollar earner opens later this week – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That, too, will top a billion (perhaps $2 billion?).

Much has been made of Disney fumbling Star Wars. But The Mandalorian on Disney+ and the huge demand for the Disney World ride Rise of the Resistance tell another story. If director J.J. Abrams erases the failure (or at least reduces the sting) of Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, most negative talk about Star Wars will give way to excitement about what’s next.

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 Closes Out 2019 with Big Tests

by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

December 1, 2019

November and December of this year rank as an important moment for The Walt Disney Company. Specifically, it’s a time of creative and financial tests for the House of Mouse. It also captures the firm’s reach across forms of entertainment.

The company came through November in stellar fashion.

First, the Disney+ streaming service launched on November 12 in generally smooth fashion, and the number of subscribers moved beyond the 10-million mark in a day. That was welcome news in financial markets. For good measure, the content has been impressive, from the existing vast Disney-owned library to originals, including, most notably, The Mandalorian.

Second, on November 15, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows) was launched to rave reviews in the gaming community. It has become a big hit in terms of sales as well, according to a variety of reports.

Third, looking forward to what’s coming this month, the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride opens on December 5 in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park. (It will open on January 17, 2020, in Disneyland.) Disney describes Rise of the Resistance as “a massive attraction with multiple ride systems that is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced at Walt Disney World Resort.” 

The Rise of the Resistance ride will be another test for Disney’s investment in Galaxy’s Edge at both Walt Disney World and in Disneyland. Doom-and-gloom talk about Galaxy’s Edge largely has been off the mark. With the opening of Rise of the Resistance, I fully expect Galaxy’s Edge to become a much more obvious plus for Walt Disney World and the company, which will be further fed by the eventual arrival of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser immersive hotel. For good measure, the success of Star Wars streaming originals like The Mandalorian will further feed interest in Galaxy’s Edge.

Fourth, there is the arrival of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in theaters on December 20. This film perhaps ranks as the true test of Disney’s magic regarding Star Wars. Quite simply, the question is: Can The Rise of Skywalker make people forget the financial failure of Solo: A Star Wars Story and the creative mess of Star Wars: The Last Jedi? That part of the story will be told soon, but for now, we know that early ticket sales point to a big opening weekend topping $200 million domestically.

If The Rise of Skywalker turns out to be a financial and fan hit – as I expect – that will feed back into further Star Wars success for Disney on the streaming, theme park, gaming and movie fronts.  Oh yeah, and don’t get me started on Star Wars merchandise. Yes, November and December 2019 serve as a kind of test period for Disney, which the company is likely to pass with flying colors.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Disney Synergy: Star Wars and Monday Night Football

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 20, 2019

“Synergy” is a term tossed around a great deal in the business world. It simply means that the combined efforts of two or more individuals or organizations can produce more than each would separately. Therefore, “synergy” is almost always referenced when two businesses merge.

Synergy is big with Disney, and it will be on display on Monday night, October 21^st. How so?

During halftime of ESPN’s Monday Night Football, the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released, after which fans will be able to start purchasing tickets to see this ninth and final installment in the Star Wars Skywalker saga. The movie opens on December 20^th.

Of course, Disney owns ESPN and it owns Star Wars. Yes, synergy is strong with this firm.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Star Wars and JJ: Daunting Story and Box Office Challenges

by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

October 18, 2019

J.J. Abrams faces some big challenges with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which will hit theaters on December 20^th.  Is he ready? Well, according to an Entertainment Weekly report, Abrams declared, “We went into this thing knowing it has to be an ending. We’re not screwing around.”

Abrams faces the monumental task of wrapping up the nine-movie Star Wars Skywalker saga that began in 1977, and has become a cultural icon. EW also quoted Abrams, co-writer and director of The Rise of Skywalker, saying, “Endings are the thing that scare me the most.” Yeah, I bet.

But Abrams’ job was made far more difficult given that the eighth entry in the Skywalker series – Star Wars: The Last Jedi – has become so universally, well, hated. And quite frankly, justifiably so. The Last Jedi director and writer Rian Johnson turned out to be the exact wrong man for the job. It’s clear that he failed to understand key Star Wars characters – most glaringly, Luke Skywalker – and other story choices were made that made little sense. (For example, why were Rose and Finn off doing what they were doing? And the space ship chase made sense how? And Leia survived what? And Luke was where? You get the idea. Ugh.)

As a result, J.J. must do triple duty with The Rise of Skywalker in terms of the story. First, he has to satisfactorily close out the Skywalker tale spanning eight previous films. He also must deal with finishing specifics to this final trilogy. And he has to somehow repair at least some of the damage Johnson did. No wonder Abrams admitted to being a bit scared.

In turn, his work on the story obviously feeds into the box office. It’s kind of interesting to note that every Star Wars movie was a box office success, until the most recent one – Solo: A Star Wars Story. So, The Last Jedi, which, for example, serves up a miserable audience score on RottenTomatoes.com of 44 percent, still raked in an incredible $1.3 billion at the box office. However, Solo, while scoring notably higher, though still not great, with audiences at 64 percent on RottenTomatoes.com, wound up losing money, pulling in a box office gross of only $393 million. (See our postmortem on Solo: A Star Wars Story and related issues.) It’s like fans went to see The Last Jedi more than once, just to make sure they didn’t like it, and then decided not to bother with Solo at all. (By the way, the more I watch Solo, the more I like; and the more I watch The Last Jedi, the more it dislike it.)

So, J.J. Abrams – and therefore, of course, Disney – faces formidable story and business challenges. The longtime Star Wars fan in me is rooting hard for Abrams to pull it all off (and yes, the trailers have me excited). The analyst in me is cautiously optimistic.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.