Disney CEO Says Marvel Studios To Focus On Quality Over Quantity After Box Office Failures – News18

Marvel Studios faced box office challenges in 2023 as some films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels didn’t perform as expected, apart from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Responding to the audience’s concerns, Disney CEO Bob Iger recently announced a shift in focus towards quality films. Speaking at The Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Iger spoke about Disney’s commitment and mentioned that he has cancelled a few projects as they weren’t worthy enough. Interestingly, Iger himself is overseeing new movie productions and feels confident about the upcoming projects. This comment came after Iger last year claimed that the company prioritised quantity over quality and now, he believes the key is delivering great films.

He said, “We’re doing a lot. When we talk about improving our film slate, there are really three approaches. One is you have to kill things you no longer believe and that’s not easy in this business. Because either you’ve gotten started, you have some costs. It’s a relationship with either your employees or with a creative community. And it’s not an easy thing. But you gotta make those tough calls. We’ve not been that public about it, but we’ve killed a few projects already that we just didn’t feel were strong enough.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger dismissed the idea that audiences are tired of superhero movies, he stated, “They want great films and if you build it great, they will come and there are countless examples of that. Some are ours and some are others. Focus is really important. We reduced the output of Marvel, both the number of films they make, and the number of TV shows and that really becomes critical, but I feel good about the team. I feel good about the IP we’re making.”

Iger further spoke about his involvement in the filmmaking process and claims he spends majority time with makers, providing feedback and personally watches films multiple times with the team. He even looks after the director, casting process and script details. The Disney CEO believes that past films are the proof of their success.

Meanwhile, Bob Iger feels positive for its 2024 film lineup and praised the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, describing it as “one of the better films in the franchise.” Additionally, he expressed enthusiasm for the sequels of popular animated films, Inside Out and Moana, along with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe’, Deadpool & Wolverine, which might become the most successful MCU movies in a long time.

This year, the Marvel film featuring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is the sole release. Starting next year, the studio has numerous ambitious projects, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four, Blade, Spider Man 4 and two Avengers films. Apart from films, the studio will launch several series, like Agatha, Ironheart and Daredevil: Born Again.