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Wikipedia

The Walt Disney Company

January 10, 2023

"Disney" redirects here. For the company's namesake co-founder, see Walt Disney. For other uses, see Disney (disambiguation).

The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (/ˈdɪzni/),[4] is an American multinational, mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by brothers Walt and Roy O. Disney as Disney Brothers Studio; it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to The Walt Disney Company in 1986. Early in its existence, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in Steamboat Willie, which used synchronized sound, to becoming the first post-produced sound cartoon.[5] The character would go on to the become the company's mascot.

The Walt Disney Company
The corporate variant of the Disney logo
The Walt Disney Studios corporate headquarters in Burbank, California, 2016
Disney
Formerly
  • Disney Brothers Studio
    (1923–1926)
  • Walt Disney Studio
    (1926–1929)
  • Walt Disney Productions
    (1929–1986)
TypePublic
ISINUS2546871060
Industry
PredecessorsLaugh-O-Gram Studio
FoundedOctober 16, 1923; 99 years ago (1923-10-16)
Founders
HeadquartersTeam Disney Building, Walt Disney Studios,
Burbank, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
Services
Revenue US$82.722 billion (2022)
US$12.121 billion (2022)
US$3.145 billion (2022)
Total assets US$203.631 billion (2022)
Total equity US$98.879 billion (2022)
Number of employees
c. 220,000 (2022)
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websitethewaltdisneycompany.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, the company diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. Following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation division, began to decline. Once Disney's shareholders voted Michael Eisner as the head of the company in 1984, it became overwhelmingly successful during a period called the Disney Renaissance. In 2005, under new CEO Bob Iger, the company started to expand and acquire other corporations. Bob Chapek became the head of Disney in 2020 after Iger's retirement. Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO.

Since the 1980s, Disney has created and acquired corporate divisions to market more-mature content than is typically associated with its family-oriented brands. The company is known for its film-studio division Walt Disney Studios, which includes Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures. Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+, Star+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world.

Disney is one of the biggest and best-known companies in the world, and has been ranked number 53 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the United States by revenue. Since its founding, the company has won 135 Academy Awards, 26 of which have been awarded to Walt. The company has been said to have produced some of the greatest films of all time, as well as revolutionizing the theme park industry. Disney has been criticized for supposed plagiarism, depicting racial stereotypes in the past, and both including and lacking LGBT-related elements in its films. The company, which has been public since 1940, trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with ticker symbol DIS and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991. In August 2020, just under two-thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions.

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of The Walt Disney Company.

1923–1934: Founding, Mickey Mouse, and Silly Symphonies

 
 
(left to right) Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney co-founded The Disney Brothers Studios in 1923, which later became The Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney and his friend animator Ub Iwerks had founded a film studio named Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City.[6] Iwerks and Disney made a short film entitled Alice's Wonderland that depicted child actor Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters. In 1923, soon after the short was made, Laugh-O-Gram Studio went bankrupt but the film later became a hit after New York film distributor Margaret J. Winkler purchased it. Disney signed a contract to create six series of Alice Comedies with an option for two more six-episode series.[7][8] Before signing the contract, Disney decided to move to Hollywood, Los Angeles, to join his brother Roy O. Disney, who had tuberculosis.[9] Walt and Roy founded Disney Brothers Studio on October 16, 1923, to produce the films.[10] Walt later persuaded Iwerks' and Davis' families to move to Hollywood as well.[8]

In January 1926, the Disney studio on Hyperion Street was completed, and Disney Brothers Studio's name was changed to Walt Disney Studio.[11] After producing several Alice films for the next four years, Winkler handed the role of distributing films to her husband Charles Mintz. In 1927, Mintz asked for a new series of films to be made under Universal Pictures. In response, Walt created his first series of fully animated films, which featured the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.[12] Walt Disney Studio created 26 films with Oswald in them.[13]

In 1928, Walt wanted a larger fee for his films but Mintz wanted to reduce the price. Soon after, Walt discovered Universal Pictures owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald, and Mintz threatened to produce the films without him if he did not accept the reduction in payment.[13][14] Walt declined and Mintz signed four of Walt Disney Studio's primary animators to start his own studio; Iwerks was the only top animator to remain with the Disney brothers.[15] Walt and Iwerks replaced Oswald with a mouse character that was originally named Mortimer Mouse but Walt's wife urged him to change the name to Mickey Mouse.[16][17] In May 1928, the studio made the silent films Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho as test screening for the new character. Later that year, the studio produced its first sound film—the third short in the Mickey Mouse series—Steamboat Willie, which was made using synchronized sound, becoming the first post-produced sound cartoon.[5] The sound was created using Powers’ Cinephone system, which used Lee de Forest's Phonofilm system.[18] Pat Powers’ distribution company distributed Steamboat Willie, which became an immediate hit.[16][19][20] In 1929, the company successfully re-released the two earlier films with synchronized sound.[21][22]

 
One of Disney's first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which Disney lost the rights to

After the release of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York, Mickey Mouse became an immensely popular character.[22][16] Disney Brothers Studio made several cartoons featuring Mickey and other characters.[23] In August 1929, the company began making the Silly Symphony cartoon series with Columbia Pictures as the series' distributor because the Disney brothers felt they were not receiving their share of profits from Powers.[20] Powers ended his contract with Iwerks, who later started his own studio.[24] Carl W. Stalling played an important role in starting the series, and composed the music for early films but left the company after Iwerks' departure.[25][26] In September, theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club at his theater the Fox Dome to boost attendance. Walt agreed but David E. Dow started the first-such club at Elsinore Theatre before Woodin could start his. On December 21, the first meeting for the club at Elsinore Theatre was attended by around 1,200 children.[27][28] On July 24, 1930, Joseph Conley, president of King Features Syndicate, wrote to the Disney studio and asked the company to produce a Mickey Mouse comic strip; production started in November and samples were sent to King Features, which approved them.[29] On December 16, 1930, the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name Walt Disney Productions, Limited, which had a merchandising division named Walt Disney Enterprises, and subsidiaries called Disney Film Recording Company, Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company; the latter of which managed real estate holdings. Walt and his wife held 60 percent (6,000 shares) of the company, and Roy owned 40 percent.[30]

The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuted on January 13, 1930, in New York Daily Mirror and by 1931, the strip was published in 60 newspapers in the U.S., and in twenty other countries.[31] After realizing releasing merchandise based on the characters would generate more revenue for the company, in New York, a man asked Walt for the license to put Mickey Mouse on writing tablets he was manufacturing for $300. Walt agreed and Mickey Mouse became the first licensed character.[32][33] In 1933, Walt asked Kay Karmen, the owner of an Kansas City advertising firm, to run Disney's merchandising; Karmen agreed and transformed Disney's merchandising. Within a year, Kamen had 40 licenses for Mickey Mouse and within two years, had made $35 million worth of sales. In 1934, Walt said he made more money from the merchandising of Mickey Mouse than from the character's films.[34][35]

Later, the Waterbury Clock Company created a Mickey Mouse watch, which became so popular it saved the company from bankruptcy during the Great Depression. During a promotional event at Macy's, 11,000 Mickey Mouse watches sold in one day; and within two years, two-and-a-half million watches were sold.[36][31][35] As Mickey Mouse become a heroic character rather than a mischievous mouse, Disney needed another character that could produce gags.[37] Walt invited radio presenter Clarence Nash to the animation studio; Walt wanted to use Nash to play Donald Duck, a talking duck character that would be the studio's new gag character. Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen. Though he did not become popular as quickly as Mickey Mouse had, Donald Duck had a featured role in Donald and Pluto (1936), and eventually was given his own series.[38]

After a disagreement with Colombia Pictures about the Silly Symphonies cartoons, Walt signed a distribution contract with United Artist from 1932 to 1937 to distribute the series.[39] In 1932, Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in color until the end of 1935, beginning with the Silly Symphonies short Flowers and Trees (1932).[40] The film was the first full-color cartoon and later that year, it won the Academy Award for the Best Cartoon.[5] In 1933, The Three Little Pigs, another popular Silly Symphonies short, was released and also won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon.[23][41] The song from the film "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", which was composed by Frank Churchill—who wrote other Silly Symphonies songs—became popular and remained so throughout the 1930s, and became one of the best-known Disney songs.[25] Other Silly Symphonies films won the Best Cartoon award from 1931 to 1939, except for 1938, when another Disney film Ferdinand the Bull won it.[23]

1934–1949: The Golden Age of Animation, strike, and World War II

 
The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, which they fully moved into in 1940

In 1934, Walt decided to make the feature-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs— Walt Disney Studio's first full-length feature film. He told his animators by acting out the story. Roy tried to stop Walt from making it, saying it would bankrupt the studio, and in Hollywood it was called "Disney's Folly", but Walt continued production on the film.[42][43] He took a realistic approach to the film and created scenes as though they were live action.[44] While making the film, the company created the multiplane camera, which was pieces of glass upon which drawings were placed at different distances to create an illusion of depth in the backgrounds.[45] After United Artist attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts, Walt signed a distribution contract with RKO Radio Pictures on March 2, 1936.[46] Walt Disney Studio exceeded its original budget of $150,000 for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by ten times; it production eventually cost the company $1.5 million.[42]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs took three years to make, debuting on December 12, 1937. It became the highest-grossing film of all time up to that point, grossing $8 million equivalent to $150,796,296 in 2021; after several re-releases, the film grossed a total of $998,440,000 in the U.S. adjusted for inflation.[47][48] After the profits of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney financed the construction of a new studio complex of 51 acres (20.6 ha) in Burbank, California, which the company fully moved into in 1940.[49][50] On April 2 of the same year, Disney had its initial public offering, with the common stock remaining with Walt and his family. Walt did not want to go public but the company needed the money.[51]

Shortly before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' release, work began on the company's next films Pinocchio and Bambi; Bambi was postponed.[46] Pinocchio won the Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score, and was said to have made groundbreaking achievements in animation.[52] Pinocchio, however, performed poorly at the box office upon its release on February 23, 1940, because its international releases were prevented due to World War II.[53][54]

The company's next film Fantasia also performed poorly at the box office but during its production, he company made advancements in cinema technology, inventing Fantasound, an early surround sound system, for the film's soundtrack, making it the first commercial film to be shown in stereo.[55][56][57] In 1941, Walt Disney Studio experienced a major setback when 300 of its 800 animators, led mainly by one of the company's top animators Art Babbitt, went on strike for five weeks for unionization and higher pay. Walt thought the strikers were secretly communists and he fired many of the studios' animators, including some of its best ones.[58][59] Roy Disney tried to persuade the company's main distributors to invest in the studio and to secure more production funds for the studio, which could no longer afford to offset production costs with employee layoffs, but was unsuccessful.[60] During the premiere of The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Disney's fourth film, Robert Benchley toured the company's studio; protesters from the strike arrived and the film was $100,000 short of its production cost.[61]

 
Walt (right) dressed as a gaucho next to Donald Duck on the company's goodwill trip to South America in Argentina.

While negotiations with the strikers were underway, Walt accepted an offer from the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to make a goodwill visit, along with some of his animators, to South America, ensuring Disney would be absent during the deal because he knew the results would not be in his favor.[62] During the twelve-week visit, the animators began plotting for films and were inspired by local music.[63] As a result of the strike, Federal mediators compelled the studio to recognize the Screen Cartoonist's Guild and several animators left the company, leaving it with 694 employees.[64][59] To recover from their financial losses, Disney, hurriedly and with a lower budget, created the studio's fifth animated film Dumbo, which performed well at the box office and made a much-needed financial gain for the company.[52][65] After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, many of the companies animators would be drafted into the army.[66] Later, 500 United States Army soldiers occupied the studio for eight months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant. While they were there, the soldiers fixed equipment in large soundstages and converted storage sheds into ammunition depots.[67] On December 8, 1941, the United States Navy asked Walt to create propaganda films to gain support for the war. He agreed and signed a contract with the navy for 20 war-related shorts for $90,000.[68] Most of the company's employees worked on the project and created films such as Victory Through Air Power, and included some of the company's characters in several of the films.[69][66]

In August, 1942, Bambi was released as Disney's sixth animated film and performed poorly at the box office.[70] In 1943, following the trip to South America, the studio made Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros;[66][71] the two films are package films, several short cartoons grouped together to make a feature film. Both films performed poorly upon their releases. Disney made more package films, including Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), to try to recover from its financial losses.[66] The studio started production on less-expensive live-action films with a mixture of animation, starting with Song of the South which became Disney's most controversial film.[72][73] Because the company was short of money, in 1944, it planned to re-release its feature films to create much-needed revenue.[73][74] In 1948, Walt Disney Studio began the nature documentary series,True-Life Adventures, which ran until 1960 and won eight Academy Awards.[75][76] In 1949, during production of the animated film Cinderella (1950), the Walt Disney Music Company was founded to help with profits for merchandising, hoping the music from Cinderella would be a hit.[77]

1950–1967: Live-action films, television, Disneyland, and Walt Disney's death

In 1950, Cinderella, Disney's first animated film in eight years, was released and was considered a return to form for the studio. With a production cost of costing $2.2 million, it was Disney's most financially successful film since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, making $8 million in its first year. Walt had not been as involved as he was with earlier films because he was distracted with trains and visited England to make Disney's first fully live-action film Treasure Island (1950).[78] Because Treasure Island was a success, Walt returned to England to produce The Story of Robin Hood and His Merry Men.[79] In 1950, the television industry began to grow, and on 25 December, NBC aired the company's first television production "One Hour in Wonderland", which was a promotional program for Disney's next animated film Alice in Wonderland (1951) and sponsored by Coca-Cola.[80] While Walt was in England, Alice in Wonderland was released; it was financially unsuccessful, falling $1 million short of the production budget.[81] Upon his return, Walt started planning the construction of an amusement park called Mickey Mouse Park on an eight-acre (3.2 ha) site near the studio; its attractions would include a steamboat ride but business interrupted the plan and production for a third British film The Sword and the Rose began.[82] Walt supervised the film's production, which was financed by a new subsidiary called Walt Disney British Films Limited.[83]

 
Walt (center) showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954

According to Walt, he had the idea of an amusement park during a visit to Griffith Park with his daughters. He said he watched them ride a carousel there and that he thought there "should be ... some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together".[84][85] Walt changed the planned amusement park's name to Disneylandia, then to Disneyland.[82] Because Roy was doubtful about the park, Walt formed a new company called Walt Disney Enterprise on December 16, 1952, to fund the park. Shortly after, its name was changed to Walt Disney Incorporated, and again to WED Enterprises[a] (now Walt Disney Imagineering) in November 1953.[86] He hired a group of designers to work on the plans; these became known as "Imagineers".[87] Walt and his friends visited parks in the U.S. and Europe to get ideas on how to build one.[88] His plan to build the park in Burbank near the studio quickly changed when he realized that 8 (3.2 ha) acres would not be enough land. Walt acquired 160 acres (65 ha) of orange groves in Anaheim, southeast of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County, at $6,200 per acre to build the park.[89] Construction on the park began on July 12, 1954; Walt wanted it to be completed by 1955, with storytelling attractions and areas, as well as being clean and perfect.[90] By the time the park opened, it cost the company $17 million to construct.[91]

In February 1953, Disney's next animated film Peter Pan was a financial success but Walt wanted to improve the standard of animation without raising the cost.[92] When Disney wanted to create The Living Desert, a feature with two short films, for the True-Life documentary, RKO's lawyer believed it would break the 1948 antitrust Supreme Court ruling if it was sold as a package. Roy thought the company would thrive without RKO and Disney created its own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution, named after the street where the studio was located.[93] In 1954, Disney's first American live action film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which was one of the first films to use CinemaScope, was released.[94][95] From the early-to-mid 1950s, Walt began to devote less attention to the animation department, entrusting most of its operations to his key animators the Nine Old Men, although he was always present at story meetings. Instead, he started concentrating on television, Disneyland, and other company affairs.[96]

 
 
(left to right) Cast for The Mickey Mouse Club, which over 10 million children would watch every day, and Fess Parker as Davy Crockett in the show of the same name, which sold 10 million Crockett coonskin caps and over 10 million records of its theme song

To finance the construction of Disneyland, the company promoted it with a television series. After unsuccessful negotiations with NBC and CBS to sign on, in 1954, American Broadcasting Company (ABC) contracted with Disney for an hour-long, weekly series starting in October called Disneyland an anthology series consisting of animated cartoons, live-action features, and other materials from the studio's library; and would depict four segments of the amusement park's four areas.[97] The series was a success and garnered over 50% of viewers in its time slot, along with increasing audiences and praise from critics.[98] In August, Walt formed another company Disneyland, Inc. to finance the theme park, with Walt Disney Productions, Walt, Western Publishing—which had been the publisher of Disney books for over twenty years—and ABC all holding stock in the company.[99]

