Tag Archives: disney

Disney-Fox Merger Approved By Shareholders

Variety has more details, but the short version is that the film rights to X-Men, Fantastic Four, and their related characters now go to Disney (who owns Marvel comics). The price tag? Just $71.3 Billion. No big deal.

Let the wild speculation begin! Doctor Doom as the next “Big Bad?” Magneto? Galactus?

Personally, I’m just holding out for a Firefly/Serenity ride at Disneyland (“Oh God, oh God, We’re All Gonna Die: The Ride”). Fingers crossed.

In 2016, It was good to be Disney

The final box office tallies are in for 2016, and Disney made six of the top ten grossing films of the year. Of course, it helps to have Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel in your inventory. Disney’s performance this past year is the first time a movie studio broke $1 billion in ticket sales.

  1. Finding Dory ($486 million)
  2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ($451 million)
  3. Captain America: Civil War ($408 million)
  4. The Secret Life of Pets ($368 million)
  5. The Jungle Book ($364 million)
  6. Deadpool ($363 million)
  7. Zootopia ($341 million)
  8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($330 million)
  9. Suicide Squad ($325 million)
  10. Doctor Strange ($230 million)

 

Star Wars VIII and Avatar 2 Both Delayed

Disney has announced that Star Wars VIII will be delayed to December 2017, rather than May 2017. It sounds like they want extra time to work on the film, but also it means that the film could be another financial juggernaut with so little competition for sci-fi/action crowd. Personally, I kind of like the idea of Star Wars being a Christmas tradition (Rogue Squadron is due December of this year). It also means Disney won’t be pitting it against its other big money franchise, Marvel (in the form of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2).

James Cameron’s long-gestating Avatar 2 was scheduled for December 2017 but has now been pushed back to an unspecified date. The official word is that they want to get it just right. Frankly, I don’t think a whole lot of people are going to flock to the theaters to see a second Avatar film. The novelty of 3D is waning and it’s not like you hear folks wondering about whatever is going to happen next to the characters. The most logical next step is that the military returns, blasts the planet from orbit and then send in an overwhelming force to clean up what’s left.