Disney to shrink its movie division
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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: Disney thinks it can make more by doing less. Lisa Napoli tells us a poor showing in the last two quarters by the movie division prompted the company to bring out the pruning shears.
LISA NAPOLI: Disney’s been hinting at cutbacks for a while, but it hasn’t been clear until now just how much it would slash output.
Michael Speier of Daily Variety broke the story. He says look for the Disney move to have cascading effects throughout Tinseltown.
MICHAEL SPEIER:“Everything’s a copycat business in Hollywood, and if Disney can appease its shareholders by cutting back and making all those movies profitable, then everyone will say ‘Wow, that’s an amazing thing they did.'”
Unless, of course, the “eggs in fewer baskets” strategy doesn’t yield a batch of mega-hits like Pirates of the Caribbean.
If the eight movies turn out to be duds, it could leave the Mouse House chasing its tail.
In Los Angeles, I’m Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.
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