In October, with the success of Disneyland, ABC allowed Disney to produce The Mickey Mouse Club, a variety show for children; the show included a daily Disney cartoon, a children's newsreel, and a talent show. It was presented by a host, and talented children and adults called "Mousketeers" and "Mooseketeers", respectively.[100] After the first season, over ten million children and five million adults watched it daily; and two million Mickey Mouse ears, which the cast wore, were sold.[101] On December 15, 1954, Disneyland aired an episode of the five-part miniseries Davy Crockett, which stars Fess Parker as the title character. According to writer Neal Gabler, "[It] became an overnight national sensation", selling 10 million Crockett coonskin caps.[102] The show's theme song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" became a part of American pop culture, selling 10 million records. Los Angeles Times called it "the greatest merchandising fad the world had ever seen".[103][104] In June 1955, Disney's 15th animated film Lady and the Tramp was released and performed better at the box office than any other Disney films since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.[105]

 
Walt Disney at the grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955

Disneyland opened on Sunday, July 17, 1955.[b] Only Main Street and rides in some of the "lands" were completed, a total of 20 attractions. Entry to the park cost $1 and guests had to pay for each individual ride.[106] They were ready for 11,000 guests but around 28,000 people arrived due to sales of counterfeit tickets. The opening was aired on ABC with actors Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, and Ronald Reagan, who were all friends of Walt, hosting it. It garnered over 90 million viewers, becoming the most-watched live broadcast to that date.[107] The opening was disastrous, and was dubbed as "Black Sunday" by the employees. Restaurants ran out of food, the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink, several rides malfunctioned, and the drinking fountains were not working in the 100 °F. (38 °C) heat.[108][91] Within its first week of being open, Disneyland had had 161,657 visitors, and by its first month the park had over 20,000 visitors each day. After its first year, 3.6 million people had visited the park, and after its second year, four million more guests came, making it more popular than the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. That year, the company earned a gross total of $24.5 million compared to the $11 million the previous year.[109]

 
The Sherman Brothers, who composed many of the Disney songs throughout the 1960s, in 2002

Though Walt focused more of the park than on films, the company produced an average of five releases per year throughout the 1950s and 1960s.[110] The animated feature films included Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and The Sword in the Stone (1963).[111] Sleeping Beauty was a financial loss for the company, and at $6 million, it had the highest production costs for a film up to that point.[112] One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced animation technique using the xerography process to electromagnetically transfer the drawings to animation cels.[113] In 1956, the Sherman brothers, Robert and Richard, were asked to produce a theme song for the television series Zorro.[114] The company later hired them as exclusive staff songwriters, an arrangement that lasted 10 years. They wrote many of the songs for Disney's films and theme parks, and several of them were commercial hits.[115][116] In the late 1950s, Disney ventured into comedy with the live-action films The Shaggy Dog (1959), which became the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada for Disney at over $9 million,[117] and The Absent Minded Professor (1961), both starring Fred MacMurray.[111][118]

 
 
(left to right) Hayley Mills and Kurt Russell were two of Disney's most prominent child actors in the 1960s.

Disney also made several live-action films based on children's books including Pollyanna (1960) and Swiss Family Robinson (1960). Child actor Hayley Mills starred in Pollyanna, for which she won an Academy Juvenile Award. Mills also stared in five other Disney films, including a dual role as the twins in The Parent Trap (1961).[119][120] Another child actor Kevin Corcoran was a prominent figure in many of Disney's live-action films, first appearing in a serial for The Mickey Mouse Club, where he would play a boy named Moochie. He worked alongside Mills in Pollyanna, and starred in features such as Old Yeller (1957), Toby Tyler (1960), and Swiss Family Robinson.[121] In 1964, the live action/animation musical film Mary Poppins was released and became the year's highest-grossing film. It won five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Julie Andrews as Poppins and Best Song for the Sherman Brothers', who also won Best Score for the film's "Chim Chim Cher-ee".[122][123]

 
 
(left to right) Dean Jones, who was considered "the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s",[124] and Fred MacMurray, who starred in several of Disney's comedies in the 1960s

Throughout the 1960s, Dean Jones, whom The Guardian called "the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s", starred in ten Disney films, including That Darn Cat! (1965), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), and The Love Bug (1968).[124][125] Disney's last child actor of the 1960s was Kurt Russell, who had signed a ten-year contract with the company.[126] He featured in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) alongside Dean Jones, The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).[127]

 
Walt, then Florida Governor Hayden Burns, and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World

In late 1959, Walt had an idea to build another park in Palm Beach, Florida, called the City of Tomorrow, a city that would be full of technological improvements.[128] In 1964, the company chose land southwest of Orlando, Florida to build the park and quickly acquired 27,000 acres (10,927 ha) of land for it. On November 15, 1965, Walt, along with Roy and Florida's governor Haydon Burns, announced plans for another park called Disney World, which included Magic Kingdom—‌a larger version of Disneyland‍—‌and the City of Tomorrow, which would be at the park's center.[129] By 1967, the company had made several expansions to Disneyland, and more rides were added in 1966 and 1967, at a cost of $20 million.[130] The new rides included Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, which was the first attraction to use audio-animatronics; Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, which debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair before moving to Disneyland in 1967; and Dumbo the Flying Elephant, which opened a month after the park.[131]

On November 20, 1964, Walt sold most of WED Enterprise to Walt Disney Productions for $3.75 million after being persuaded to by Roy, who thought Walt having his own company would cause legal problems. Walt formed a new company called Retlaw to handle his personnel business, primarily Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail.[132] When the company started looking for a sponsor for the project, Walt renamed the City of Tomorrow Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT).[133] Walt, who had been a heavy smoker since World War I, experienced deteriorating health; he visited St. Joseph Hospital on November 2, 1966, for tests. Doctors discovered a walnut-sized spot on his left lung and a few days later, they found the lung was cancerous and removed it. Walt was released from hospital after two weeks. He died on December 15, 1966, at the age of 65, of circulatory collapse caused by lung cancer.[134][135]

1967–1984: Roy O. Disney's leadership and death, Walt Disney World, animation industry decline, and Touchstone Pictures

In 1967, the last two films Walt had worked on were released; the animated film The Jungle Book, which was Disney's most successful film for the next two decades, and the live-action musical The Happiest Millionaire.[136][137] After Walt's death, the company largely abandoned the animation industry but make several live-action films.[138][139] Its animation staff declined from 500 to 125 employees, with the company only hiring 21 people from 1970 to 1977.[140]

Disney's first post-Walt animated film The Aristocats was released in 1970; according to Dave Kehr of Chicago Tribune, "the absence of his [Walt's] hand is evident".[141] The following year, the anti-fascist musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released and won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects.[142] At the time of Walt's death, Roy was ready to retire but wanted to keep Walt's legacy alive; he became the first CEO and chairman of the company.[143][144] In May 1967, Roy had legislation passed by Florida's legislatures to grant Disney World its own quasi-government agency in an area called Reedy Creek Improvement District. Roy also changed Disney World's name to Walt Disney World to remind people it was Walt's dream.[145][146] Over time, EPCOT became less of the City of Tomorrow and developed more into another amusement park.[147]

After 18 months of construction at a cost of around $400 million, Walt Disney World's first park the Magic Kingdom, along with Disney's Contemporary Resort and Disney's Polynesian Resort,[148] opened on October 1, 1971, with 10,400 visitors. A parade with over 1,000 band members, 4,000 Disney entertainers, and a choir from the U.S. Army marched down Main Street. The icon of the park was the Cinderella Castle. Three months later on Thanksgiving day, cars traveling to the Magic Kingdom caused traffic jams along interstate roads.[149][150]

On December 21, 1971, Roy died of cerebral hemorrhage at St. Joseph Hospital.[144] After Roy's death, Donn Tatum, a senior executive and former president of Disney, became the first non-Disney-family-member to become CEO and chairman of the board. Card Walker, who had been with the company since 1938, became its president.[151][152] By June 30, 1973, Disney had over 23,000 employees and had a gross revenue of $257,751,000 over a nine-month period, compared to the year before when it made $220,026,000.[153] In November, Disney released the animated film Robin Hood (1973), which became Disney's biggest international-grossing movie at $18 million.[154] Throughout the 1970s, Disney released several more live-action films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes' sequel Now You See Him, Now You Don't;[155] The Love Bug sequels Herbie Rides Again (1974) and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977);[156][157] Escape to Witch Mountain (1975);[158] and Freaky Friday (1976).[159] In 1976, Card Walker became CEO of the company, with Tatum remaining as chairman until 1980, when Walker replaced him.[143][152] In 1977, Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son and the only Disney working for the company, resigned from his job as an executive because of disagreements with the company's decisions.[160]

In 1977, Disney released the successful animated film The Rescuers, which grossed $48 million at the box office.[161] The live-acton/animated musical Pete's Dragon was released in 1977, grossing $16 million in the U.S. and Canada, but was considered a disappointment to the company.[162][163] In 1979, Disney's first PG-rated film and most expensive film up to that point at $26 million dollars The Black Hole was released, showing Disney could use special effects. It grossed $35 million, which was a disappointment to the company, which thought it would be a hit like Star Wars (1977). The Black Hole was a response to other Science fiction films of the era.[164][165]

In September, 12 animators, which was over 15 percent of the department, resigned from the studio. Led by Don Bluth, they left because of a conflict with the training program and the atmosphere at the studio, and started their own company Don Bluth Productions.[166][167] In 1981, Disney released Dumbo to VHS and Alice in Wonderland the following year, leading Disney to eventually release all its films on home media.[168] On July 24, Walt Disney's World on Ice, a two-year tour of ice shows featuring Disney charters, made its premiere at the Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena after Disney licensed its characters to Feld Entertainment.[169][170] The same month, Disney's animated film The Fox and the Hound was released and became the highest-grossing animated film to that point at $39.9 million.[171] It was the company's first film that did not involve Walt and was the last major work done by Disney's Nine Old Men, who were replaced with younger animators.[140]

 
 
 
(left to right) Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle, and Epcot's Spaceship Earth are each of the park's main icon.

As profits for the company started to decline, on October 1, 1982, Epcot, then known as EPCOT Center, opened as the second theme park in Walt Disney World, with around 10,000 people in attendance during the opening.[172][173] The park cost over $900 million to construct, and consisted of the Future World pavilion and the World Showcase representing Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada; Morocco and Norway were added in 1984 and 1988, respectively.[172][174] The animation industry continued to decline and 69% of the company's profits were from its theme parks; in 1982, there were 12 million visitors to Walt Disney World, a figure that declined by 5% the following June.[172] On July 9, 1982, Disney released Tron, one of the first films to extensively use computer-generated imagery (CGI). Tron was a big influence on other CGI movies, although it received mixed reviews.[175] In total, in 1982, the company lost $27 million.[176]

On April 15, 1983, Disney's first park outside the U.S. Tokyo Disneyland, opened in Urayasu, Japan.[177] Costing around $1.4 billion, construction of the park started in 1979 when Disney and The Oriental Land Company agreed to build a park together. Within its first ten years, the park had over 140 million visitors.[178] After an investment of $100 million, on April 18, Disney started a pay-to-watch cable television channel called Disney Channel, a 16-hours-a-day service showing Disney films, twelve programs, and two magazines shows for adults. Although it was expected to do well, the company lost $48.3 million after its first year, with around 916,000 subscribers.[179][180]

In 1983, Walt's son-in-law Ron W. Miller, who had been president of the company since 1978, became its CEO, and Raymond Watson became chairman.[143][181] Miller wanted the studio to produce more content for mature audiences,[182] and as a result, Disney founded the film distribution label Touchstone Pictures to produce movies geared toward adults and teenagers in 1984.[176] Splash (1984) was the first film released under the label, and was a much-needed success for the studio, grossing over $6.1 million in its first week of screening.[183] Later, Disney's first R-rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) was released and was another hit for the company, grossing $62 million.[184] The following year, Disney's first PG-13 rated film Adventures in Babysitting was released.[185] In 1984, Saul Steinberg attempted to buy out the company, holding 11.1% of the stocks. He offered to buy 49% of the company for $1.3 billion or the entire company for $2.75 billion. Disney, which had less than $10 million, rejected Steinberg's offer and offered to buy all of his stock for $325.5 million. Steinberg agreed, and Disney paid it all with part of a $1.3 billion bank loan, putting the company $866 million in debt.[186][187]

1984–2005: Michael Eisner's leadership, the Disney Renaissance, merger, and acquisitions

 
Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO.

In 1984, the company's shareholders Roy E. Disney, Sid Bass, Lillian and Diane Disney, and Irwin L. Jacobs—who together owned about 35.5% of the shares of the company, forced out CEO Miller and replaced him with Michael Eisner, a former president of Paramount Pictures, and also appointed Frank Wells as president.[188] Eisner's first act at Disney was to make it a major film studio, which at the time it was not considered. Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and Roy E. Disney as head of the animation division. Eisner wanted the company to produce an animated film every 18 months rather than every four years, as the company had been doing. To help with the film division, the company started making Saturday-morning cartoons to create new Disney characters for merchandising, and produced several films through Touchstone. Under Eisner, Disney became more involved with television, creating Touchstone Television and producing the television situation comedy The Golden Girls, which was a hit. The company also spent $15 million promoting its theme parks, raising visitor numbers by 10%.[189][190] In 1984, Disney produced The Black Cauldron, then the most-expensive animated movie at $40 million, their first animated film to feature computer-generated imagery, and also their first PG-rated animated film because of its adult themes. The film was a box-office failure, leading the company to move the animation department from the studio in Burbank into a warehouse in Glendale, California.[191] The film-financing partnership Silver Screen Partners II, which was organized in 1985, financed films for Disney with $193 million. In January 1987, Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with $300 million raised by E.F. Hutton, the largest amount raised for a film-financing limited partnership.[192] Silver Screen IV was also set up to finance Disney's studios.[193]

In 1986, the company changed its name from Walt Disney Productions to Walt Disney Company, stating the old name only referred to the film industry.[194] With Disney's animation industry declining, the animation department needed its next movie The Great Mouse Detective to be a success. It grossed $25 million at the box office, becoming a much-needed financial success for the company.[195] To generate more revenue from merchandising, the company opened its first retail store Disney Store in Glendale in 1987. Because of its success, the company opened two more stores in California, and by 1990, it had 215 stores throughout the U.S.[196][197] In 1989, the company garnered $411 million in revenue and made a profit of $187 million.[198] In 1987, the company signed an agreement with the Government of France to build a resort named Euro Disneyland in Paris; it would consist of two theme parks named Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, a golf course, and six hotels.[199][200]

 
Hollywood Studios' park icon, the Chinese Theatre

In 1988, Disney's 27th animated film Oliver & Company was released the same day as that of former Disney animator Don Bluth's The Land Before Time. Oliver & Company out-competed The Land Before Time, becoming the first animated film to gross over $100 million in its initial release, and the highest-grossing animated film in its initial run.[201][202] At the time, Disney became the box-office-leading Hollywood studio for the first time, with films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Three Men and a Baby (1987), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1987). The company's gross revenue went from $165 million in 1983 to $876 million in 1987, and operating income went from −$33 million in 1983 to +130 million in 1987. The studio's net income rose by 66%, along with a 26% growth in revenue. Los Angeles Times called Disney's recovery "a real rarity in the corporate world".[203] On May 1, 1989, Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios, its third amusement park at Walt Disney World, and later became Hollywood Studios. The new park demonstrated to visitors the movie-making process, until 2008, when it was changed to make guests feel as though they are in movies.[204] Following the opening of Disney-MGM Studios, Disney opened the water park Typhoon Lagoon on June 1, 1989; in 2008, it had 2.8 million visitors.[205] Also in 1989, Disney signed an agreement-in-principle to acquire The Jim Henson Company from its founder Jim Henson. The deal included Henson's programming library and Muppet characters—excluding the Muppets created for Sesame Street—as well as Henson's personal creative services. Henson, however, died in May 1990 before the deal was completed, resulting in the two companies terminating merger negotiations the following December.[206][207][208]

On November 17, 1989, Disney released The Little Mermaid, which is considered to be the start of the Disney Renaissance, a period in which the company released hugely successful and critically acclaimed animated films. During its release, it became the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run and garnered $233 million at the box office; it also won two Academy Awards; Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Under the Sea".[209][210] During the Disney Renaissance, composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several Disney songs until Howard died in 1991. Together they wrote six songs that were nominated for Academy Awards; with two winning songs—"Under The Sea" and "Beauty and the Beast".[211][212] To produce music geared for the mainstream, including music for movie soundtracks, Disney founded the recording label Hollywood Records on January 1, 1990.[213][214] In September 1990, Disney arranged for financing of up to $200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners, which replaced the Silver Screen Partnership series as the company's movie studios' primary source of funding.[193] Disney's first animated sequel The Rescuers Down Under was released on November 16, 1990, and was created using Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), a digital software that was developed by Disney and Pixar—the computer division of Lucasfilm—becoming the first feature film to be entirely created digitally.[210][215] Although the film struggled in the box office, grossing $47.4 million, it received positive reviews from critics.[216][217] In 1991, Disney and Pixar agreed to a deal to make three films together, the first one being Toy Story.[218]

Dow Jones & Company, wanting to replace three companies in its industrial average, chose Disney in May 1991, statement Disney "reflects the importance of entertainment and leisure activities in the economy".[219] Disney's next animated film Beauty and the Beast was released on November 13, 1991, and grossed nearly $430 million.[220][221] It was the first animated film to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture, and it received six Academy Award nominations, becoming the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture Oscar; it won Best Score, Best Sound, and Best Song for "Beauty and the Beast".[222] The film was critically acclaimed, with some critics considering it to be the best Disney film.[223][224] To coincide with the 1992 release of The Mighty Ducks, Disney founded National Hockey League team The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.[225] Disney's next animated feature Aladdin was released on November 11, 1992, and grossed $504 million, becoming the highest-grossing animated film up to that point, and the first animated film to gross a half-billion dollars.[226][227] It won two Academy Awards—Best Song for "A Whole New World" and Best Score;[228] and "A Whole New World" was the first-and-only Disney song to win the Grammy for Song of the Year.[229][230] For $60 million, Disney broadened its range of mature-audience films by acquiring independent film distributor Miramax Films in 1993.[231] The same year, in a joint venture with The Nature Conservancy, Disney purchased 8,500 acres (3,439 ha) of Everglades headwaters in Florida to protect native animals and plant species, establishing the Disney Wilderness Preserve.[232]

 
Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995.

