Disney Linear TV Networks “Not For Sale,” CEO Bob Iger Says, Though “Unbelievably Rigorous” Internal Review Continues To Gauge Their Long-Term Strategic Value

Bob Iger likely wishes 2023 looked a lot more like 2019.

J. Kim Murphy Bob Iger sang for his supper at the end of 2019 — his final full year in his first tenure as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company. The exec’s self-penned performance evaluation was disclosed Tuesday as one of many significant documents in a class action lawsuit that alleges that the company discriminates against female employees and pays them less than their male peers.

Showtime‘s linear network, which launched more than four decades ago during the early days of cable, will officially get a new name on January 8, 2024.

Dennis Harvey Film Critic The urge to dazzle can be its own straitjacket, and it’s one that weighs heavily on Meshal Aljaser’s feature debut “Naga.” He aims for a hurtling virtuosity, à la “Run Lola Run,” in depicting a disobedient young Saudi woman’s extreme travails in trying to get home before her strict curfew. But that quarter-century-old German thriller’s simplicity of plot supported its hyperbolic style, while here the writer-director is so preoccupied with camera and editorial calisthenics, nothing else has a chance to come into focus.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Get ready to see “The Kardashians” standing next to Baby Yoda on your Disney+ home screen. Beginning Dec. 6, the significant majority of Hulu content will be available on Disney+ in the U.S.

Five years after snagging a majority stake in A3, Adam Bold is being accused of “a campaign of chaos” by the Agency’s CEO and president and being a coke addict, a “creeping” leach who created a toxic and hostile workplace, and a spendthrift who is steering “what remains of a once-great company into bankruptcy.”

Nearly three months after Charter Communications and Disney struck a landmark distribution deal, Charter CFO Jessica Fischer said it “absolutely” has created a template for future agreements.

Elon Musk has struck up a feud with… Paris Hilton!? What the heck?

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Paris Hilton‘s eponymous kitchenware brand has joined a growing list of companies and brands to pull ads from X (formerly Twitter), amid concerns over antisemitic content on the platform. Hilton’s “Be an Icon” campaign, featuring videos and photos of the heiress-turned-entrepreneur posing with the pink-hued kitchen items, were pushed out on X up until last week.

The Marvels” won’t live up to its sparkling title.The Disney-produced superhero movie, from all indications, will wind up as the lowest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in its entire 15-year history.While the film starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris opened less than a month ago — and has so far grossed a scant $80 million domestically and $197 worldwide — any hopes of it becoming a sleeper hit have disappeared.According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 33rd MCU film’s box office dropped a staggering 78% in its second weekend, and it’s only gotten worse from there.And Variety reported that Disney sent a note to press saying, “With ‘The Marvels’ box office now winding down, we will stop weekend reporting of international/global grosses on this title.”The previous record-holder for biggest MCU loser was 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” starring Mark Ruffalo, with $80 million domestically and $264.7 million worldwide. The numbers for “The Marvels” are especially dire when you consider the boffo earnings of the studio’s most popular titles: “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.8 billion worldwide); “The Avengers” ($1.52 billion); “Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($1.4 billion).

Disney CEO Bob Iger blames the pandemic effect as part of the reason for the dismal box office results on The Marvels.

partly blamed the debacle on a lack of “supervision.” ″‘The Marvels’ was shot during COVID,” Iger, 72, said. “There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.” Variety previously reported that the director of “The Marvels,” Nia DaCosta, began another project during postproduction.“If you’re directing a $250 million movie, it’s kind of weird for the director to leave with a few months to go,” a source told the trade.“The Marvels,” the 33rd film in the MCU, had the lowest opening weekend at the box office ever for the franchise, grossing just $47 million domestically.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Linda Yaccarino, who’s already facing an uphill battle in winning over advertisers to X, has her work cut out for her to restore trust with big marketers after her boss profanely dissed those who had suspended advertising from the platform. Almost six months into her gig as CEO of X, Yaccarino continues to try to clean up PR messes created by Elon Musk, the shoot-from-the-lip megabillionaire and self-appointed defender of free speech who owns the company formerly known as Twitter.

Disney CEO Bob Iger had plenty to say about the MCU‘s current issues at The New York Times‘ annual BookDeal summit yesterday. But CNN reports that Iger also had a multilayered explanation for why “The Marvels” did so poorly in theaters earlier this month, taking in just $47 million domestically its opening weekend.

Michael Fassbender has taken a long break from movies, seemingly enjoying fatherhood, marriage, and racing at Le Mans. But the actor does have two films in theaters now (or one on streaming anyhow), Taika Waiti’s “Next Goal Wins” (read our review) and David Fincher’s “The Killer” (read our review).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After activist investor Nelson Peltz announced his intention to renew his proxy battle to secure seats on Disney’s board, the company responded by alleging former Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter — who is in league with Peltz’s Trian Fund Management — has a personal grudge against Disney chief Bob Iger. In a statement responding to Trian’s announcement, Disney said that Perlmutter “was terminated from his employment by Disney earlier this year and has voiced his longstanding personal agenda against Disney’s CEO, Robert A.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit (via CNBC) following “The Marvels” flopping at the box office that there was a lack of supervision on the set of the film as a result of the COVID pandemic. The combination of pandemic set restrictions and Disney’s increased output due to the launch of streamer Disney+ made it increasingly difficult for studio executives to oversee the onslaught of new productions.

One of 2023’s biggest stories in the entertainment industry is Disney CEO Bob Iger‘s call to retrofit the swollen release calendar of various IPs, namely the MCU and the “Star Wars” universe. Iger’s reasons? The sheer glut of releases in theaters and on streaming dilutes focus and attention from moviegoers and lowers the overall quality of what Disney creates.

The Walt Disney Co. has added former Group CEO of Sky Jeremy Darroch and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman to its board of directors and said Francis A. deSouza plans to surrender his seat at the end of his term.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A visibly irate Elon Musk said advertisers who pulled spending from X/Twitter, following his post that endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, were trying to “blackmail” the company and threatened to drive it into bankruptcy. Musk, currently the world’s wealthiest individual, had a message to big advertisers including Disney that halted spending on his social network: “Go fuck yourself… Go. Fuck.