If you thought Mickey Mouse was pissed that one time Joe Jonas tried standing up to him, you'll really want to keep your distance from Disney HQ today: A report late Tuesday cited a 97% plunge in the movie division's operating income, which suffered from a lack of hits, a surfeit of bloat and a fragmented vision that will receive immediate, possibly bloody front-office attention.
Brooks Barnes examined the news at the NYT, pointing out the $13 million pittance drawn in the first quarter -- a 97% drop from the same period a year ago. (Revenues were down 21% in the same frame.) General industry turbulence is to blame for some of the plunge, though Disney chief Bob Iger alluded to a "disappointing" run of releases -- perhaps best exemplified by Confessions of a Shopaholic and the Jonas Brothers' 3-D concert film -- that seem to have steepened the studio's decline. Results were a little more mixed elsewhere around Disney, where even the company's strong network performance was mitigated by slumping theme-park attendance.
Next up, Iger said: Cost-cutting "at every level," including marketing and, ultimately, production. Bedtime Stories 2? Maybe not so much. High School Musical 4? They may have to drug Zac Efron into captivity for four months, but count on it. And Pixar? Its collective kneecaps might be next for Mickey's wrath if Up underperforms later this month. Watch your backs, Mouse Housers.
ยท Operating Income in Disney's Movie Division Falls 97 Percent [Carpetbagger]