On 11 Feb 2022, Steve Cummings <jthomqx@gmail.com> posted some
news:su5tlh$16tgr$6@news.freedyn.de:

> Kiss woke ass, here's a shovel for your grave. Start digging.

The Walt Disney Company is looking at an almost $900 million loss
following a series of woke flops at the box office.

According to an analysis by Valliant Renegade, which aims to look at the
business and financial side of Hollywood, the last eight studio releases
put out by the company have not performed as well as expected.

Guardians of the Galaxy and its most recent endeavor, a live-action
version of The Little Mermaid, have failed to meet expectations, while two
other recent films, Strange World and Lightyear were complete failures.

Even Disney's valuable archive has seen old characters given progressive
makeovers, with 'offensive' imagery removed from rides and movies. Some
conservatives feel the company has gone too far in its woke reinvention.

'One important aspect we always discuss here, which is worth reminding
everyone about, is that Disney retains exclusive rights to its content
after theatrical release,' Valliant Renegade explained.

Disney no longer licenses content, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe,
to third-party platforms such as Netflix and Amazon and therefore has
forfeited billions of dollars in potential revenue.

'The once envied entertainment company is now struggling to find a profit
on almost every single film released. Disney's bloated budgets for these
projects are vastly higher than the competition on average, particularly
considering the fact that every single film Disney releases comes with
blockbuster production price tags,' the YouTuber explained.

Disney would have significantly more revenue if it pursued licensing
agreements with major streaming services but instead the company is
featuring its content exclusively on their own Disney+ streaming platform.

It means that the House of Mouse is essentially being propped up by the
other profitable businesses including its theme parks & resorts and ESPN
sports.

The Little Mermaid has neared the $500 million worldwide box office
milestone despite a slow start.

Its domestic box office total is now $270.2 million and its foreign tally
stands at $229.1 million, for a worldwide total of $499.3 million.

The film dropped 21.5 percent in its fifth weekend, despite losing 205
theaters, for a revised theater count of 3,275.

The reviews from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes weren't terribly strong,
with a 67 percent 'Fresh' rating, though the audience score is much higher
at 94 percent.

The film was controversial right from the start, with the casting of 23-
year-old Black actress Halle Bailey as the title character, Ariel.

The casting led to a wave of racist remarks, claiming her casting wasn't
accurate to the character from the original 1989 animated film, voiced by
white voice actress Jodi Benson.

Benson herself defended the casting, revealing in July 2019, 'The most
important thing is to tell the story.'

'And we have, as a family, we have raised our children, and for ourselves,
that we don't see anything that's different on the outside,' Benson added.

The film was produced on a budget of reportedly $250 million, with reports
claiming the film would need to earn $560 million worldwide before turning
a profit, after considering other costs including a massive marketing
spend.

In other recent films, Lightyear, released one year ago with a reported
budget of $200 million, brought in a modest $226.7 million in worldwide
ticket sales and received a decidedly mixed critical reception.

By contrast, The Incredibles 2 in 2018, which was reported to have had a
similar production budget, had worldwide box office sales of $1.2 billion.

Lightyear could not be shown in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries
because of its depiction of a same-sex relationship. That also had an
impact on its global box office performance.

In recent years, Disney has become increasingly woke.

Under the control of current chief executive Bob Iger, Disney has followed
the progressive path of many other U.S. corporations.

In 2021, it stopped greeting park visitors as 'ladies and gentlemen, boys
and girls', replacing that with 'dreamers of all ages'.

It has slapped racism warnings on many of its best-loved films, including
Dumbo (for the raucous black crows) and Lady And The Tramp (for the
sinister Siamese cats).

Its resorts it ditched Minnie's polka dot dress to be replaced with a
Stella McCartney-designed trouser suit and the fairy godmothers in
Sleeping Beauty that were deemed too exclusionary of men.

The brand has made numerous steps towards becoming more progressive
recently - it included a gay kiss between two characters in Lightyear.

A new live-action film of Snow White, due out next year, has dispensed
with the dwarves to 'avoid reinforcing stereotypes' and will have a Latina
actress in the title role.

The move comes as Disney has laid off 7,000 employees in a cost-cutting
move. The cuts are part of Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger's
previously announced plan to slash $5.5 billion in costs.

The restructuring combines the film and television groups into a single
Disney Entertainment unit and eliminates a division charged with
distribution.

Iger had been working to revive Disney's streaming business while ensuring
the stability of their theme parks but he has also been dealing with
efforts by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to take over Disney World's theme
park district.

The feud between DeSantis and Disney started last year after the company,
in the face of significant pressure, publicly opposed legislation
concerning a bill that critics called 'Don't Say Gay.'

Then-Disney boss Bob Chapek pledged to fight for the repeal of the law
banning schools from teaching five to nine-year-olds about sexual
orientation and gender identity.

As punishment, DeSantis took over Disney World's governing district
through legislation passed by lawmakers and appointed a new board of
supervisors.

DeSantis ended a 55-year-old deal that allowed Disney World to govern its
vast resort itself � right down to controlling its own water, roads and
emergency services. The deal saved Disney millions of dollars in taxes.

The governor said the action was aimed at holding Disney accountable for
entertainment he said is inappropriate for children.

'The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,' he proclaimed. 'There's a
new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.'

Before the new board started, Disney pulled a fast one and signed
agreements with the old board made up of Disney supporters that stripped
the new supervisors of design and construction authority.

Chapek was removed as CEO in November 2022 sparking speculation that the
company's commitment to 'wokeness' during his tenure may have led to his
ouster.

During Chapek's tenure, Disney+ domestic subscriber growth collapsed,
public approval of the company dropped and the stock price plummeted.

In response, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed
legislation allowing the DeSantis-appointed board to repeal those
agreements and made the theme park resort's monorail system subject to
state inspection, when it previously had been done in-house.

Iger has vowed to keep challenging DeSantis and his administration.
DeSantis, in turn, appears determined to stick to his guns, hoping that
his anti-woke crusade against Disney World will benefit him politically.

The lawsuit continues in federal court, with DeSantis recently asking a
judge to dismiss the case.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12236445/Woke-Disney-loses-
900Million-recent-box-office-flops-liberal-agenda-turns-movie-goers.html