ROTTEN TOMATOES: Disney Hits Jackpot, Announces a Bunch of Layoffs

Disney Hits Jackpot, Announces a Bunch of Layoffs

by Scott Weinberg | July 12, 2006

So you come in to work at Disney on Monday morning, expecting everyone to be all smiles and excited about the "pirate booty" that was made over the weekend. Or maybe you're happy to notice that "Cars" crossed the $200 million mark over the same weekend. And the comes a memo from the boss that says "You're fired."

From Variety by way of ComingSoon.net: "While "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" set another record on Monday, grossing $18.1 million to beat the previous nonholiday Monday benchmark of $14.4 million set by "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," Disney is tightening its belt.

According to Variety, Walt Disney Pictures will announce within the next 10 days that it's cutting back on the number of films it makes to around eight per year -- it currently releases around 18 -- and will substantially reduce its workforce. All movies will be Disney-branded, meaning companies like Touchstone could be vastly diminished. The cutbacks will be far greater than many anticipated, as studio chairman Dick Cook looks to reinvent the architecture of his studio. The move reflects an effort to improve the studio's return on investment and get infrastructure back into line.

While Disney's having a grand summer with "Pirates" and with Pixar's "Cars," this year has seen some major misfires: "Stick It," "Annapolis," "Stay Alive" and especially "The Wild."

Related Items

Movie:	Cars
	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
	Stay Alive
	The Wild
	Annapolis

(1-20 of 21 posts) | Reply

Elixir writes:
on Jul 12 2006 09:55 AM

another record for monday, wow.

(Reply to this)

renodc writes:
on Jul 12 2006 10:53 AM

I saw Pirates Monday evening. The theater was packed out, and Superman was very poorly attended. After seeing Pirates which was good, I have to say Superman is getting the shaft because even though it could have been better it was still a great movie that was far superior to Pirates.

(Reply to this)

t1111t writes:
on Jul 12 2006 11:42 AM

In reply to this comment (#840054)
[b]Agreed[/b]
Looks like the bigwigs at Disney are "giving nothing back" to many of their employees.

Everyone expected for Superman to get bumped off the radar once Pirates came out. Pirates has the star power, Superman doesn't even though it was, as you said, a far superior film. What teenage girl is gonna pass up Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom for Kevin Spacey and Brandon Routh?

(Reply to this)

jeremyd4 writes:
on Jul 12 2006 11:44 AM

In reply to this comment (#840054)
Superman superior? I thought it was a pretty average film, that wanted to be something more, but just never pulled it off. Not everything Brian Singer touches turns to gold. I work in a cinema and the people coming out of Superman are either dissapointed or like "Yeah it was pretty good"... but Pirates is being far better received by the public.

(Reply to this)

I Am Remote writes:
on Jul 12 2006 11:46 AM

Eighteen movies to eights? That's a huge decrease. I thought Disney was doing good business lately, and they had straightened it out with Pixar.

(Reply to this)

killermonkey822 writes:
on Jul 12 2006 11:58 AM

superman was one of the best movies of the year and bryan singer did what he wanted to do with it which was good sure it wasan't perfect but i still thought it was an excellent film,pirates 2 was good but not good enough, orlando bloom didn't make it any better and it seems that though johnny depp is still a brilliant actor and was really good in pirates 2 he seems that jack sparrow is running out of lines as johnny was funny but not near as funny or oringinal as he was in the first pirates but pirates 2 wasan't any thing more than i expected it too be since it's a disney sequel but it was good and that's good enough for me,i just think that superman should be treated with a little bit more respect because the cast in that movie is brilliant and it was defintly one of the best movies i have seen this year so far next to mission impossible 3 of course

(Reply to this)

Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Jul 12 2006 12:16 PM

[b]Good[/b]
Disney needs to cut back and reinvent themselves. They've had a few successes in recent years (mostly thanks to Pixar), but they've grown stagnant. Quality, not quantity (hopefully)

(Reply to this)

Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Jul 12 2006 12:17 PM

In reply to this comment (#840058)
[b]Did what he wanted?[/b]
If he wanted to make a boring, illogical movie, he succeeded with flying colors.

