Disney's Bob Iger Confirms Content Slowdown for Marvel, Star Wars

Disney CEO Bob Iger admits that the expansion of content, particularly from Marvel in the TV space, has "diluted focus and attention" amongst fans.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said there will be a content slowdown for both Marvel and Star Wars as the company looks to cut costs as box office numbers have begun to slump.

During a chat with CNBC, Iger admitted Disney will pump the brakes a bit on making movies and TV series for its Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm franchises in an attempt to cut costs as well as bring a bit more focus to both entities. Iger said, "You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less." This move comes as Disney has seen some costly misses lately at the box office from projects with massive budgets.

Iger acknowledged some of those misses, but the CEO cited Marvel in particular because the brand began to pump up its original content theatrically and on streaming. The streaming move was to give a boost to Disney+ and garner more subscribers, but he believes this affected fan focus. Iger said, "Marvel is a great example of that. It had not been in the television business at any significant level, and not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of TV series. Frankly, it diluted focus and attention."

Disney's Recent Decline

Disney made it clear that they were making moves to exist most cost-effectively when they announced they would cut 7,000 jobs to help slash $5.5 billion in costs. The firing of 7,000 employees, around 3 percent of the company's workforce, was part of Disney's $5.5 billion cost-cutting plan, which has also seen the removal of shows and movies from Disney+.

From a financial standpoint, taking a step back from making content from these brands makes sense due to the fact that they have oversaturated the market and the results have been mixed. Earlier this year, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opened to franchise-best numbers, but the Marvel film saw swift declines in subsequent weeks amid polarizing reviews from critics and fans. The movie ultimately grossed $476 million worldwide but given its $200 million budget, there wasn't much profit, if any, made on the project.

On the other hand, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was released to mostly positive reviews from critics and fans, and it has become the second most successful film of the summer at the domestic box office. To date, the Guardians' sequel has grossed $357.8 million domestically and $841.7 million worldwide.