Disney movie executive Sean Bailey has resigned after 14 years overseeing production, departing the Magic Kingdom amidst a leadership shuffle and calls from investors to improve box office returns. Bailey brought hits like live-action “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” which grossed over $1 billion each. However, recent remakes soaked in nostalgia to preserve Mickey Mouse’s iron grip on iconic characters have disappointed. Disney lost a whopping $1 billion at the box office last year over multiple flops.
Bailey’s exit comes while CEO Bob Iger restructures the kingdom after returning to power. Iger faces unrest over Disney churning out politically correct rehashes instead of fresh stories, a dubious strategy as Americans tire of being preached at by corporations. Yet the company plowed ahead, prioritizing messaging over originality with movies like “Snow White” and “The Little Mermaid”; leading to box office poison for the films in the public’s eye.
Disney has tapped David Greenbaum, co-president of art-house division Searchlight Pictures, to replace Bailey overseeing live-action remakes and 20th Century Studios properties like “Avatar.” Greenbaum promises more of the same, recently winning rights to a Taylor Swift concert film. His Searchlight co-president takes sole control of Disney’s Oscar-chasing prestige films.
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In his 14 years molding Disney’s live-action slate, Bailey displayed a knack for extracting cash from parents’ nostalgia. International hits like 2019’s “The Lion King” redo boasted photorealistic animation with nary a fresh idea, bewitching families into returning based on fond memories of the original. Bailey also greenlit a live-action “Beauty and the Beast” in 2017, which sang and danced its way to over $1.3 billion worldwide.
But Walt’s wonder factory has recently struggled to conjure blockbusters, and remakes like last year’s “The Little Mermaid” underwhelmed. The film starred Halle Bailey as Disney’s redheaded icon, a casting choice highlighting the company’s focus on diversity over storytelling. While social media amplified support and criticism of the decision, “The Little Mermaid” flopped financially, collecting just $570 million globally. With a price tag topping $350 million after marketing, Disney undoubtedly wished they’d invested more in plot than politics.
The company increasingly courts controversy catering to Western cultural obsessions at odds with values driving profits in growth markets like China. Last October’s “Strange World,” an animated adventure touting an openly gay teen romance, was banned in several Middle Eastern countries and tanked in theaters. Did Disney shareholders benefit from the company weighing in on sexual politics?
In fairness to Bailey, he labored under Bob Iger’s tumultuous leadership. Disney’s CEO drama has continued this year, with the surprise reinstatement of Iger despite retiring in 2020. Iger already demoted CEO Bob Chapek back to parks chief in November after poor results. With Disney stock languishing, Iger faces pressure to deliver turnarounds.
Alas, early moves reek of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Disney shelled out $100 million for a Taylor Swift concert film under Greenbaum, valuing a pop star’s vanity project over original ideas. Such short-sighted, nostalgia-driven decisions now fall to Bailey’s successor.
Rather than mine magic from fresh stories, Disney opts for safety, sanitizing tales as old as time to avoid controversy. Yet pleasing everyone risks pleasing no one in today’s polarized climate.
Can the Mouse deliver another renaissance blending wide appeal and critical acclaim under Iger’s renewed regime? Or will the Magic Kingdom keep chasing quick bucks from parents’ fuzzy memories, leaving Disney’s creative legacy to collect dust? Let us know in the comments!
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A diverse suite of failure. lol