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I'm sure there are a few out there who are sick of my complaining over the failure of Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Prince Caspian film. But, I just had to write about recent comments made by CEO Bob Iger on the subject at a conference.
Okay, in Iger's mind, the reason Caspian failed is because it is a pretty competitive multiplex out there. He feels there are "too many movies being released." He also thinks the marketplace is "very delicate, very fragile." The Mouse CEO also highlighted the fact that Disney has cut back on movie production in recent years and is therefore hopefully making better decisions about the cinematic concepts it backs.
These comments sound like excuses, Bob. Sure, it's competitive out there. Marvel's (NYSE: MVL) Iron Man and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are certainly overshadowing the brand equity of Caspian. But, is that the real reason the movie performed as poorly as it did? An interesting little note in the article is that Disney originally was going to use the same releasing strategy for Caspian as it did for the first Narnia epic. The studio intended on opening the sequel during the most recent Christmas season. But, here's why it didn't: producing partner Walden Media was opening its own movie at that time, one that was being distributed by Sony (NYSE: SNE).
As a Disney shareholder, this just drives me nuts! First of all, I hate these co-financing deals with different business entities because they tend to limit the upside profit potential for the company I'm invested in. Yes, risk is also being spread around, but to me, the movie business doesn't have to be so risky if CEO's like Bob Iger simply fight the escalating costs of producing a piece of celluloid by going after cheaper talent and simpler concepts (of course, that's a whole other discussion). Second, you can see where conflicts of interest can arise. Disney obviously thought a Christmas release period made more sense, but it wasn't able to go with its gut since its partner had its own needs.
Don't blame the competitive marketplace, Bob; you're making millions, and one who makes millions shouldn't whine about a competitive marketplace. Here's my thinking: make more movies so you'll increase your chances for success, just really focus on the budgets. I wouldn't care about Caspian's failure so much if it cost $40 million to make as opposed to costing five times as much. And find other ways to finance movies; don't take on partners. I know that's standard operating procedure in Hollywood these days, but again, you're being paid way too much to not come up with original, smarter ways of doing things.
Oh, by the way, it says in the article that Disney plans on releasing the next Narnia movie in summer 2010. Don't! Go back to a holiday release. Come on, Mr. Iger, show us you can learn something...
Disclosure: I own shares of Disney and Marvel; positions can change at any time.
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