On April 3, 1994, Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash; he, Eisner, and Katzenberg helped the company's market value go from $2 billion to $22 billion since taking office in 1984.[233] On June 15 the same year, The Lion King was released and was a massive success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park and the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with a gross total of $968.5 million.[234][235] It was critically praised and garnered two Academy Awards—Best Score and Best Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".[236][237] Soon after its release, Katzenberg left the company after Eisner refused to promote him to president. After leaving, he co-founded film studio DreamWorks SKG.[238] Wells was later replaced with one of Eisner's friends Michael Ovitz on August 13, 1995.[239][240] In 1994, Disney wanted to buy one of the major U.S. television networks ABC, NBC, or CBS, which would give the company guaranteed distribution for its programming. Eisner planned to buy NBC but the deal was canceled because General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake.[241][242] In 1994, Disney's annual revenue reached $10.1 billion, 48% coming from the film industry, 34% from theme parks, and 18% from merchandising. Disney's total net income was up 25% from the previous year at $1.1 billion.[243] Grossing over $346 million, Pocahontas was released on June 16, garnering the Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score and Best Song for "Colors of the Wind".[244][245] Pixar's and Disney's first co-release was the first-ever fully computer-generated film Toy Story, which was released on November 19, 1995, to critical acclaim and an end-run gross total of $361 million. The film won the Special Achievement Academy Award and was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay.[246][247]

In 1995, Disney announced the $19 billion acquisition of television network Capital Cities/ABC Inc., which at the time was the second-largest corporate takeover in U.S. history. Through the deal, Disney would obtain broadcast network ABC, an 80% majority stake in sports networks ESPN and ESPN 2, 50% in Lifetime Television, a majority stake of DIC Entertainment, and a 37.5% minority stake in A&E Television Networks.[243][248][249] Following the deal, the company started Radio Disney, a youth-focused radio program on ABC Radio Network, on November 18, 1996.[250][251] The Walt Disney Company launched its official website disney.com on February 22, 1996, mainly to promote its theme parks and merchandise.[252] On June 19 the same year, the company's next animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released, grossing $325 million at the box office.[253] Because Ovitz's management style was different from Eisner's, Ovitz was fired as the company's president in 1996.[254] Disney lost a $10.4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B.V. over Disney's failure to produce as contracted 13 half-hour Marsupilami cartoon shows. Instead, Disney felt other internal "hot properties" deserved the company's attention.[255] Disney, which since 1996 had owned a 25% stake in World Series baseball team California Angels, bought out the team in 1998 for $110 million, renaming it Anaheim Angels and renovating their stadium for $100 million.[256][257] Hercules (1997) was released on June 13, and underperformed at the box office compared to earlier films, grossing $252 million.[258] On February 24, Disney and Pixar signed a ten-year contract to make five films together with Disney as the distributor. They would share the cost, profits, and logo credits, calling the films Disney-Pixar productions.[259] During the Disney Renaissance, film division Touchstone Pictures also saw success with film such as Pretty Woman (1990), which has the highest number of ticket sales in the U.S. for a romantic comedy and grossed $432 million;[260][261] Sister Act (1992), which was one of the more financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $231 million;[262] action film Con Air (1997), which grossed $224 million;[263] and the highest-grossing film of 1998 at $553 million Armageddon (1998).[264]

 
 
(left to right) Disney's Animal Kingdom's, the largest theme park, main icon the Tree of Life, and Disney Cruise Line's first cruise ship Disney Magic, which first set sail on July 30, 1998

At Disney World, the company opened Disney's Animal Kingdom, the largest theme park in the world covering 580 acres (230 ha) on Earth Day, April 22, 1998. It had six animal-themed lands, over 2,000 animals, and the Tree of Life at its center.[265][266] Receiving positive reviews, Disney's next animated films Mulan and Disney-Pixar film A Bug's Life were released on June 5 and November 20, 1998, respectively.[267][268] Mulan became the yea's sixth-highest-grossing film at $304 million, and A Bug's Life was the year's fifth-highest at $363 million.[264] In a $770-million transaction, on June 18, Disney bought a 43% stake of Internet search engine Infoseek for $70 million, also giving it Infoseek-acquired Starwave.[269][270] Starting web portal Go.com in a joint venture with Infoseek on January 12, 1999, Disney acquired the rest of Infoseek later that year.[271][272] After unsuccessful negotiations with cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean International, in 1994, Disney announced it would start its own cruise-line operation in 1998.[273][274] The first two ships of the Disney Cruise Line would be named Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and would be built by Fincantieri in Italy. To accompany the cruises, Disney bought Gorda Cay as the line's private island, and spent $25 million remodeling it and renaming it Castaway Cay. On July 30, 1998, Disney Magic set sail as the line's first voyage.[275]

 
Roy E. Disney, Roy O. Disney's son, was head of the animation department until 2003.

Marking the end of the Disney Renaissance, Tarzan (1999) was released on June 12, garnering $448 million at the box office and critical acclaim; it also claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Phil Collins' "You'll Be in My Heart".[276][277][278][279] Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 2 was released on November 13, garnering praise and $511 million at the box office.[280][281] To replace Ovitz, Eisner named ABC network chief Bob Iger Disney's president and chief operating officer on January 25, 2000.[282][283] In November, Disney sold DIC Entertainment back to Andy Heward, although still doing business with it.[284] Disney had another huge success with Pixar when they released Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Later, Disney bought children's cable network Fox Family Worldwide for $3 billion and the assumption of $2.3 billion in debt. The deal also included 76% stake in Fox Kids Europe, Latin American channel Fox Kids, more than 6,500 episodes from Saban Entertainment's programming library, and Fox Family Channel.[285] In 2001, Disney's operations had with a net loss of $158 million after a decline in viewership of the ABC television network, as well as decreased tourism due to the September 11 attacks. Disney earnings in fiscal 2001 were $120 million compared with the previous year's $920 million. To help reduce costs, Disney announced it would be lay off 4,000 employees and close 300 to 400 Disney Store outlets.[286][287] After winning the World Series in 2002, Disney sold Anaheim Angels to businessman Arturo Moreno for $180 million in 2003.[288][289] In 2003, Disney became the first studio to garner $3 billion in a year at the box office.[290] The same year, Roy Disney announced his retirement because of the way the company was being run, calling on Eisner to retire; the same week, board member Stanley Gold retired for the same reasons. Gold and Disney formed the "Save Disney" campaign.[291][292]

 
Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004.

In 2004, at the company's annual meeting, the shareholders in a 43% vote voted Eisner out of his position as chairman of the board.[293] On March 4, George J. Mitchell, who was a member of the board, was named as Eisner's replacement.[294] In April, Disney purchased the Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company for $75 million, founding Muppets Holding Company, LLC.[295][296] Following the success of Disney-Pixar films Finding Nemo (2003), which became the second highest-grossing animated film of all time at $936 million, and The Incredibles (2004),[297][298] Pixar looked for a new distributor once its deal with Disney ended in 2004.[299] Disney sold the loss-making Disney Stores chain of 313 stores to Children's Place on October 20.[300] Disney also sold the NHL team Mighty Ducks to Henry Samueli and his wife Susan in 2005.[301] Roy E. Disney decided to rejoin the company and was given the role of consultant with the title "Director Emeritus".[302]

2005–2020: Bob Iger's leadership, expansion, and Disney+

 
Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005, expanding the company's properties

In March 2005, Bob Iger, president of the company, became CEO of Disney after Eisner's retirement in September; Iger was officially named head of the company on October 1.[303][304] Disney's eleventh theme park Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12, costing the company $3.5 billion to construct.[305] On January 24, 2006, Disney began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for $7.4 billion, and Iger appointed Pixar Chief creative officer (CCO) John Lasseter and president Ed Catmull the heads of the Walt Disney Animation Studios.[306][307] A week later, Disney traded ABC Sports commentator Al Michaels to NBCUniversal in exchange for the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and 26 cartoons featuring the character.[308] On February 6, the company announced it would be merging its ABC Radio networks and 22 stations with Citadel Broadcasting in a $2.7 billion deal, though which Disney acquired 52% of television broadcasting company Citadel Communications.[309][310] The Disney Channel movie High School Musical aired and its soundtrack was certified triple platinum, becoming the first Disney Channel film to do so.[311]

Disney's 2006 live-action film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was Disney's biggest hit to that date and the third-highest-grossing film ever, making a little over $1 billion at the box office.[312] On June 28, the company announced it was replacing George Mitchell as chairman with one of its board members and former CEO of P&G John E. Pepper Jr. in 2007.[294] The sequel High School Musical 2 was released in 2007 on Disney Channel and broke several cable rating records.[313] In April 2007, the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed the Muppets Studios as part of efforts to relaunch the division.[314][315] Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End became the highest-grossing film of 2007 at $960 million.[316] Disney-Pixar films Ratatouille (2007) and WALL-E (2008) were a tremendous success, with WALL-E winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.[317][318][319] After acquiring most of Jetix Europe through the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide, Disney bought the remainder of the company in 2008 for $318 million.[320]

Bob Iger introduced D23 in 2009 as Disney's official fan club, with a biennial exposition event named D23 Expo.[321][322] In February, Disney announced a distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures to distribute 30 of their films over the next five years through Touchstone Pictures, with Disney getting 10% of the gross.[323][324] The 2009 film Up garnered Disney $735 million at the box office, and the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.[325][326] Later that year, Disney launched a television channel named Disney XD, which was aimed at older children.[327] The company bought Marvel Entertainment and its assets $4 billion in August, adding Marvel's comic-book characters to its merchandising line-up.[328] In September, Disney partnered with News Corporation and NBCUniversal in a deal in which all parties would obtain 27% equity in streaming service Hulu, and Disney added ABC Family and Disney Channel to the streaming service.[329] On December 16, Roy E. Disney died of stomach cancer; he was the last member of the Disney family to work for Disney.[330] In March 2010, Haim Saban reacquired from Disney the Power Rangers franchise, including its 700-episode library, for around $100 million.[331][332] Shortly after, Disney sold Miramax Films to an investment group headed by Ronald Tutor for $660 million.[333] During that time, Disney released the live-action Alice in Wonderland and the Disney-Pixar film Toy Story 3, both of which grossed a little over $1 billion, making them the sixth-and-seventh films to do so; and Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to make over $1 billion and the highest-grossing animated film. That year, Disney became the first studio to release two $1-billion-dollar-earning films in one calendar year.[334][335] In 2010, the company announced ImageMovers Digital, which it started in partnership with ImageMovers in 2007, would be closing by 2011.[336]

 
Pixar had been making films with Disney from 1995 to 2005, until Disney bought them out in 2006 as one of their subsidiaries.
 
Marvel became a subsidiary of Disney in 2009 after Disney acquired them for $4 billion.
 
After purchasing Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney vowed to make more Star Wars films.
 
In 2019, as Disney's biggest move yet, they bought most of 21st Century Fox's assets for $71 billion, rebranding some of them like the studio 20th Century Fox as 20th Century Studios.

The following year, Disney released its last traditionally animated film Winnie the Pooh to theaters.[337] The release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides garnered a little over $1 billion, making it the eighth film to do so and Disney's highest-grossing film internationally, as well as the third-highest ever.[338] In January 2011, the size of Disney Interactive Studios was reduced and 200 employees were laid off.[339] In April, Disney began constructing its new theme park Shanghai Disney Resort, costing $4.4 billion to build.[340] In August, Bob Iger stated after the success of the Pixar and Marvel purchases, he and the Walt Disney Company were planning to "buy either new characters or businesses that are capable of creating great characters and great stories".[341] On October 30, 2012, Disney announced it would be buying Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion from George Lucas. Through the deal, Disney gained access to franchises such as Star Wars, for which Disney said it would make a new film for every two-to-three years, first one being released in 2015. The deal also gave Disney access to the Indiana Jones franchise, visual-effects studio Industrial Light & Magic, and video game developer LucasArts.[342][343] The sale was completed on December 21, 2012.[344]

In early February 2012, Disney completed its acquisition of UTV Software Communications, expanding its market further into India and the rest of Asia.[345] By March, Iger became Disney's chairman.[346] Marvel film The Avengers became the third-highest-grossing film of all time with an initial-release gross of $1.3 billion.[347] Making over $1.2 billion at the box office, the Marvel film Iron Man 3 was released in 2013.[348] The same year, Disney's animated film Frozen was released and became the highest-grossing animated film of all time at $1.2 billion.[349][350] Merchandising for the film became so popular it made the company $1 billion within a year, and a global shortage of merchandise for the film occurred.[351][352] In March 2013, Iger announced Disney had no 2D animation films in development, and a month, later the hand-drawn animnation division was closed, and several veteran animators were laid off.[337] On March 24, 2014, Disney acquired Maker Studios, an active multi-channel network on YouTube, for $950 million.[353]

On February 5, 2015, Disney announced Thomas O. Staggs had been promoted to COO.[354] In June, the company stated its consumer products and interactive divisions would merge to become new a subsidiary called Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media.[355] In August, Marvel Studios was reorganized and placed under the division Walt Disney Studios.[356] The cmpany's 2015 releases include the successful animated film Inside Out, which grossed over $800 million, and the Marvel film Avengers: Age of Ultron, which grossed over $1.4 billion.[357][358] Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released and grossed over $2 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time.[359] In October, Disney announced the television channel ABC Family would be changing its name to Freeform in 2016 to broaden its audience.[360][361] On April 4, 2016, Disney announced COO Thomas O. Staggs, who was thought to be next in line after Iger, would leave the company in May 2016, ending his 26-year career with Disney.[362] Shanghai Disneyland opened on June 16, 2016, as the company's sixth theme-park resort.[363] In a move to start a streaming service, Disney bought 33% of the stock in Major League Baseball technology company BAMtech for $1 billion in August.[364] In 2016, four Disney film releases made over $1 billion; these were the animated film Zootopia, Marvel film Captain America: Civil War, Pixar film Finding Dory, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, making Disney the first studio to surpass $3 billion at the domestic box office.[365][366] Disney also made an attempt to buy social media platform Twitter to market their content and merchandise but ultimately canceled the deal; Iger stated this was because he thought Disney would be taking on responsibilities it did not need and that it did not "feel Disney" to him.[367]

On March 23, 2017, Disney announced Iger had agreed to a one-year extension of his term as CEO to July 2, 2019, and to remain with the company as a consultant for three years.[368][369] On August 8, 2017, Disney announced it would be ending its distribution deal with streaming service Netflix, with the intent of launching its own streaming platform built with BAMtech's technology by 2019. During that time, Disney paid $1.5 billion to acquire a 75% stake in BAMtech. Disney also planned to start an ESPN streaming service with about "10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year" by 2018.[370][371] In November, CCO John Lasseter said he would take a six-month absence from the company because of "missteps", which were later reported to be sexual misconduct allegations.[372] The same month, Disney and 21st Century Fox started negotiating a deal in which Disney would acquire most of Fox's assets.[373] Beginning in March 2018, a strategic reorganization of the company led to the creation of business segments Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and Direct-to-Consumer & International. Parks & Consumer Products was primarily a merger of Parks & Resorts and Consumer Products & Interactive Media, while Direct-to-Consumer & International took over for Disney International and global sales, distribution, and streaming units from Disney-ABC TV Group and Studios Entertainment plus Disney Digital Network.[374] CEO Iger described it as "strategically positioning our businesses for the future" while according to The New York Times, the reorganization was done in expectation of the 21st Century Fox purchase.[375]

In 2017, two of Disney's films had revenues of over $1 billion; the live-action Beauty and the Beast and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[376][377] Disney launched subscription sports streaming service ESPN+ on April 12.[378] In June 2018, Lasseter's departure from the company by the end of the year was announced; he would stay as a consultant until then.[379] To replace him; Disney promoted Jennifer Lee, co-director of Frozen and co-writer of Wreck-it Ralph (2012), as head of Walt Disney Animation Studios; and Pete Docter, who had been with Pixar since 1990 and directed Up, The Incredibles, and Inside Out, as head of Pixar.[380][381] Later that month, Comcast offered to buy 21st Century Fox for $65 billion over Disney's $51 billion bid but withdrew its offer after Disney countered with a $71 billion bid; and Comcast shifted focus to buy Fox's Sky plc instead. Disney obtained an AntiTrust approval from the United States Department of Justice to acquire Fox.[382][383] Disney again made $7 billion at the box office with three film that made $1 billion; Marvel films Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War—the latter taking over $2 billion and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film ever— and Pixar film Incredibles 2.[384][385]

 
Disney's video streaming subscription service Disney+ was launched in 2019, which has a total of over 135 million subscriptions as of June 2022.

