The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is officially back on track with its newest animation hit, Inside Out 2. For its debut weekend, Disney's newest theatrical release sold almost $300 million in total ticket sales across the globe, easing concerns that its storytelling magic is gone.
Disney Finally Delivers A Much-Needed Hit
With $155 million in domestic ticket sales, the only animated feature film that had a stronger opening was Incredibles 2 that made $183 million during its 2018 debut. Inside Out 2 almost topped the head turning premiere weekend of Barbie when Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (NASDAQ: WBD) made $162 million. Along with $140 million in box office receipts for international screenings, Inside Out made the total of $295 million from ticket sales. Compared to Disney's previous major animated release, Wish only wished for such a performance as failed to reach $20 million in domestic screenings during its debut weekend.
More is to Come
Next month, Disney will be releasing Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine and month after that, Alien: Romulus. In addition, eagerly anticipated sequels of Moana and The Lion King will be released before the end of the year.
Disney Is Also Advancing On The Streaming Front
All in all, Disney is in a much better place compared to last year. Disney+ and Hulu reported their first ever quarterly profit during the first three months of 2024 as it raised prices and aggressively slashed costs, taking a page from the book of the streaming king, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX). But overall, Disney's streaming business is yet to become profitable as ESPN Plus' operating loss blocked the unit from exiting the red zone. But, Disney expects to reach profitability in the September quarter.
To rival Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros have joined forces to offer their video streaming services as a streaming bundle as of this summer. Despite intense competition on the streaming front that is still dominated by Netflix who lastly reported it gathered 269.6 million subscribers across the globe, Disney and Warner Bros actually complement each other. While Disney is best known for its family-friendly content, Warner Bros brings more adult-oriented offerings with the HBO brand, Discovery documentaries and CNN news. Therefore, this collaboration is expected to lure in subscribers and result in greater retention.
Meanwhile, Netflix issued a report on Friday, showing higher subscriber engagement. With its latest media survey, Netflix showed that content improvements it made paid off as it continues to defend its streaming throne.
By the looks of it, Disney brought magic back to its magic kingdom and an exciting summer just got started.
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