Once the public face of squeaky-clean, harmless family entertainment, the Walt Disney Corporation has evolved into a widespread conglomerate known as much for the properties it controls as the films it produces. With subsidiaries including Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, A&E, 20th Century Fox, ESPN, Hulu, and Pixar, Disney has a commanding control of some of the world’s most lucrative franchises, plus an extensive library of film and TV classics. Its streaming service Disney+ signals a new interest in controlling its own online distribution, setting aside decades of licensing partnerships. Follow along with The Verge as we look at Disney’s new films and shows, and its strategies for dominating the box office and the streaming dollar.
After Disney agreed to buy Comcast’s 33 percent stake in Hulu with an initial payment of $8.6 billion, the two companies entered arbitration to determine Hulu’s fair value. Now, Disney says in an SEC filing that it could end up paying up to $5 billion depending on the outcome of arbitration.
In the Apple Vision Pro, that is. Disney Plus has rolled out a National Geographic edition virtual environment for its visionOS app that lets you watch movies in a snowy corridor in Iceland’s Thingvellir National Park.
The environment uses “3D models captured on-site using photogrammetry,” according to Disney’s announcement. When you watch a movie, it turns dark and shows you the Northern Lights!
It’s probably going to be a while before we see some of Disney Plus’ new Doctor Who spin-off series, but Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor will be back this winter in a new Christmas special featuring Nicola Coughlan.
Disney says the movie has now passed $1.462 billion globally, making it the top-grossing animated film ever, passing the likes of Frozen II and the Super Mario Bros. Movie. It also remains the highest-grossing film of 2024 so far.
Beneath the dick jokes and solid X-Men cameos, Deadpool & Wolverine feels like Marvel’s way of admitting how much of a mess its multiverse era has been.
Season 1 of The Acolyte was a master class in deepening Star Wars’ lore rather than just playing into its nostalgic past.
Though it seemed like the Russo brothers were ready to put the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind them, the duo are in early talks to direct both Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars according to The Hollywood Reporter.
There will be plenty of traditional television series like Shōgun and The Bear in the running at the 76th Emmys in September. But given how many Netflix, HBO, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, and Amazon projects were just nominated for awards, this year’s competition seems like it could easily go to the streamers.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
The Disney CEO, along with Willow Bay, has purchased a controlling stake in NWSL club Angel City FC at a value of $250 million, which the team says makes it “the most valuable women’s sports team in the world.” (The club is no stranger to celebrity owners, with founders like Alexis Ohanian and Natalie Portman.) Now we sit and wait for the inevitable docuseries on Disney Plus.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney is trying to make its streaming platforms work and feel more like Netflix. For example:
New features in the works at Disney include a more-personalized algorithm to power content recommendations, customized promotional art for new shows and movies based on subscriber’s tastes and usage history, and emails sent to viewers who stop watching in the middle of a series reminding them to finish, according to people familiar with the matter.
There’s lots more in the full story.
Though there isn’t all that much new to see in Deadpool & Wolverine’s latest trailer, it features our best look yet at the film’s live-action takes on what seems to be the Deadpool Kid (a cowboy variant) and Lady Deadpool (a woman named Wanda with a sick-ass ponytail.)
As explained by Front Office Sports, the NBA is waiting to see if TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery will try to match any part of the reported $76 billion in offers from NBC, ESPN, and Amazon.
WBD’s (not-HBO) Max could try to match Prime Video, but with a smaller audience than Amazon’s service, matching might not be enough.
Tech reporter Janko Roettgers shared screenshots of the in-the-works live sports streaming app from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox in his Lowpass newsletter. Some features spotted by Roettgers include a DVR capability to record live events, multiview for watching multiple streams at once, and a tab dedicated to live programming.
I think most people will be worthy, considering how easy it is to unlock this lock shaped like the MCU version of Thor’s hammer.
Truth be told, I’d still find something to use it for.
The first two episodes of the Star Wars series will appear in theaters before it starts streaming on Disney Plus on June 4th. Showings are only available in select theaters in the US — and most of them are already sold out.
The first teaser for the next Moana movie — animated, not live-action — looks a lot like the original but larger in scale, which means some very impressive water effects and gigantic sea creatures. The movie hits theaters on November 27th.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies says that bringing a bit more fantasy to the sci-fi show was key to making the new season feel fresh.