On March 20, 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox's assets for $71.3 billion from Rupert Murdoch, making it the biggest acquisition in Disney's history. After the purchase, The New York Times described Disney as "an entertainment colossus the size of which the world has never seen".[386] Through the acquisition, Disney gained 20th Century Fox; 20th Century Fox Television; Fox Searchlight Pictures; Fox Networks Group; Indian television broadcaster Star India; and streaming services Star+, and Hotstar; and a 30% stake in Hulu, bringing its ownership on Hulu to 60%. Fox Corporation and its assets were excluded from the deal because of antitrust laws.[387][388] Disney also became the first film studio to have seven films gross $1 billion: Marvel's Captain Marvel, the live action Aladdin, Pixar's Toy Story 4, the CGI remake of The Lion King, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the highest-grossing film of all time up to that point at $2.797 billion Avengers: Endgame.[389][390] On November 12, Disney's subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service Disney+, which had 500 movies and 7,500 episodes of television shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and other brands, was launched in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands. Within the first day, the streaming platform had over 10 million subscriptions; and by 2022 it had over 135 million subscribers, and was available in over 190 countries.[391][392] At the beginning of 2020, Disney removed the Fox name from its assets, rebranding them as 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.[393]

2020–2022: Bob Chapek's leadership, and COVID-19 pandemic

 
Bob Chapek became CEO after Bob Iger's retirement.

Bob Chapek, who had been with the company for 18 years and was chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, became CEO of Disney after Iger resigned on February 25, 2020. Iger said he would stay with the company as an executive chairmen until December 31, 2021, to help with its creative strategy.[394][395] In April, Iger resumed operational duties as executive chairman to help the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chapek was appointed to the board of directors.[396][397] During the pandemic, Disney closed all of its theme parks, delayed the release of several movies, and stopped all operations on its cruise line.[398][399][400] Due to the closures, Disney announced it would stop paying 100,000 employees but would still provide full healthcare benefits, and urged U.S. employees to apply for government benefits, saving the company $500 million a month. Iger gave up his $47.5 million salary and Chapek took a 50% salary reduction.[401]

In the company's second fiscal quarter of 2020, Disney reported a $1.4 billion loss, with a fall in earnings of 91% to $475 million from the previous year's $5.4 billion.[402] By August, two-thirds of the company was owned by large financial institutions.[403] In September, the company dismissed 28,000 employees, 67% of whom were part-time workers, from its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Chairman of the division Josh D'Amaro wrote; "We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we find that has not been the case." Disney lost $4.7 billion in its fiscal third quarter of 2020.[404] In November, Disney laid off another 4,000 employees from the Parks, Experiences and Products division, raising the total to 32,000 employees.[405] The following month, Disney named Alan Bergman as chairman of its Disney Studios Content division to oversee its film studios.[406] Due to the COVID-19 recession, Disney closed its animation studio Blue Sky Studios in February 2021.[407] Touchstone Television ceased operations in December, and Disney announced in March 2021 it would be launching a new division called 20th Television Animation to focus on mature audiences.[408][409] In April, Disney and Sony agreed to a multi-year licensing deal that would give Disney access to Sony's films from 2022 to 2026 to televise or stream on Disney+ once Sony's deal with Netflix ended.[410] Although it performed poorly at the box office because of COVID-19, Disney's animated film Encanto (2022) was one of the biggest hits during the pandemic, with its song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" becoming popular.[411][412]

After Iger's term as executive chairman ended on December 31, he announced he would also resign as chairman of the board. To replace him, the company brought in an operating executive at The Carlyle Group and current board member Susan Arnold as Disney's first female chairperson.[413] On March 10, Disney ceased all operations in Russia because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and became was the first major Hollywood studio to halt the release of a major motion picture due to Russia's invasion; other movie studios followed soon after.[414] In March 2022, around 60 employees protested the company's silence on the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act that was dubbed the Don't Say Gay Bill, and prohibits non-age-appropriate classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida's public-school districts. The protest was dubbed the "Disney Do Better Walkout"; employees protested near a Disney Studios lot for about a week, and some other employees voiced their concerns through social media. Employees called on Disney to stop campaign contributions to Florida politicians who supported the bill, to help protect employees from it, and to stop construction at Walt Disney World in Florida. Chapek responded by stating the company had made a mistake by staying silent and said; "We pledge our ongoing support of the LGBTQ+ community".[415][416]

Amid Disney's response to the bill, the Florida Legislature passed a bill to remove Disney's quasi-government district Reedy Creek; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill, which took effect on June 1.[417] On June 28, Disney's board members unanimously agreed to give Chapek a three-year contract extension.[418] In August, Disney Streaming exceeded Netflix in total subscriptions with 221 million subscribers compared to Netflix's 220 million.[419]

2022 onward: Bob Iger's return

On November 20, 2022, Iger accepted the position of Disney's CEO after Chapek was dismissed following a poor earnings performance. The board announced Iger would serve for two years with a mandate to develop a strategy for renewed growth and help identify a successor.[420]

Company units

For a more comprehensive list, see list of assets owned by the Walt Disney Company and list of libraries owned by The Walt Disney Company.

The Walt Disney Company operates six primary business segments—two primary divisions and four content groups:[421]

Divisions

Content groups

Leadership

 
Team Disney building in Burbank, which is the main building at the Walt Disney Studios, houses the offices of Disney's CEO and several other senior corporate officials.

Current

Board of directors

[427]

Executives

[427]

  • Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer
    • Alan Bergman, Chairman, Disney Studios Content
    • Rebecca Campbell, Chairman, International Content and Operations
    • Jennifer Cohen, Executive Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility
    • Josh D'Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
    • Horacio Gutierrez, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel
      • Jolene Negre, Associate General Counsel and Secretary
      • Alicia Schwarz, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer
    • Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
      • Carlos A. Gómez, Senior Vice President and Treasurer
      • Diane Jurgens, Executive Vice President, Enterprise Technology and Chief Information Officer
      • Alexia S. Quadrani, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
      • Brent Woodford, Executive Vice President, Controllership, Finance and Tax
    • James Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content
    • Paul Richardson, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
      • Latondra Newton, Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer
    • Kristina Schake, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer
    • Dana Walden, Chairman, Disney General Entertainment Content

Past leadership

  • Executive chairmen

Awards and nominations

See also: List of Academy Awards for Walt Disney

As of 2022, the Walt Disney Company has won 135 Academy Awards, 32 of them were awarded to Walt. The company has won 16 Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film, 16 for Best Original Song, 15 for Best Animated Feature, 11 for Best Original Score, 5 for Best Documentary Feature, 5 for Best Visual Effects, and several others as well special awards.[429] Disney has also won 29 Golden Globe Awards, 51 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, and 36 Grammy Awards as of 2022.[430][431][432][d]

Legacy

The Walt Disney Company is one of the world's largest entertainment companies and is considered to be a pioneer in the animation industry, having produced 790 features, 122 of which are animated films.[451][452] Many of their films are considered to be the greatest of all time, including Pinocchio, Toy Story, Bambi, Ratatouille, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Mary Poppins.[453][454][455] Disney has also created some of the most influential and memorable fictional characters of all time, such as Mickey Mouse, Woody, Captain America (MCU), Jack Sparrow, Iron Man (MCU), and Elsa.[16][456][457]

Disney has been recognized for revolutionizing the animation industry; according to Den of Geek, the risk of making the first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has "changed cinema".[458] The company, mainly through Walt, has introduced new technologies and more-advanced techniques for animating, as well as adding personalities to characters.[459][137] Some of Disney's technological innovations for animation include invention of the multiplane camera, xerography, CAPS, deep canvas, and RenderMan.[215] Many songs from the company's films have become extremely popular, and several have peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot 100.[460] Some songs from the Silly Symphonies series became immensely popular across the U.S.[25]

Disney has been ranked number 53 in the 2022 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and fourth in Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies".[1][461] According to Smithsonian Magazine, there are "few symbols of pure Americana more potent than the Disney theme parks", which are "well-established cultural icons", with the company name and Mickey Mouse being "household names".[462] Disney is one of the biggest competitors in the theme park industry with 12 parks, all of which were the top-25 most-visited parks in 2018. Disney theme parks worldwide had over 157 million visitors, making it the most-visited theme-park company in the world, doubling the attendance number of the second-most-visited company. Of the 157 million visitors, the Magic Kingdom had 20.8 million of the guests, making it the most-visited theme park in the world.[463][464] When Disney first entered the theme park industry, CNN stated: "It changed an already legendary company. And it changed the entire theme park industry."[465] According to The Orange County Register, Walt Disney World has "changed entertainment by showing how a theme park could help make a company into a lifestyle brand".[466]

Criticism and controversies

Main article: Criticism of The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company has been criticized for making purportedly sexist and racist content in the past, putting LGBT+ elements in their films, and not having enough LGBT+ representation. There have been controversies over alleged plagiarism, poor pay and working conditions, and poor treatment of animals. Several of Disney's films have been considered to be racist; one of the company's most-controversial films Song of the South was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes. For that reason, the film was never released to home video in the U.S. or Disney+.[467] Other characters that have been called racist are Sunflower, a black centaurette who serves a white centaurette in Fantasia; the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp, who are considered to be over-exaggerated as Asians, stereotypes of Native Americans in Peter Pan, and crows in Dumbo, who are depicted as African Americans who use jive talk. Their leader being named Jim Crow, which is considered to be a reference to racial segregation laws in the U.S.[468][469] When watching a film on Disney+ considered to have wrongful racist stereotypes, Disney added a disclaimer before the film starts to help avoid controversies.[470]

Disney has also been accused a number of times of plagiarizing already existing works in its films. Most notably, The Lion King has many similarities in its characters and events to an animated series called Kimba the White Lion by animator Osamu Tezuka.[471] Atlantis: The Lost Empire also has many similarities to the anime show Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water that were considered so prevalent the latter show's creator Gainax was planning to sue Disney but was stopped by its series' network NHK.[472] Kelly Wilson, creator of the short The Snowman (2014), filed two lawsuits, one which came after the first was rescinded, against Disney for copyright infringement in Disney's animated film Frozen. Disney later settled the lawsuit with Wilson, allowing the company to create a sequel to Frozen.[473] Screenwriter Gary L. Goldman sued Disney over its film Zootopia, claiming he had earlier pitched an identical, same-titled story to the company. A judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating there was not enough evidence to prove any plagiarism.[474]

Disney has been criticized for both putting LGBT+ elements into its films and for having insufficient LGBT+ representation in its media. In the live-action film Beauty and the Beast, director Bill Condon announced LeFou would be depicted as a gay character, prompting Kuwait, Malaysia, and a theater in Alabama to ban the film, and Russia to give it a stricter rating.[475] In Russia and several Middle Eastern countries, the Pixar movie Onward was banned for having Disney's first openly lesbian character Officer Specter, while others said Disney needed more representation of LGBT+ persons in its media.[476][477] Because of a scene featuring two lesbians kissing, Pixar's Lightyear was banned in 13 predominantly Muslim countries, and barely broke even at the box office.[478][479] In a leaked video of a Disney meeting, participants talked about pushing LGBT+ themes in the company's media, angering some people, who say the company is "trying to sexualize children", while others applauded its actions.[480]

Some Disney Princess films have been considered to be sexist toward women. Snow White is said to be too worried about her appearance while Cinderella is deemed to have no talents. Aurora is also said to be weak became she is always waiting to be rescued. In some of the princess films, men have more dialogue, and there are more speaking male characters than female. Disney's more-recent films are considered to be less sexist than its earlier films.[481]

In 1990, Disney paid $95,000 to avoid legal action over 16 animal-cruelty charges for beating vultures to death, shooting at birds, and starving some birds at Discovery Island. The company took these actions because they were attacking other animals and taking their food.[482] When Animal Kingdom first opened, there were concerns about the animals because a few of them died. Animal rights groups protested but the United States Department of Agriculture found no violations of animal-welfare regulations.[483] Disney has been accused of having poor working conditions. A protest by 2,000 workers at Disneyland accused the company of poor pay at an average of $13 an hour, with some saying they were evicted from their homes.[484] In 2010, at a factory in China where Disney products were being made, workers experienced working hours three times longer than those prescribed by law, and one of the workers committed suicide.[485]

Financial data

Revenues

Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company (in millions USD)
Year Studio Entertainment[e] Disney Consumer Products[f] Disney Interactive Media[486][487] Parks & Resorts[g] Disney Media Networks[h] Total Source
1991 2,593.0 724   2,794.0   6,111 [488]
1992 3,115 1,081   3,306   7,502 [488]
1993 3,673.4 1,415.1   3,440.7   8,529 [488]
1994 4,793 1,798.2   3,463.6 359 10,414 [489][490][491]
1995 6,001.5 2,150   3,959.8 414 12,525 [489][490][491]
1996 10,095[f]   4,502 4,142[i] 18,739 [490][492]
1997 6,981 3,782 174 5,014 6,522 22,473 [493]
1998 6,849 3,193 260 5,532 7,142 22,976 [493]
1999 6,548 3,030 206 6,106 7,512 23,435 [493]
2000 5,994 2,602 368 6,803 9,615 25,402 [494]
2001 7,004 2,590   6,009 9,569 25,790 [495]
2002 6,465 2,440   6,691 9,733 25,360 [495]
2003 7,364 2,344   6,412 10,941 27,061 [496]
2004 8,713 2,511   7,750 11,778 30,752 [496]
2005 7,587 2,127   9,023 13,207 31,944 [497]
2006 7,529 2,193   9,925 14,368 34,285 [497]
2007 7,491 2,347   10,626 15,046 35,510 [498]
2008 7,348 2,415 719 11,504 15,857 37,843 [499]
2009 6,136 2,425 712 10,667 16,209 36,149 [500]
2010 6,701[j] 2,678[j] 761 10,761 17,162 38,063 [501]
2011 6,351 3,049 982 11,797 18,714 40,893 [502]
2012 5,825 3,252 845 12,920 19,436 42,278 [503]
2013 5,979 3,555 1,064 14,087 20,356 45,041 [504]
2014 7,278 3,985 1,299 15,099 21,152 48,813 [505]
2015 7,366 4,499 1,174 16,162 23,264 52,465 [506]
2016 9,441 5,528 16,974 23,689 55,632 [507]
2017 8,379 4,833 18,415 23,510 55,137 [508]
2018 9,987 4,651 20,296 24,500 59,434 [509]
Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company (Re-segmented) (in millions USD)
Year Studio Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer & International Parks, Experiences and Products Media Networks[h] Total Source
2018 10,065 3,414 24,701 21,922 59,434 [510]
2019 11,127 9,349 26,225 24,827 69,570 [511]
2020 9,636 16,967 16,502 28,393 65,388 [512]
Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company (Re-segmented) (in millions USD)
Year Media and Entertainment Distribution Parks, Experiences and Products Total Source
2021 50,866 16,552 67,418 [513]
2022 55,040 28,705 83,745 [514]

