Disney is going through some rough times. AVClub reports how the world’s biggest entertainment corporation reported the first quarterly losses since 2001. According to the article, Disney lost $4.72 billion between April and June, and its total revenue dropped 42 percent to $11.8 billion. This is hardly surprising: the COVID-19 pandemic forced governments to close both cinemas and theme parks all over the world, cutting off Disney’s revenue stream in the process. Last December, Mouse House earned one-third of the domestic box office, with movies like Aladdin, Captain Marvel, Frozen II, The Lion King and Toy Story 4 each grossing over $1 billion while Avengers: Endgame became the most successful film in cinema history by grossing $2,8 billion.
On a more encouraging note, Disney Plus is succeeding beyond expectations. During a recent investors call, CEO Bob Chapek revealed Disney’s streaming service now has over 60 million subscribers, which is a target number they aimed for by the year 2024. Once again, this is because of the pandemic that made everyone stay at home and watch whatever was available online. Oh, and Hamilton. During the July 4th weekend, when Hamilton premiered on Disney Plus, downloads of Disney Plus App went up 74% compared to the four-weekend average before that. In any case, while 60 million subscribers are still a far cry from Netflix’s 200 million subscribers, the results are impressive.
