Disney gave more insight into its celebrated streaming profitability in Bob Iger-briefed executive remarks after its results early this morning, and it’s not just new content bringing people to the service.
According to the remarks, which are a change from the way in which Disney usually unveils its earnings, the original Inside Out movie from 2015 was responsible for driving 1.3 million Disney+ sign-ups during the quarter.
Inside Out 2 opened June 14 for an explosive last two weeks of the quarter and the Pixar pic, now the top-grossing animated film of all time, has $1.56 billion in worldwide box office. Inside Out, meanwhile, has nabbed 100 million views globally on Disney+ since the Inside Out 2 teaser trailer dropped.
“With the release of Deadpool & Wolverine we’ve seen heightened viewership with the original Deadpool films, and we expect similar engagement with the upcoming releases of Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King,” said the remarks from Iger and Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston. “The theatrical success of our franchises, which contributes to our growth and improved financial performance in streaming, should also positively impact churn and engagement.”
Inside Out 2 boosted content and licensing profits for Disney, which helped triple earnings at the entertainment segment – to $1.2 billion from $408 million — and showcased the studio’s renewed creative strength that CEO Bob Iger has been promising. It turned a profit in the streaming division ahead of schedule for the first time in a positive set of results that have seen EPS targets for the full year revised to increase by approximately 30% from the prior year.
It comes with a sea change in how the industry looks at streaming, a pivot to profits over subscriber growth. Disney+ ended the quarter with 118.3 million core subscribers (domestic and international, excluding Hotstar) vs 117.6 million the year earlier.
