Disney Got Its Groove Back in 2024, but Troubled ‘Snow White’ Could Halt the Hot Streak

variety.com:

Tatiana Siegel When Bob Iger returned to the Disney CEO throne at the end of 2022, his first order of business was to dismantle a structure that saw the studio’s distribution and creative divisions operating separately.

Instead, he put distribution and marketing under the control of Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. One year later, Iger made clear that Disney would stay far away from the culture wars that had taken a toll on the company’s stock price amid a revolt from conservative consumers. “Creators lost sight of what their No.

1 objective needed to be,” he said at the DealBook Summit. “We have to entertain first. It’s not about messages.” Fast-forward to 2024, and “Moana 2” marks the fulfilment of those two adjustments — a movie able to pivot from its planned release on Disney+ and escape the wrath of right-wing influencers who believe the studio had been pushing a “woke” ideology, a perception stoked by activist shareholder Nelson Peltz.

The animated sequel, which features a voice cast led by Dwayne Johnson — an actor whose appeal straddles both sides of the political divide — shattered Thanksgiving box office records en route to a $386 million worldwide haul.