Operating income

Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company (in millions USD)
Year Studio Entertainment[e] Disney Consumer Products[f] Disney Interactive Media[486] Parks and Resorts[g] Disney Media Networks[h] Total Source
1991 318 229   546   1,094 [488]
1992 508 283   644   1,435 [488]
1993 622 355   746   1,724 [488]
1994 779 425   684 77 1,965 [489][490]
1995 998 510   860 76 2,445 [489][490]
1996 1,596[f] −300[k] 990 747 3,033 [490]
1997 1,079 893 −56 1,136 1,699 4,312 [493]
1998 769 801 −94 1,288 1,746 4,079 [493]
1999 116 607 −93 1,446 1,611 3,231 [493]
2000 110 455 −402 1,620 2,298 4,081 [494]
2001 260 401   1,586 1,758 4,214 [495]
2002 273 394   1,169 986 2,826 [495]
2003 620 384   957 1,213 3,174 [496]
2004 662 534   1,123 2 169 4,488 [496]
2005 207 543   1,178 3,209 5,137 [497]
2006 729 618   1,534 3,610 6,491 [497]
2007 1,201 631   1,710 4,285 7,827 [498]
2008 1,086 778 −258 1,897 4,942 8,445 [499]
2009 175 609 −295 1,418 4,765 6,672 [500]
2010 693 677 −234 1,318 5,132 7,586 [501]
2011 618 816 −308 1,553 6,146 8,825 [502]
2012 722 937 −216 1,902 6,619 9,964 [503]
2013 661 1,112 −87 2,220 6,818 10,724 [504]
2014 1,549 1,356 116 2,663 7,321 13,005 [505]
2015 1,973 1,752 132 3,031 7,793 14,681 [506]
2016 2,703 1,965 3,298 7,755 15,721 [507]
2017 2,355 1,744 3,774 6,902 14,775 [508]
2018 2,980 1,632 4,469 6,625 15,706 [509]
Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company (Re-segmented) (in millions USD)
Year Studio Entertainment Direct-to-Consumer & International Parks, Experiences and Products Disney Media Networks Total Source
2018 3,004 −738 6,095 7,338 15,689 [510]
2019 2,686 −1,814 6,758 7,479 14,868 [511]
2020 2,501 −2,806 −81 9,022 8,108 [512]
Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company (Re-segmented) (in millions USD)
Year Media and Entertainment Distribution Parks, Experiences and Products Total Source
2021 7,295 471 7,766 [513]
2022 4,216 7,905 12,121 [514]

Film library

Highest-grossing films

  Indicates films playing in theatres in the week commencing 6 January 2023.
Highest-grossing films worldwide[515][516]
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Avengers: Endgame 2019 $2,797,800,564
2 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 $2,064,615,817
3 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 $2,048,359,754
4 Avatar: The Way of Water  2022 $1,707,789,379
5 The Lion King 2019 $1,654,367,425
6 The Avengers 2012 $1,515,100,211
7 Frozen II 2019 $1,445,182,280
8 Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015 $1,395,316,979
9 Black Panther 2018 $1,336,494,321
10 Star Wars: The Last Jedi 2017 $1,331,635,141
11 Beauty and the Beast 2017 $1,273,109,220
12 Frozen 2013 $1,265,596,785
13 Incredibles 2 2018 $1,242,805,359
14 Iron Man 3 2013 $1,215,392,272
15 Captain America: Civil War 2016 $1,151,918,521
16 Captain Marvel 2019 $1,129,727,388
17 Toy Story 4 2019 $1,073,080,329
18 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker 2019 $1,072,848,487
19 Toy Story 3 2010 $1,068,879,522
20 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 2006 $1,066,179,725
21 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 2016 $1,055,135,598
22 Aladdin 2019 $1,046,649,706
23 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 2011 $1,045,713,802
24 Alice in Wonderland 2010 $1,025,491,110
25 Finding Dory 2016 $1,025,006,125
Highest-grossing animated films worldwide[517]
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Frozen II 2019 $1,445,182,280
2 Frozen 2013 $1,265,596,785
3 Incredibles 2 2018 $1,242,805,359
4 Toy Story 4 2019 $1,073,080,329
5 Toy Story 3 2010 $1,068,879,522
6 Finding Dory 2016 $1,025,006,125
7 Zootopia 2016 $1,004,629,935
8 The Lion King 1994 $986,214,868
9 Finding Nemo 2003 $936,094,852
10 Inside Out 2015 $852,830,107
11 Coco 2017 $797,666,425
12 Monsters University 2013 $743,455,810
13 Up 2009 $731,463,377
14 Big Hero 6 2014 $649,657,407
15 Moana 2016 $634,965,560
16 The Incredibles 2004 $631,441,092
17 Ratatouille 2007 $626,549,695
18 Tangled 2010 $584,899,819
19 Monsters, Inc. 2001 $560,483,719
20 Cars 2 2011 $560,155,383
21 Brave 2012 $554,606,532
22 WALL-E 2008 $532,508,025
23 Ralph Breaks The Internet 2018 $529,290,830
24 Toy Story 2 1999 $511,358,276
25 Aladdin 1992 $504,050,219

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "WED" is from the initials of Walter Elias Disney.
  2. ^ Although July 17 was supposed to be preview opening foregoing the public opening the next day, Disneyland uses July 17 as its official opening day.[91]
  3. ^ His official title was co. vice chairman.
  4. ^ List of references for Grammy Awards:[433][434][435][436][437][438][439][440][441][442][443][444][445][446][447][448][449][450]
  5. ^ a b Also named Films and Film Entertainment
  6. ^ a b c d Merged into Creative Content in 1996, merged into Consumer Products and Interactive Media in 2016, which merged with Parks & Resorts in 2018
  7. ^ a b Called Walt Disney Attractions (1989–2000), Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (2000–2005), Disney Destinations (2005–2008), and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide (2008–2018)
  8. ^ a b c Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996
  9. ^ Following the purchase of Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
  10. ^ a b First year with Marvel Entertainment as part of results
  11. ^ Not linked to WDIG, Disney reported a $300M loss due to financial modification regarding real estate