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spidyredneckjedi writes:
on Jul 12 2006 01:09 PM

If Disney needs to wonder what they are doing wrong to return an investment on money, I say they eliminate their straight to DVD sequels. Whenever I see Disney as the company making films, I cringe. Only a select few of their releases turn my head, including the Pirates franchise and anything they make with Pixar. Knowing that Pixar was bought out by Disney a whle back has me fearing for them as well. They do such grand work, and now they've linked themselves to a mediocre company. Oh well. Maybe cutting back on their films will make them a better competitor in the film markets.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Jul 12 2006 02:10 PM

[b]OMG[/b]
how many of these Superman VS Pirate threads are we gonna have!

(Reply to this)

Pleasuretown writes:
on Jul 12 2006 03:50 PM

I think this move might actually be good. The less movies they make, the more they may focus on the quality to help draw in the audiences. And bring it back to the glory days. I don't know what happened to the studio, it seemed not that long ago Aladdin and The Lion King were coming out and amazed me. But now we see things like The Wild? And Stick it? Honestly. So i hope they don't mess this up. Also, Superman was a lot better than Pirates. Pirates had a bunch of pacing problems and not enough excitement. Maybe if they cut a bunch of the middle part out. All i know is that i was pretty bored and figity at that point, and the thing that brought me back was the Cragin. But Superman was much better.

(Reply to this)

synergyred writes:
on Jul 12 2006 04:23 PM

Geeze. On one hand, this could result in Disney making better quality movies. On the other hand, I wish they didn't have to lay off so many people to make them!

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cgcbooks writes:
on Jul 13 2006 06:40 AM

Fuck Disney.

(Reply to this)

Aeneas&theBloodyOracle writes:
on Jul 14 2006 02:50 PM

In reply to this comment (#840065)
[b]I second that.[/b]
What corporate nonsense bottom line garbage. Super-finger to Mr Cook and company, this is the sort of industry nut-smashing that Our President calls an "upswing in economy" and touting the unemployment rate going down.
Ever meet a Tweener? Ever meet a CalArts grad with an f(*ed up student loan? This corporate "belt-tightening" is MISERY at work.
Disloyal scumbags, burn burn Disney! It's a People's Revolution! REAL people get hurt economically from this type of streamlining; I say: next time you're at Disneyland, SHOP LIFT like a REAL pirate!

(Reply to this)

Aeneas&theBloodyOracle writes:
on Jul 14 2006 02:56 PM

[b]Dick Cook?[/b]
Yeah, his name is Dick Cook. That's what I hope happens to him.
He has a noun-verb for a name. He also came from the accounting department. He was a ride operator in the 70's.
Who has his email address?

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sockmonkery writes:
on Jul 14 2006 05:27 PM

now the real question is: Did Disney actually do it to make themselves better and get rid of the crappy movies hey have been putting out OR is it to maximize profits by cutting the salaries of hardworking individuals who probably bring a lot of innovation and creativity to the job?? Downsizing does not make a company better, just more narrow minded! What's next, more dvd sequels that no one wanted in the first place?!
DISNEY, YOU SUCK!

(Reply to this)

Drunkpostingftw writes:
on Jul 15 2006 05:48 PM

Maybe they are just preparing for the worst. What do they have after POTC: 3? Direct to DVD POTC? How many employees do you need for that?

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Reel 2/Dialogue 2 writes:
on Jul 17 2006 08:47 AM

[b]Dick's Itenerary States No Employment, Y'know...[/b]
So, "Touchstone vastly diminished" means less R rated Disney pics? Or will those be released under the Disney banner?

I'm guessing that they'll soak more of the damage, a potential tentpole bomb could do, through their cheapquels, which are outsourced as is... thanks to the nationwide layoffs of their traditional animation division.

I smell a Jack Sparrow direct DVD spinoff in the woiks...

(Reply to this)

Tombstone Law Dog writes:
on Jul 17 2006 09:48 AM

[b]Good with the bad[/b]
I think it's both dicking over the little guy and earnestly trying to cut their losses; Given the absurd wads they blow on mistakes like The Wild and Annapolis, in addition to the money they have to spend making and marketing movies like POTC, this influx of cash is probably only marginally hitting the black ink-- going directly to the rich fat assholes who take the excuse to fire Joe Average, just to make sure they get their share.

But hey, if this means higher quality, I can deal with all that.

(Reply to this)

piscesdreams writes:
on Jul 17 2006 06:54 PM

[b]Fuck Disney Indeed![/b]
WHEW! Thank god Disney is not cutting back on it's adult film sector owned by a subsidairy of Buena Vista. I was worried there for a second.

(Reply to this)