What's Going On With Walt Disney's Stock Wednesday?

Historically a box office leader, Walt Disney Co DIS trailed behind Comcast Corp CMCSA Universal Pictures in 2023. Universal's diverse portfolio of 24 films, including "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," "Oppenheimer," and "M3GAN," generated $4.907 billion globally. This achievement dethroned Disney for the first time since 2015, relegating it to second place with $4.827 billion from 17 films like "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," Variety reports.

Disney's shortfall partly reflects the release of fewer movies than Universal. 

Despite having the top 10 global releases, Disney did not feature in the top three, including Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc's WBD "Barbie" and Universal's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." 

For the first time since 2014, excluding the pandemic years, none of Disney's movies surpassed the $1 billion mark, Variety said.

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Most of Disney's 2023 releases underperformed, with "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" as the notable exception. High production costs meant even financially successful films like "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" did not meet profitability thresholds.

Universal experienced some flops, but they were less impactful than Disney's. Their hits, including "Fast X," contributed significantly to their success.

Warner Bros, Sony Group Corp SONY, and Paramount Global PARA Paramount followed in global earnings. Warner Bros. secured third place with $3.84 billion, led by "Barbie" and "The Nun II." 

Sony and Paramount each earned around $2 billion, with Sony slightly ahead due to titles like "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." 

Paramount's major releases included "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."

Price Actions: DIS shares traded higher by 0.29% at $90.97 premarket on the last check Wednesday.

Also Read: Disney Reevaluates Traditional TV Networks Amid Streaming Rise: Potential Sales and Shifts in Strategy

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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