Citations

  1. ^ a b "Walt Disney". Fortune. from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Walt Disney Company Form 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). November 29, 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Gibson, Kate (June 24, 2022). "Disney among slew of U.S. companies promising to cover abortion travel costs". CBS News. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  4. ^ . Lexico. Oxford. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Davis, Elizabeth (June 25, 2019). "Historically yours: Mickey Mouse is born". Jefferson City News Tribune. from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  6. ^ Martin, Mackenzie (May 22, 2021). "Walt Disney Didn't Actually Draw Mickey Mouse. Meet the Kansas City Artist Who Did". NPR. from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  7. ^ Hayes, Carol (April 28, 1985). "Cartoon Producer Recalls Early Days". The New York Times. from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Rockefeller 2015, p. 3.
  9. ^ Pitcher, Ken (October 1, 2021). "50 years ago: Roy Disney made Walt's dream come true". ClickOrlando. from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. ^ Barrier 2007, p. 42.
  11. ^ Gabler 2008, p. 98.
  12. ^ Rockefeller 2015, p. 4.
  13. ^ a b "Could Oswald the Lucky Rabbit have been bigger than Mickey?". BBC. December 3, 2022. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  14. ^ Taylor, Drew (September 5, 2020). "The Incredible True Story of Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit". Collider. from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Susanin & Rockefeller 2011, p. 182.
  16. ^ a b c d Suddath, Claire (November 18, 2008). "A Brief History of Mickey Mouse". Time. from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Parkel, Inga (July 4, 2022). "Disney could lose Mickey Mouse as 95-year copyright expiry nears". The Independent. from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  18. ^ Feilding 1967, p. 187.
  19. ^ Davis, Amy 2019, p. 9.
  20. ^ a b Gabler, Neal (September 12, 2015). "Walt Disney, a Visionary Who Was Crazy Like a Mouse". The New York Times. from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Lauren, Baltimore (June 24, 2017). "Rare First Appearance Mickey Mouse Animation Art Up For Auction". Bleeding Cool. from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  22. ^ a b Barrier 2003, p. 54.
  23. ^ a b c Susanin 2011, p. 261.
  24. ^ Barrier 2007, p. 75-78.
  25. ^ a b c Kaufman, J.B. (April 1997). "Who's Afraid of ASCAP? Popular Songs in the Silly Symphonies". Animation World Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 1. from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  26. ^ Barrier 2007, p. 77.
  27. ^ Lynn, Capi (December 23, 2019). "Here's how Salem kids formed the first ever Mickey Mouse Club in the nation in 1929". Statesman Journal. from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  28. ^ Krasniewicz 2010, p. 51.
  29. ^ Kaufman & Gerstein 2018, pp. 84–85.
  30. ^ Barrier 2007, p. 342.
  31. ^ a b Iyer, Aishwarya (January 18, 2020). "A look back at Mickey Mouse, as the comic strip turns 90". Hindustan Times. from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  32. ^ Rivkin, Mike (April 3, 2021). "Antiques: The Life and Times of Mickey Mouse". The Desert Sun. from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  33. ^ Krasniewicz 2010, p. 52.
  34. ^ "How Mickey got Disney through the Great Depression". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. April 23, 2020. from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  35. ^ a b Krasniewicz 2010, p. 55.
  36. ^ Zavaleta, Jonathan (March 20, 2022). "A Brief History of the Mickey Mouse Watch (Plus, the Best Mickey Mouse Watches to Buy)". Spy.com. from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  37. ^ Gabler 2008, pp. 199–201.
  38. ^ Gabler 2008, p. 201, 203.
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January 10, 2023
walt, disney, company, disney, redirects, here, company, namesake, founder, walt, disney, other, uses, disney, disambiguation, commonly, known, disney, american, multinational, mass, media, entertainment, conglomerate, that, headquartered, walt, disney, studio. Disney redirects here For the company s namesake co founder see Walt Disney For other uses see Disney disambiguation The Walt Disney Company commonly known as Disney ˈ d ɪ z n i 4 is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank California Disney was founded on October 16 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy O Disney as Disney Brothers Studio it also operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before changing its name to The Walt Disney Company in 1986 Early in its existence the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the creation of the widely popular character Mickey Mouse who first appeared in Steamboat Willie which used synchronized sound to becoming the first post produced sound cartoon 5 The character would go on to the become the company s mascot The Walt Disney CompanyThe corporate variant of the Disney logoThe Walt Disney Studios corporate headquarters in Burbank California 2016Trade nameDisneyFormerlyDisney Brothers Studio 1923 1926 Walt Disney Studio 1926 1929 Walt Disney Productions 1929 1986 TypePublicTraded asNYSE DISDJIA componentS amp P 100 componentS amp P 500 componentISINUS2546871060IndustryMediaEntertainmentPredecessorsLaugh O Gram StudioFoundedOctober 16 1923 99 years ago 1923 10 16 FoundersWalt Disney Roy O DisneyHeadquartersTeam Disney Building Walt Disney Studios Burbank California U S Area servedWorldwideKey peopleSusan Arnold chairwoman Bob Iger CEO ProductsAmusement parks Comic Books Films Music Television program Video games Web portalsServicesBroadcasting Licensing Publishing Radio Streaming TelevisionRevenueUS 82 722 billion 2022 Operating incomeUS 12 121 billion 2022 Net incomeUS 3 145 billion 2022 Total assetsUS 203 631 billion 2022 Total equityUS 98 879 billion 2022 Number of employeesc 220 000 2022 DivisionsDisney Parks Experiences and Products Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Walt Disney Studios Disney General Entertainment Content Disney International Content and Operations ESPN and Sports ContentSubsidiariesMarvel Entertainment National Geographic Partners 73 Websitethewaltdisneycompany wbr comFootnotes references 1 2 3 After becoming a major success by the early 1940s the company diversified into live action films television and theme parks in the 1950s Following Walt Disney s death in 1966 the company s profits especially in the animation division began to decline Once Disney s shareholders voted Michael Eisner as the head of the company in 1984 it became overwhelmingly successful during a period called the Disney Renaissance In 2005 under new CEO Bob Iger the company started to expand and acquire other corporations Bob Chapek became the head of Disney in 2020 after Iger s retirement Chapek was ousted in 2022 and Iger was reinstated as CEO Since the 1980s Disney has created and acquired corporate divisions to market more mature content than is typically associated with its family oriented brands The company is known for its film studio division Walt Disney Studios which includes Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios Pixar Marvel Studios Lucasfilm 20th Century Studios 20th Century Animation and Searchlight Pictures Disney s other main business units include divisions in television broadcasting streaming media theme park resorts consumer products publishing and international operations Through these divisions Disney owns and operates the ABC broadcast network cable television networks such as Disney Channel ESPN Freeform FX and National Geographic publishing merchandising music and theater divisions direct to consumer streaming services such as Disney Star ESPN Hulu and Hotstar and Disney Parks Experiences and Products which includes several theme parks resort hotels and cruise lines around the world Disney is one of the biggest and best known companies in the world and has been ranked number 53 on the 2022 Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in the United States by revenue Since its founding the company has won 135 Academy Awards 26 of which have been awarded to Walt The company has been said to have produced some of the greatest films of all time as well as revolutionizing the theme park industry Disney has been criticized for supposed plagiarism depicting racial stereotypes in the past and both including and lacking LGBT related elements in its films The company which has been public since 1940 trades on the New York Stock Exchange NYSE with ticker symbol DIS and has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991 In August 2020 just under two thirds of the stock was owned by large financial institutions Contents 1 History 1 1 1923 1934 Founding Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies 1 2 1934 1949 The Golden Age of Animation strike and World War II 1 3 1950 1967 Live action films television Disneyland and Walt Disney s death 1 4 1967 1984 Roy O Disney s leadership and death Walt Disney World animation industry decline and Touchstone Pictures 1 5 1984 2005 Michael Eisner s leadership the Disney Renaissance merger and acquisitions 1 6 2005 2020 Bob Iger s leadership expansion and Disney 1 7 2020 2022 Bob Chapek s leadership and COVID 19 pandemic 1 8 2022 onward Bob Iger s return 2 Company units 2 1 Divisions 2 2 Content groups 3 Leadership 3 1 Current 3 2 Board of directors 3 3 Executives 3 4 Past leadership 4 Awards and nominations 5 Legacy 6 Criticism and controversies 7 Financial data 7 1 Revenues 7 2 Operating income 8 Film library 8 1 Highest grossing films 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Notes 10 2 Citations 10 3 Works cited 11 Further reading 12 External linksHistoryThis section may be too long to read and navigate comfortably Please consider splitting content into sub articles condensing it or adding subheadings Please discuss this issue on the article s talk page January 2023 For a chronological guide see Timeline of The Walt Disney Company 1923 1934 Founding Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies left to right Walt Disney and his brother Roy O Disney co founded The Disney Brothers Studios in 1923 which later became The Walt Disney Company Walt Disney and his friend animator Ub Iwerks had founded a film studio named Laugh O Gram Studio in Kansas City 6 Iwerks and Disney made a short film entitled Alice s Wonderland that depicted child actor Virginia Davis interacting with animated characters In 1923 soon after the short was made Laugh O Gram Studio went bankrupt but the film later became a hit after New York film distributor Margaret J Winkler purchased it Disney signed a contract to create six series of Alice Comedies with an option for two more six episode series 7 8 Before signing the contract Disney decided to move to Hollywood Los Angeles to join his brother Roy O Disney who had tuberculosis 9 Walt and Roy founded Disney Brothers Studio on October 16 1923 to produce the films 10 Walt later persuaded Iwerks and Davis families to move to Hollywood as well 8 In January 1926 the Disney studio on Hyperion Street was completed and Disney Brothers Studio s name was changed to Walt Disney Studio 11 After producing several Alice films for the next four years Winkler handed the role of distributing films to her husband Charles Mintz In 1927 Mintz asked for a new series of films to be made under Universal Pictures In response Walt created his first series of fully animated films which featured the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit 12 Walt Disney Studio created 26 films with Oswald in them 13 In 1928 Walt wanted a larger fee for his films but Mintz wanted to reduce the price Soon after Walt discovered Universal Pictures owned the intellectual property rights to Oswald and Mintz threatened to produce the films without him if he did not accept the reduction in payment 13 14 Walt declined and Mintz signed four of Walt Disney Studio s primary animators to start his own studio Iwerks was the only top animator to remain with the Disney brothers 15 Walt and Iwerks replaced Oswald with a mouse character that was originally named Mortimer Mouse but Walt s wife urged him to change the name to Mickey Mouse 16 17 In May 1928 the studio made the silent films Plane Crazy and The Gallopin Gaucho as test screening for the new character Later that year the studio produced its first sound film the third short in the Mickey Mouse series Steamboat Willie which was made using synchronized sound becoming the first post produced sound cartoon 5 The sound was created using Powers Cinephone system which used Lee de Forest s Phonofilm system 18 Pat Powers distribution company distributed Steamboat Willie which became an immediate hit 16 19 20 In 1929 the company successfully re released the two earlier films with synchronized sound 21 22 One of Disney s first animated characters Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which Disney lost the rights to After the release of Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theater in New York Mickey Mouse became an immensely popular character 22 16 Disney Brothers Studio made several cartoons featuring Mickey and other characters 23 In August 1929 the company began making the Silly Symphony cartoon series with Columbia Pictures as the series distributor because the Disney brothers felt they were not receiving their share of profits from Powers 20 Powers ended his contract with Iwerks who later started his own studio 24 Carl W Stalling played an important role in starting the series and composed the music for early films but left the company after Iwerks departure 25 26 In September theater manager Harry Woodin requested permission to start a Mickey Mouse Club at his theater the Fox Dome to boost attendance Walt agreed but David E Dow started the first such club at Elsinore Theatre before Woodin could start his On December 21 the first meeting for the club at Elsinore Theatre was attended by around 1 200 children 27 28 On July 24 1930 Joseph Conley president of King Features Syndicate wrote to the Disney studio and asked the company to produce a Mickey Mouse comic strip production started in November and samples were sent to King Features which approved them 29 On December 16 1930 the Walt Disney Studios partnership was reorganized as a corporation with the name Walt Disney Productions Limited which had a merchandising division named Walt Disney Enterprises and subsidiaries called Disney Film Recording Company Limited and Liled Realty and Investment Company the latter of which managed real estate holdings Walt and his wife held 60 percent 6 000 shares of the company and Roy owned 40 percent 30 The comic strip Mickey Mouse debuted on January 13 1930 in New York Daily Mirror and by 1931 the strip was published in 60 newspapers in the U S and in twenty other countries 31 After realizing releasing merchandise based on the characters would generate more revenue for the company in New York a man asked Walt for the license to put Mickey Mouse on writing tablets he was manufacturing for 300 Walt agreed and Mickey Mouse became the first licensed character 32 33 In 1933 Walt asked Kay Karmen the owner of an Kansas City advertising firm to run Disney s merchandising Karmen agreed and transformed Disney s merchandising Within a year Kamen had 40 licenses for Mickey Mouse and within two years had made 35 million worth of sales In 1934 Walt said he made more money from the merchandising of Mickey Mouse than from the character s films 34 35 Later the Waterbury Clock Company created a Mickey Mouse watch which became so popular it saved the company from bankruptcy during the Great Depression During a promotional event at Macy s 11 000 Mickey Mouse watches sold in one day and within two years two and a half million watches were sold 36 31 35 As Mickey Mouse become a heroic character rather than a mischievous mouse Disney needed another character that could produce gags 37 Walt invited radio presenter Clarence Nash to the animation studio Walt wanted to use Nash to play Donald Duck a talking duck character that would be the studio s new gag character Donald Duck made his first appearance in 1934 in The Wise Little Hen Though he did not become popular as quickly as Mickey Mouse had Donald Duck had a featured role in Donald and Pluto 1936 and eventually was given his own series 38 After a disagreement with Colombia Pictures about the Silly Symphonies cartoons Walt signed a distribution contract with United Artist from 1932 to 1937 to distribute the series 39 In 1932 Disney signed an exclusive contract with Technicolor to produce cartoons in color until the end of 1935 beginning with the Silly Symphonies short Flowers and Trees 1932 40 The film was the first full color cartoon and later that year it won the Academy Award for the Best Cartoon 5 In 1933 The Three Little Pigs another popular Silly Symphonies short was released and also won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon 23 41 The song from the film Who s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf which was composed by Frank Churchill who wrote other Silly Symphonies songs became popular and remained so throughout the 1930s and became one of the best known Disney songs 25 Other Silly Symphonies films won the Best Cartoon award from 1931 to 1939 except for 1938 when another Disney film Ferdinand the Bull won it 23 1934 1949 The Golden Age of Animation strike and World War II The original animation building at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank California which they fully moved into in 1940 In 1934 Walt decided to make the feature length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Walt Disney Studio s first full length feature film He told his animators by acting out the story Roy tried to stop Walt from making it saying it would bankrupt the studio and in Hollywood it was called Disney s Folly but Walt continued production on the film 42 43 He took a realistic approach to the film and created scenes as though they were live action 44 While making the film the company created the multiplane camera which was pieces of glass upon which drawings were placed at different distances to create an illusion of depth in the backgrounds 45 After United Artist attempted to attain future television rights to the Disney shorts Walt signed a distribution contract with RKO Radio Pictures on March 2 1936 46 Walt Disney Studio exceeded its original budget of 150 000 for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by ten times it production eventually cost the company 1 5 million 42 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs took three years to make debuting on December 12 1937 It became the highest grossing film of all time up to that point grossing 8 million equivalent to 150 796 296 in 2021 after several re releases the film grossed a total of 998 440 000 in the U S adjusted for inflation 47 48 After the profits of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Disney financed the construction of a new studio complex of 51 acres 20 6 ha in Burbank California which the company fully moved into in 1940 49 50 On April 2 of the same year Disney had its initial public offering with the common stock remaining with Walt and his family Walt did not want to go public but the company needed the money 51 Shortly before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs release work began on the company s next films Pinocchio and Bambi Bambi was postponed 46 Pinocchio won the Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score and was said to have made groundbreaking achievements in animation 52 Pinocchio however performed poorly at the box office upon its release on February 23 1940 because its international releases were prevented due to World War II 53 54 The company s next film Fantasia also performed poorly at the box office but during its production he company made advancements in cinema technology inventing Fantasound an early surround sound system for the film s soundtrack making it the first commercial film to be shown in stereo 55 56 57 In 1941 Walt Disney Studio experienced a major setback when 300 of its 800 animators led mainly by one of the company s top animators Art Babbitt went on strike for five weeks for unionization and higher pay Walt thought the strikers were secretly communists and he fired many of the studios animators including some of its best ones 58 59 Roy Disney tried to persuade the company s main distributors to invest in the studio and to secure more production funds for the studio which could no longer afford to offset production costs with employee layoffs but was unsuccessful 60 During the premiere of The Reluctant Dragon 1941 Disney s fourth film Robert Benchley toured the company s studio protesters from the strike arrived and the film was 100 000 short of its production cost 61 Walt right dressed as a gaucho next to Donald Duck on the company s goodwill trip to South America in Argentina While negotiations with the strikers were underway Walt accepted an offer from the Office of the Coordinator of Inter American Affairs to make a goodwill visit along with some of his animators to South America ensuring Disney would be absent during the deal because he knew the results would not be in his favor 62 During the twelve week visit the animators began plotting for films and were inspired by local music 63 As a result of the strike Federal mediators compelled the studio to recognize the Screen Cartoonist s Guild and several animators left the company leaving it with 694 employees 64 59 To recover from their financial losses Disney hurriedly and with a lower budget created the studio s fifth animated film Dumbo which performed well at the box office and made a much needed financial gain for the company 52 65 After the bombing of Pearl Harbor many of the companies animators would be drafted into the army 66 Later 500 United States Army soldiers occupied the studio for eight months to protect a nearby Lockheed aircraft plant While they were there the soldiers fixed equipment in large soundstages and converted storage sheds into ammunition depots 67 On December 8 1941 the United States Navy asked Walt to create propaganda films to gain support for the war He agreed and signed a contract with the navy for 20 war related shorts for 90 000 68 Most of the company s employees worked on the project and created films such as Victory Through Air Power and included some of the company s characters in several of the films 69 66 In August 1942 Bambi was released as Disney s sixth animated film and performed poorly at the box office 70 In 1943 following the trip to South America the studio made Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros 66 71 the two films are package films several short cartoons grouped together to make a feature film Both films performed poorly upon their releases Disney made more package films including Make Mine Music 1946 Fun and Fancy Free 1947 Melody Time 1948 and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad 1949 to try to recover from its financial losses 66 The studio started production on less expensive live action films with a mixture of animation starting with Song of the South which became Disney s most controversial film 72 73 Because the company was short of money in 1944 it planned to re release its feature films to create much needed revenue 73 74 In 1948 Walt Disney Studio began the nature documentary series True Life Adventures which ran until 1960 and won eight Academy Awards 75 76 In 1949 during production of the animated film Cinderella 1950 the Walt Disney Music Company was founded to help with profits for merchandising hoping the music from Cinderella would be a hit 77 1950 1967 Live action films television Disneyland and Walt Disney s death In 1950 Cinderella Disney s first animated film in eight years was released and was considered a return to form for the studio With a production cost of costing 2 2 million it was Disney s most financially successful film since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs making 8 million in its first year Walt had not been as involved as he was with earlier films because he was distracted with trains and visited England to make Disney s first fully live action film Treasure Island 1950 78 Because Treasure Island was a success Walt returned to England to produce The Story of Robin Hood and His Merry Men 79 In 1950 the television industry began to grow and on 25 December NBC aired the company s first television production One Hour in Wonderland which was a promotional program for Disney s next animated film Alice in Wonderland 1951 and sponsored by Coca Cola 80 While Walt was in England Alice in Wonderland was released it was financially unsuccessful falling 1 million short of the production budget 81 Upon his return Walt started planning the construction of an amusement park called Mickey Mouse Park on an eight acre 3 2 ha site near the studio its attractions would include a steamboat ride but business interrupted the plan and production for a third British film The Sword and the Rose began 82 Walt supervised the film s production which was financed by a new subsidiary called Walt Disney British Films Limited 83 Walt center showing the plans of Disneyland to officials from Orange County in December 1954 According to Walt he had the idea of an amusement park during a visit to Griffith Park with his daughters He said he watched them ride a carousel there and that he thought there should be some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together 84 85 Walt changed the planned amusement park s name to Disneylandia then to Disneyland 82 Because Roy was doubtful about the park Walt formed a new company called Walt Disney Enterprise on December 16 1952 to fund the park Shortly after its name was changed to Walt Disney Incorporated and again to WED Enterprises a now Walt Disney Imagineering in November 1953 86 He hired a group of designers to work on the plans these became known as Imagineers 87 Walt and his friends visited parks in the U S and Europe to get ideas on how to build one 88 His plan to build the park in Burbank near the studio quickly changed when he realized that 8 3 2 ha acres would not be enough land Walt acquired 160 acres 65 ha of orange groves in Anaheim southeast of Los Angeles in neighboring Orange County at 6 200 per acre to build the park 89 Construction on the park began on July 12 1954 Walt wanted it to be completed by 1955 with storytelling attractions and areas as well as being clean and perfect 90 By the time the park opened it cost the company 17 million to construct 91 In February 1953 Disney s next animated film Peter Pan was a financial success but Walt wanted to improve the standard of animation without raising the cost 92 When Disney wanted to create The Living Desert a feature with two short films for the True Life documentary RKO s lawyer believed it would break the 1948 antitrust Supreme Court ruling if it was sold as a package Roy thought the company would thrive without RKO and Disney created its own distribution company Buena Vista Distribution named after the street where the studio was located 93 In 1954 Disney s first American live action film 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea which was one of the first films to use CinemaScope was released 94 95 From the early to mid 1950s Walt began to devote less attention to the animation department entrusting most of its operations to his key animators the Nine Old Men although he was always present at story meetings Instead he started concentrating on television Disneyland and other company affairs 96 left to right Cast for The Mickey Mouse Club which over 10 million children would watch every day and Fess Parker as Davy Crockett in the show of the same name which sold 10 million Crockett coonskin caps and over 10 million records of its theme song To finance the construction of Disneyland the company promoted it with a television series After unsuccessful negotiations with NBC and CBS to sign on in 1954 American Broadcasting Company ABC contracted with Disney for an hour long weekly series starting in October called Disneyland an anthology series consisting of animated cartoons live action features and other materials from the studio s library and would depict four segments of the amusement park s four areas 97 The series was a success and garnered over 50 of viewers in its time slot along with increasing audiences and praise from critics 98 In August Walt formed another company Disneyland Inc to finance the theme park with Walt Disney Productions Walt Western Publishing which had been the publisher of Disney books for over twenty years and ABC all holding stock in the company 99 In October with the success of Disneyland ABC allowed Disney to produce The Mickey Mouse Club a variety show for children the show included a daily Disney cartoon a children s newsreel and a talent show It was presented by a host and talented children and adults called Mousketeers and Mooseketeers respectively 100 After the first season over ten million children and five million adults watched it daily and two million Mickey Mouse ears which the cast wore were sold 101 On December 15 1954 Disneyland aired an episode of the five part miniseries Davy Crockett which stars Fess Parker as the title character According to writer Neal Gabler It became an overnight national sensation selling 10 million Crockett coonskin caps 102 The show s theme song The Ballad of Davy Crockett became a part of American pop culture selling 10 million records Los Angeles Times called it the greatest merchandising fad the world had ever seen 103 104 In June 1955 Disney s 15th animated film Lady and the Tramp was released and performed better at the box office than any other Disney films since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 105 Walt Disney at the grand opening of Disneyland on July 17 1955 Disneyland opened on Sunday July 17 1955 b Only Main Street and rides in some of the lands were completed a total of 20 attractions Entry to the park cost 1 and guests had to pay for each individual ride 106 They were ready for 11 000 guests but around 28 000 people arrived due to sales of counterfeit tickets The opening was aired on ABC with actors Art Linkletter Bob Cummings and Ronald Reagan who were all friends of Walt hosting it It garnered over 90 million viewers becoming the most watched live broadcast to that date 107 The opening was disastrous and was dubbed as Black Sunday by the employees Restaurants ran out of food the Mark Twain Riverboat began to sink several rides malfunctioned and the drinking fountains were not working in the 100 F 38 C heat 108 91 Within its first week of being open Disneyland had had 161 657 visitors and by its first month the park had over 20 000 visitors each day After its first year 3 6 million people had visited the park and after its second year four million more guests came making it more popular than the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park That year the company earned a gross total of 24 5 million compared to the 11 million the previous year 109 The Sherman Brothers who composed many of the Disney songs throughout the 1960s in 2002 Though Walt focused more of the park than on films the company produced an average of five releases per year throughout the 1950s and 1960s 110 The animated feature films included Sleeping Beauty 1959 One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1961 and The Sword in the Stone 1963 111 Sleeping Beauty was a financial loss for the company and at 6 million it had the highest production costs for a film up to that point 112 One Hundred and One Dalmatians introduced animation technique using the xerography process to electromagnetically transfer the drawings to animation cels 113 In 1956 the Sherman brothers Robert and Richard were asked to produce a theme song for the television series Zorro 114 The company later hired them as exclusive staff songwriters an arrangement that lasted 10 years They wrote many of the songs for Disney s films and theme parks and several of them were commercial hits 115 116 In the late 1950s Disney ventured into comedy with the live action films The Shaggy Dog 1959 which became the highest grossing film in the U S and Canada for Disney at over 9 million 117 and The Absent Minded Professor 1961 both starring Fred MacMurray 111 118 left to right Hayley Mills and Kurt Russell were two of Disney s most prominent child actors in the 1960s Disney also made several live action films based on children s books including Pollyanna 1960 and Swiss Family Robinson 1960 Child actor Hayley Mills starred in Pollyanna for which she won an Academy Juvenile Award Mills also stared in five other Disney films including a dual role as the twins in The Parent Trap 1961 119 120 Another child actor Kevin Corcoran was a prominent figure in many of Disney s live action films first appearing in a serial for The Mickey Mouse Club where he would play a boy named Moochie He worked alongside Mills in Pollyanna and starred in features such as Old Yeller 1957 Toby Tyler 1960 and Swiss Family Robinson 121 In 1964 the live action animation musical film Mary Poppins was released and became the year s highest grossing film It won five Academy Awards including Best Actress for Julie Andrews as Poppins and Best Song for the Sherman Brothers who also won Best Score for the film s Chim Chim Cher ee 122 123 left to right Dean Jones who was considered the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s 124 and Fred MacMurray who starred in several of Disney s comedies in the 1960s Throughout the 1960s Dean Jones whom The Guardian called the figure who most represented Walt Disney Productions in the 1960s starred in ten Disney films including That Darn Cat 1965 The Ugly Dachshund 1966 and The Love Bug 1968 124 125 Disney s last child actor of the 1960s was Kurt Russell who had signed a ten year contract with the company 126 He featured in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes 1969 The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit 1968 alongside Dean Jones The Barefoot Executive 1971 and The Strongest Man in the World 1975 127 Walt then Florida Governor Hayden Burns and Roy announcing the plans for Disney World In late 1959 Walt had an idea to build another park in Palm Beach Florida called the City of Tomorrow a city that would be full of technological improvements 128 In 1964 the company chose land southwest of Orlando Florida to build the park and quickly acquired 27 000 acres 10 927 ha of land for it On November 15 1965 Walt along with Roy and Florida s governor Haydon Burns announced plans for another park called Disney World which included Magic Kingdom a larger version of Disneyland and the City of Tomorrow which would be at the park s center 129 By 1967 the company had made several expansions to Disneyland and more rides were added in 1966 and 1967 at a cost of 20 million 130 The new rides included Walt Disney s Enchanted Tiki Room which was the first attraction to use audio animatronics Walt Disney s Carousel of Progress which debuted at the 1964 New York World s Fair before moving to Disneyland in 1967 and Dumbo the Flying Elephant which opened a month after the park 131 On November 20 1964 Walt sold most of WED Enterprise to Walt Disney Productions for 3 75 million after being persuaded to by Roy who thought Walt having his own company would cause legal problems Walt formed a new company called Retlaw to handle his personnel business primarily Disneyland Railroad and Disneyland Monorail 132 When the company started looking for a sponsor for the project Walt renamed the City of Tomorrow Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow EPCOT 133 Walt who had been a heavy smoker since World War I experienced deteriorating health he visited St Joseph Hospital on November 2 1966 for tests Doctors discovered a walnut sized spot on his left lung and a few days later they found the lung was cancerous and removed it Walt was released from hospital after two weeks He died on December 15 1966 at the age of 65 of circulatory collapse caused by lung cancer 134 135 1967 1984 Roy O Disney s leadership and death Walt Disney World animation industry decline and Touchstone Pictures In 1967 the last two films Walt had worked on were released the animated film The Jungle Book which was Disney s most successful film for the next two decades and the live action musical The Happiest Millionaire 136 137 After Walt s death the company largely abandoned the animation industry but make several live action films 138 139 Its animation staff declined from 500 to 125 employees with the company only hiring 21 people from 1970 to 1977 140 Disney s first post Walt animated film The Aristocats was released in 1970 according to Dave Kehr of Chicago Tribune the absence of his Walt s hand is evident 141 The following year the anti fascist musical Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released and won the Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects 142 At the time of Walt s death Roy was ready to retire but wanted to keep Walt s legacy alive he became the first CEO and chairman of the company 143 144 In May 1967 Roy had legislation passed by Florida s legislatures to grant Disney World its own quasi government agency in an area called Reedy Creek Improvement District Roy also changed Disney World s name to Walt Disney World to remind people it was Walt s dream 145 146 Over time EPCOT became less of the City of Tomorrow and developed more into another amusement park 147 After 18 months of construction at a cost of around 400 million Walt Disney World s first park the Magic Kingdom along with Disney s Contemporary Resort and Disney s Polynesian Resort 148 opened on October 1 1971 with 10 400 visitors A parade with over 1 000 band members 4 000 Disney entertainers and a choir from the U S Army marched down Main Street The icon of the park was the Cinderella Castle Three months later on Thanksgiving day cars traveling to the Magic Kingdom caused traffic jams along interstate roads 149 150 On December 21 1971 Roy died of cerebral hemorrhage at St Joseph Hospital 144 After Roy s death Donn Tatum a senior executive and former president of Disney became the first non Disney family member to become CEO and chairman of the board Card Walker who had been with the company since 1938 became its president 151 152 By June 30 1973 Disney had over 23 000 employees and had a gross revenue of 257 751 000 over a nine month period compared to the year before when it made 220 026 000 153 In November Disney released the animated film Robin Hood 1973 which became Disney s biggest international grossing movie at 18 million 154 Throughout the 1970s Disney released several more live action films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes sequel Now You See Him Now You Don t 155 The Love Bug sequels Herbie Rides Again 1974 and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo 1977 156 157 Escape to Witch Mountain 1975 158 and Freaky Friday 1976 159 In 1976 Card Walker became CEO of the company with Tatum remaining as chairman until 1980 when Walker replaced him 143 152 In 1977 Roy E Disney Roy O Disney s son and the only Disney working for the company resigned from his job as an executive because of disagreements with the company s decisions 160 In 1977 Disney released the successful animated film The Rescuers which grossed 48 million at the box office 161 The live acton animated musical Pete s Dragon was released in 1977 grossing 16 million in the U S and Canada but was considered a disappointment to the company 162 163 In 1979 Disney s first PG rated film and most expensive film up to that point at 26 million dollars The Black Hole was released showing Disney could use special effects It grossed 35 million which was a disappointment to the company which thought it would be a hit like Star Wars 1977 The Black Hole was a response to other Science fiction films of the era 164 165 In September 12 animators which was over 15 percent of the department resigned from the studio Led by Don Bluth they left because of a conflict with the training program and the atmosphere at the studio and started their own company Don Bluth Productions 166 167 In 1981 Disney released Dumbo to VHS and Alice in Wonderland the following year leading Disney to eventually release all its films on home media 168 On July 24 Walt Disney s World on Ice a two year tour of ice shows featuring Disney charters made its premiere at the Brendan Byrne Meadowlands Arena after Disney licensed its characters to Feld Entertainment 169 170 The same month Disney s animated film The Fox and the Hound was released and became the highest grossing animated film to that point at 39 9 million 171 It was the company s first film that did not involve Walt and was the last major work done by Disney s Nine Old Men who were replaced with younger animators 140 left to right Disneyland s Sleeping Beauty Castle Magic Kingdom s Cinderella Castle and Epcot s Spaceship Earth are each of the park s main icon As profits for the company started to decline on October 1 1982 Epcot then known as EPCOT Center opened as the second theme park in Walt Disney World with around 10 000 people in attendance during the opening 172 173 The park cost over 900 million to construct and consisted of the Future World pavilion and the World Showcase representing Mexico China Germany Italy America Japan France the United Kingdom and Canada Morocco and Norway were added in 1984 and 1988 respectively 172 174 The animation industry continued to decline and 69 of the company s profits were from its theme parks in 1982 there were 12 million visitors to Walt Disney World a figure that declined by 5 the following June 172 On July 9 1982 Disney released Tron one of the first films to extensively use computer generated imagery CGI Tron was a big influence on other CGI movies although it received mixed reviews 175 In total in 1982 the company lost 27 million 176 On April 15 1983 Disney s first park outside the U S Tokyo Disneyland opened in Urayasu Japan 177 Costing around 1 4 billion construction of the park started in 1979 when Disney and The Oriental Land Company agreed to build a park together Within its first ten years the park had over 140 million visitors 178 After an investment of 100 million on April 18 Disney started a pay to watch cable television channel called Disney Channel a 16 hours a day service showing Disney films twelve programs and two magazines shows for adults Although it was expected to do well the company lost 48 3 million after its first year with around 916 000 subscribers 179 180 In 1983 Walt s son in law Ron W Miller who had been president of the company since 1978 became its CEO and Raymond Watson became chairman 143 181 Miller wanted the studio to produce more content for mature audiences 182 and as a result Disney founded the film distribution label Touchstone Pictures to produce movies geared toward adults and teenagers in 1984 176 Splash 1984 was the first film released under the label and was a much needed success for the studio grossing over 6 1 million in its first week of screening 183 Later Disney s first R rated film Down and Out in Beverly Hills 1986 was released and was another hit for the company grossing 62 million 184 The following year Disney s first PG 13 rated film Adventures in Babysitting was released 185 In 1984 Saul Steinberg attempted to buy out the company holding 11 1 of the stocks He offered to buy 49 of the company for 1 3 billion or the entire company for 2 75 billion Disney which had less than 10 million rejected Steinberg s offer and offered to buy all of his stock for 325 5 million Steinberg agreed and Disney paid it all with part of a 1 3 billion bank loan putting the company 866 million in debt 186 187 1984 2005 Michael Eisner s leadership the Disney Renaissance merger and acquisitions Michael Eisner replaced Ron Miller as CEO In 1984 the company s shareholders Roy E Disney Sid Bass Lillian and Diane Disney and Irwin L Jacobs who together owned about 35 5 of the shares of the company forced out CEO Miller and replaced him with Michael Eisner a former president of Paramount Pictures and also appointed Frank Wells as president 188 Eisner s first act at Disney was to make it a major film studio which at the time it was not considered Eisner appointed Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and Roy E Disney as head of the animation division Eisner wanted the company to produce an animated film every 18 months rather than every four years as the company had been doing To help with the film division the company started making Saturday morning cartoons to create new Disney characters for merchandising and produced several films through Touchstone Under Eisner Disney became more involved with television creating Touchstone Television and producing the television situation comedy The Golden Girls which was a hit The company also spent 15 million promoting its theme parks raising visitor numbers by 10 189 190 In 1984 Disney produced The Black Cauldron then the most expensive animated movie at 40 million their first animated film to feature computer generated imagery and also their first PG rated animated film because of its adult themes The film was a box office failure leading the company to move the animation department from the studio in Burbank into a warehouse in Glendale California 191 The film financing partnership Silver Screen Partners II which was organized in 1985 financed films for Disney with 193 million In January 1987 Silver Screen Partners III began financing movies for Disney with 300 million raised by E F Hutton the largest amount raised for a film financing limited partnership 192 Silver Screen IV was also set up to finance Disney s studios 193 In 1986 the company changed its name from Walt Disney Productions to Walt Disney Company stating the old name only referred to the film industry 194 With Disney s animation industry declining the animation department needed its next movie The Great Mouse Detective to be a success It grossed 25 million at the box office becoming a much needed financial success for the company 195 To generate more revenue from merchandising the company opened its first retail store Disney Store in Glendale in 1987 Because of its success the company opened two more stores in California and by 1990 it had 215 stores throughout the U S 196 197 In 1989 the company garnered 411 million in revenue and made a profit of 187 million 198 In 1987 the company signed an agreement with the Government of France to build a resort named Euro Disneyland in Paris it would consist of two theme parks named Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park a golf course and six hotels 199 200 Hollywood Studios park icon the Chinese Theatre In 1988 Disney s 27th animated film Oliver amp Company was released the same day as that of former Disney animator Don Bluth s The Land Before Time Oliver amp Company out competed The Land Before Time becoming the first animated film to gross over 100 million in its initial release and the highest grossing animated film in its initial run 201 202 At the time Disney became the box office leading Hollywood studio for the first time with films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988 Three Men and a Baby 1987 and Good Morning Vietnam 1987 The company s gross revenue went from 165 million in 1983 to 876 million in 1987 and operating income went from 33 million in 1983 to 130 million in 1987 The studio s net income rose by 66 along with a 26 growth in revenue Los Angeles Times called Disney s recovery a real rarity in the corporate world 203 On May 1 1989 Disney opened Disney MGM Studios its third amusement park at Walt Disney World and later became Hollywood Studios The new park demonstrated to visitors the movie making process until 2008 when it was changed to make guests feel as though they are in movies 204 Following the opening of Disney MGM Studios Disney opened the water park Typhoon Lagoon on June 1 1989 in 2008 it had 2 8 million visitors 205 Also in 1989 Disney signed an agreement in principle to acquire The Jim Henson Company from its founder Jim Henson The deal included Henson s programming library and Muppet characters excluding the Muppets created for Sesame Street as well as Henson s personal creative services Henson however died in May 1990 before the deal was completed resulting in the two companies terminating merger negotiations the following December 206 207 208 On November 17 1989 Disney released The Little Mermaid which is considered to be the start of the Disney Renaissance a period in which the company released hugely successful and critically acclaimed animated films During its release it became the animated film with the highest gross from its initial run and garnered 233 million at the box office it also won two Academy Awards Best Original Score and Best Original Song for Under the Sea 209 210 During the Disney Renaissance composer Alan Menken and lyricist Howard Ashman wrote several Disney songs until Howard died in 1991 Together they wrote six songs that were nominated for Academy Awards with two winning songs Under The Sea and Beauty and the Beast 211 212 To produce music geared for the mainstream including music for movie soundtracks Disney founded the recording label Hollywood Records on January 1 1990 213 214 In September 1990 Disney arranged for financing of up to 200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney On October 23 Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners which replaced the Silver Screen Partnership series as the company s movie studios primary source of funding 193 Disney s first animated sequel The Rescuers Down Under was released on November 16 1990 and was created using Computer Animation Production System CAPS a digital software that was developed by Disney and Pixar the computer division of Lucasfilm becoming the first feature film to be entirely created digitally 210 215 Although the film struggled in the box office grossing 47 4 million it received positive reviews from critics 216 217 In 1991 Disney and Pixar agreed to a deal to make three films together the first one being Toy Story 218 Dow Jones amp Company wanting to replace three companies in its industrial average chose Disney in May 1991 statement Disney reflects the importance of entertainment and leisure activities in the economy 219 Disney s next animated film Beauty and the Beast was released on November 13 1991 and grossed nearly 430 million 220 221 It was the first animated film to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture and it received six Academy Award nominations becoming the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture Oscar it won Best Score Best Sound and Best Song for Beauty and the Beast 222 The film was critically acclaimed with some critics considering it to be the best Disney film 223 224 To coincide with the 1992 release of The Mighty Ducks Disney founded National Hockey League team The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 225 Disney s next animated feature Aladdin was released on November 11 1992 and grossed 504 million becoming the highest grossing animated film up to that point and the first animated film to gross a half billion dollars 226 227 It won two Academy Awards Best Song for A Whole New World and Best Score 228 and A Whole New World was the first and only Disney song to win the Grammy for Song of the Year 229 230 For 60 million Disney broadened its range of mature audience films by acquiring independent film distributor Miramax Films in 1993 231 The same year in a joint venture with The Nature Conservancy Disney purchased 8 500 acres 3 439 ha of Everglades headwaters in Florida to protect native animals and plant species establishing the Disney Wilderness Preserve 232 Jeffrey Katzenberg was chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1995 On April 3 1994 Frank Wells died in a helicopter crash he Eisner and Katzenberg helped the company s market value go from 2 billion to 22 billion since taking office in 1984 233 On June 15 the same year The Lion King was released and was a massive success becoming the second highest grossing film of all time behind Jurassic Park and the highest grossing animated film of all time with a gross total of 968 5 million 234 235 It was critically praised and garnered two Academy Awards Best Score and Best Song for Can You Feel the Love Tonight 236 237 Soon after its release Katzenberg left the company after Eisner refused to promote him to president After leaving he co founded film studio DreamWorks SKG 238 Wells was later replaced with one of Eisner s friends Michael Ovitz on August 13 1995 239 240 In 1994 Disney wanted to buy one of the major U S television networks ABC NBC or CBS which would give the company guaranteed distribution for its programming Eisner planned to buy NBC but the deal was canceled because General Electric wanted to keep a majority stake 241 242 In 1994 Disney s annual revenue reached 10 1 billion 48 coming from the film industry 34 from theme parks and 18 from merchandising Disney s total net income was up 25 from the previous year at 1 1 billion 243 Grossing over 346 million Pocahontas was released on June 16 garnering the Academy Awards for Best Musical or Comedy Score and Best Song for Colors of the Wind 244 245 Pixar s and Disney s first co release was the first ever fully computer generated film Toy Story which was released on November 19 1995 to critical acclaim and an end run gross total of 361 million The film won the Special Achievement Academy Award and was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay 246 247 In 1995 Disney announced the 19 billion acquisition of television network Capital Cities ABC Inc which at the time was the second largest corporate takeover in U S history Through the deal Disney would obtain broadcast network ABC an 80 majority stake in sports networks ESPN and ESPN 2 50 in Lifetime Television a majority stake of DIC Entertainment and a 37 5 minority stake in A amp E Television Networks 243 248 249 Following the deal the company started Radio Disney a youth focused radio program on ABC Radio Network on November 18 1996 250 251 The Walt Disney Company launched its official website disney com on February 22 1996 mainly to promote its theme parks and merchandise 252 On June 19 the same year the company s next animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released grossing 325 million at the box office 253 Because Ovitz s management style was different from Eisner s Ovitz was fired as the company s president in 1996 254 Disney lost a 10 4 million lawsuit in September 1997 to Marsu B V over Disney s failure to produce as contracted 13 half hour Marsupilami cartoon shows Instead Disney felt other internal hot properties deserved the company s attention 255 Disney which since 1996 had owned a 25 stake in World Series baseball team California Angels bought out the team in 1998 for 110 million renaming it Anaheim Angels and renovating their stadium for 100 million 256 257 Hercules 1997 was released on June 13 and underperformed at the box office compared to earlier films grossing 252 million 258 On February 24 Disney and Pixar signed a ten year contract to make five films together with Disney as the distributor They would share the cost profits and logo credits calling the films Disney Pixar productions 259 During the Disney Renaissance film division Touchstone Pictures also saw success with film such as Pretty Woman 1990 which has the highest number of ticket sales in the U S for a romantic comedy and grossed 432 million 260 261 Sister Act 1992 which was one of the more financially successful comedies of the early 1990s grossing 231 million 262 action film Con Air 1997 which grossed 224 million 263 and the highest grossing film of 1998 at 553 million Armageddon 1998 264 left to right Disney s Animal Kingdom s the largest theme park main icon the Tree of Life and Disney Cruise Line s first cruise ship Disney Magic which first set sail on July 30 1998 At Disney World the company opened Disney s Animal Kingdom the largest theme park in the world covering 580 acres 230 ha on Earth Day April 22 1998 It had six animal themed lands over 2 000 animals and the Tree of Life at its center 265 266 Receiving positive reviews Disney s next animated films Mulan and Disney Pixar film A Bug s Life were released on June 5 and November 20 1998 respectively 267 268 Mulan became the yea s sixth highest grossing film at 304 million and A Bug s Life was the year s fifth highest at 363 million 264 In a 770 million transaction on June 18 Disney bought a 43 stake of Internet search engine Infoseek for 70 million also giving it Infoseek acquired Starwave 269 270 Starting web portal Go com in a joint venture with Infoseek on January 12 1999 Disney acquired the rest of Infoseek later that year 271 272 After unsuccessful negotiations with cruise lines Carnival and Royal Caribbean International in 1994 Disney announced it would start its own cruise line operation in 1998 273 274 The first two ships of the Disney Cruise Line would be named Disney Magic and Disney Wonder and would be built by Fincantieri in Italy To accompany the cruises Disney bought Gorda Cay as the line s private island and spent 25 million remodeling it and renaming it Castaway Cay On July 30 1998 Disney Magic set sail as the line s first voyage 275 Roy E Disney Roy O Disney s son was head of the animation department until 2003 Marking the end of the Disney Renaissance Tarzan 1999 was released on June 12 garnering 448 million at the box office and critical acclaim it also claimed the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Phil Collins You ll Be in My Heart 276 277 278 279 Disney Pixar film Toy Story 2 was released on November 13 garnering praise and 511 million at the box office 280 281 To replace Ovitz Eisner named ABC network chief Bob Iger Disney s president and chief operating officer on January 25 2000 282 283 In November Disney sold DIC Entertainment back to Andy Heward although still doing business with it 284 Disney had another huge success with Pixar when they released Monsters Inc in 2001 Later Disney bought children s cable network Fox Family Worldwide for 3 billion and the assumption of 2 3 billion in debt The deal also included 76 stake in Fox Kids Europe Latin American channel Fox Kids more than 6 500 episodes from Saban Entertainment s programming library and Fox Family Channel 285 In 2001 Disney s operations had with a net loss of 158 million after a decline in viewership of the ABC television network as well as decreased tourism due to the September 11 attacks Disney earnings in fiscal 2001 were 120 million compared with the previous year s 920 million To help reduce costs Disney announced it would be lay off 4 000 employees and close 300 to 400 Disney Store outlets 286 287 After winning the World Series in 2002 Disney sold Anaheim Angels to businessman Arturo Moreno for 180 million in 2003 288 289 In 2003 Disney became the first studio to garner 3 billion in a year at the box office 290 The same year Roy Disney announced his retirement because of the way the company was being run calling on Eisner to retire the same week board member Stanley Gold retired for the same reasons Gold and Disney formed the Save Disney campaign 291 292 Disney bought The Muppets from the Jim Henson Company in 2004 In 2004 at the company s annual meeting the shareholders in a 43 vote voted Eisner out of his position as chairman of the board 293 On March 4 George J Mitchell who was a member of the board was named as Eisner s replacement 294 In April Disney purchased the Muppets franchise from the Jim Henson Company for 75 million founding Muppets Holding Company LLC 295 296 Following the success of Disney Pixar films Finding Nemo 2003 which became the second highest grossing animated film of all time at 936 million and The Incredibles 2004 297 298 Pixar looked for a new distributor once its deal with Disney ended in 2004 299 Disney sold the loss making Disney Stores chain of 313 stores to Children s Place on October 20 300 Disney also sold the NHL team Mighty Ducks to Henry Samueli and his wife Susan in 2005 301 Roy E Disney decided to rejoin the company and was given the role of consultant with the title Director Emeritus 302 2005 2020 Bob Iger s leadership expansion and Disney Bob Iger became CEO of Disney in 2005 expanding the company s properties In March 2005 Bob Iger president of the company became CEO of Disney after Eisner s retirement in September Iger was officially named head of the company on October 1 303 304 Disney s eleventh theme park Hong Kong Disneyland opened on September 12 costing the company 3 5 billion to construct 305 On January 24 2006 Disney began talks to acquire Pixar from Steve Jobs for 7 4 billion and Iger appointed Pixar Chief creative officer CCO John Lasseter and president Ed Catmull the heads of the Walt Disney Animation Studios 306 307 A week later Disney traded ABC Sports commentator Al Michaels to NBCUniversal in exchange for the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and 26 cartoons featuring the character 308 On February 6 the company announced it would be merging its ABC Radio networks and 22 stations with Citadel Broadcasting in a 2 7 billion deal though which Disney acquired 52 of television broadcasting company Citadel Communications 309 310 The Disney Channel movie High School Musical aired and its soundtrack was certified triple platinum becoming the first Disney Channel film to do so 311 Disney s 2006 live action film Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man s Chest was Disney s biggest hit to that date and the third highest grossing film ever making a little over 1 billion at the box office 312 On June 28 the company announced it was replacing George Mitchell as chairman with one of its board members and former CEO of P amp G John E Pepper Jr in 2007 294 The sequel High School Musical 2 was released in 2007 on Disney Channel and broke several cable rating records 313 In April 2007 the Muppets Holding Company was moved from Disney Consumer Products to the Walt Disney Studios division and renamed the Muppets Studios as part of efforts to relaunch the division 314 315 Pirates of the Caribbean At World s End became the highest grossing film of 2007 at 960 million 316 Disney Pixar films Ratatouille 2007 and WALL E 2008 were a tremendous success with WALL E winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature 317 318 319 After acquiring most of Jetix Europe through the acquisition of Fox Family Worldwide Disney bought the remainder of the company in 2008 for 318 million 320 Bob Iger introduced D23 in 2009 as Disney s official fan club with a biennial exposition event named D23 Expo 321 322 In February Disney announced a distribution deal with DreamWorks Pictures to distribute 30 of their films over the next five years through Touchstone Pictures with Disney getting 10 of the gross 323 324 The 2009 film Up garnered Disney 735 million at the box office and the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards 325 326 Later that year Disney launched a television channel named Disney XD which was aimed at older children 327 The company bought Marvel Entertainment and its assets 4 billion in August adding Marvel s comic book characters to its merchandising line up 328 In September Disney partnered with News Corporation and NBCUniversal in a deal in which all parties would obtain 27 equity in streaming service Hulu and Disney added ABC Family and Disney Channel to the streaming service 329 On December 16 Roy E Disney died of stomach cancer he was the last member of the Disney family to work for Disney 330 In March 2010 Haim Saban reacquired from Disney the Power Rangers franchise including its 700 episode library for around 100 million 331 332 Shortly after Disney sold Miramax Films to an investment group headed by Ronald Tutor for 660 million 333 During that time Disney released the live action Alice in Wonderland and the Disney Pixar film Toy Story 3 both of which grossed a little over 1 billion making them the sixth and seventh films to do so and Toy Story 3 became the first animated film to make over 1 billion and the highest grossing animated film That year Disney became the first studio to release two 1 billion dollar earning films in one calendar year 334 335 In 2010 the company announced ImageMovers Digital which it started in partnership with ImageMovers in 2007 would be closing by 2011 336 Pixar had been making films with Disney from 1995 to 2005 until Disney bought them out in 2006 as one of their subsidiaries Marvel became a subsidiary of Disney in 2009 after Disney acquired them for 4 billion After purchasing Lucasfilm in 2012 Disney vowed to make more Star Wars films In 2019 as Disney s biggest move yet they bought most of 21st Century Fox s assets for 71 billion rebranding some of them like the studio 20th Century Fox as 20th Century Studios The following year Disney released its last traditionally animated film Winnie the Pooh to theaters 337 The release of Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides garnered a little over 1 billion making it the eighth film to do so and Disney s highest grossing film internationally as well as the third highest ever 338 In January 2011 the size of Disney Interactive Studios was reduced and 200 employees were laid off 339 In April Disney began constructing its new theme park Shanghai Disney Resort costing 4 4 billion to build 340 In August Bob Iger stated after the success of the Pixar and Marvel purchases he and the Walt Disney Company were planning to buy either new characters or businesses that are capable of creating great characters and great stories 341 On October 30 2012 Disney announced it would be buying Lucasfilm for 4 05 billion from George Lucas Through the deal Disney gained access to franchises such as Star Wars for which Disney said it would make a new film for every two to three years first one being released in 2015 The deal also gave Disney access to the Indiana Jones franchise visual effects studio Industrial Light amp Magic and video game developer LucasArts 342 343 The sale was completed on December 21 2012 344 In early February 2012 Disney completed its acquisition of UTV Software Communications expanding its market further into India and the rest of Asia 345 By March Iger became Disney s chairman 346 Marvel film The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time with an initial release gross of 1 3 billion 347 Making over 1 2 billion at the box office the Marvel film Iron Man 3 was released in 2013 348 The same year Disney s animated film Frozen was released and became the highest grossing animated film of all time at 1 2 billion 349 350 Merchandising for the film became so popular it made the company 1 billion within a year and a global shortage of merchandise for the film occurred 351 352 In March 2013 Iger announced Disney had no 2D animation films in development and a month later the hand drawn animnation division was closed and several veteran animators were laid off 337 On March 24 2014 Disney acquired Maker Studios an active multi channel network on YouTube for 950 million 353 On February 5 2015 Disney announced Thomas O Staggs had been promoted to COO 354 In June the company stated its consumer products and interactive divisions would merge to become new a subsidiary called Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media 355 In August Marvel Studios was reorganized and placed under the division Walt Disney Studios 356 The cmpany s 2015 releases include the successful animated film Inside Out which grossed over 800 million and the Marvel film Avengers Age of Ultron which grossed over 1 4 billion 357 358 Star Wars The Force Awakens was released and grossed over 2 billion making it the third highest grossing film of all time 359 In October Disney announced the television channel ABC Family would be changing its name to Freeform in 2016 to broaden its audience 360 361 On April 4 2016 Disney announced COO Thomas O Staggs who was thought to be next in line after Iger would leave the company in May 2016 ending his 26 year career with Disney 362 Shanghai Disneyland opened on June 16 2016 as the company s sixth theme park resort 363 In a move to start a streaming service Disney bought 33 of the stock in Major League Baseball technology company BAMtech for 1 billion in August 364 In 2016 four Disney film releases made over 1 billion these were the animated film Zootopia Marvel film Captain America Civil War Pixar film Finding Dory and Rogue One A Star Wars Story making Disney the first studio to surpass 3 billion at the domestic box office 365 366 Disney also made an attempt to buy social media platform Twitter to market their content and merchandise but ultimately canceled the deal Iger stated this was because he thought Disney would be taking on responsibilities it did not need and that it did not feel Disney to him 367 On March 23 2017 Disney announced Iger had agreed to a one year extension of his term as CEO to July 2 2019 and to remain with the company as a consultant for three years 368 369 On August 8 2017 Disney announced it would be ending its distribution deal with streaming service Netflix with the intent of launching its own streaming platform built with BAMtech s technology by 2019 During that time Disney paid 1 5 billion to acquire a 75 stake in BAMtech Disney also planned to start an ESPN streaming service with about 10 000 live regional national and international games and events a year by 2018 370 371 In November CCO John Lasseter said he would take a six month absence from the company because of missteps which were later reported to be sexual misconduct allegations 372 The same month Disney and 21st Century Fox started negotiating a deal in which Disney would acquire most of Fox s assets 373 Beginning in March 2018 a strategic reorganization of the company led to the creation of business segments Disney Parks Experiences and Products and Direct to Consumer amp International Parks amp Consumer Products was primarily a merger of Parks amp Resorts and Consumer Products amp Interactive Media while Direct to Consumer amp International took over for Disney International and global sales distribution and streaming units from Disney ABC TV Group and Studios Entertainment plus Disney Digital Network 374 CEO Iger described it as strategically positioning our businesses for the future while according to The New York Times the reorganization was done in expectation of the 21st Century Fox purchase 375 In 2017 two of Disney s films had revenues of over 1 billion the live action Beauty and the Beast and Star Wars The Last Jedi 376 377 Disney launched subscription sports streaming service ESPN on April 12 378 In June 2018 Lasseter s departure from the company by the end of the year was announced he would stay as a consultant until then 379 To replace him Disney promoted Jennifer Lee co director of Frozen and co writer of Wreck it Ralph 2012 as head of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pete Docter who had been with Pixar since 1990 and directed Up The Incredibles and Inside Out as head of Pixar 380 381 Later that month Comcast offered to buy 21st Century Fox for 65 billion over Disney s 51 billion bid but withdrew its offer after Disney countered with a 71 billion bid and Comcast shifted focus to buy Fox s Sky plc instead Disney obtained an AntiTrust approval from the United States Department of Justice to acquire Fox 382 383 Disney again made 7 billion at the box office with three film that made 1 billion Marvel films Black Panther and Avengers Infinity War the latter taking over 2 billion and becoming the fifth highest grossing film ever and Pixar film Incredibles 2 384 385 Disney s video streaming subscription service Disney was launched in 2019 which has a total of over 135 million subscriptions as of June 2022 On March 20 2019 Disney acquired 21st Century Fox s assets for 71 3 billion from Rupert Murdoch making it the biggest acquisition in Disney s history After the purchase The New York Times described Disney as an entertainment colossus the size of which the world has never seen 386 Through the acquisition Disney gained 20th Century Fox 20th Century Fox Television Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Networks Group Indian television broadcaster Star India and streaming services Star and Hotstar and a 30 stake in Hulu bringing its ownership on Hulu to 60 Fox Corporation and its assets were excluded from the deal because of antitrust laws 387 388 Disney also became the first film studio to have seven films gross 1 billion Marvel s Captain Marvel the live action Aladdin Pixar s Toy Story 4 the CGI remake of The Lion King Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker and the highest grossing film of all time up to that point at 2 797 billion Avengers Endgame 389 390 On November 12 Disney s subscription video on demand over the top streaming service Disney which had 500 movies and 7 500 episodes of television shows from Disney Pixar Marvel Star Wars National Geographic and other brands was launched in the United States Canada and the Netherlands Within the first day the streaming platform had over 10 million subscriptions and by 2022 it had over 135 million subscribers and was available in over 190 countries 391 392 At the beginning of 2020 Disney removed the Fox name from its assets rebranding them as 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures 393 2020 2022 Bob Chapek s leadership and COVID 19 pandemic Bob Chapek became CEO after Bob Iger s retirement Bob Chapek who had been with the company for 18 years and was chairman of Disney Parks Experiences and Products became CEO of Disney after Iger resigned on February 25 2020 Iger said he would stay with the company as an executive chairmen until December 31 2021 to help with its creative strategy 394 395 In April Iger resumed operational duties as executive chairman to help the company during the COVID 19 pandemic and Chapek was appointed to the board of directors 396 397 During the pandemic Disney closed all of its theme parks delayed the release of several movies and stopped all operations on its cruise line 398 399 400 Due to the closures Disney announced it would stop paying 100 000 employees but would still provide full healthcare benefits and urged U S employees to apply for government benefits saving the company 500 million a month Iger gave up his 47 5 million salary and Chapek took a 50 salary reduction 401 In the company s second fiscal quarter of 2020 Disney reported a 1 4 billion loss with a fall in earnings of 91 to 475 million from the previous year s 5 4 billion 402 By August two thirds of the company was owned by large financial institutions 403 In September the company dismissed 28 000 employees 67 of whom were part time workers from its Parks Experiences and Products division Chairman of the division Josh D Amaro wrote We initially hoped that this situation would be short lived and that we would recover quickly and return to normal Seven months later we find that has not been the case Disney lost 4 7 billion in its fiscal third quarter of 2020 404 In November Disney laid off another 4 000 employees from the Parks Experiences and Products division raising the total to 32 000 employees 405 The following month Disney named Alan Bergman as chairman of its Disney Studios Content division to oversee its film studios 406 Due to the COVID 19 recession Disney closed its animation studio Blue Sky Studios in February 2021 407 Touchstone Television ceased operations in December and Disney announced in March 2021 it would be launching a new division called 20th Television Animation to focus on mature audiences 408 409 In April Disney and Sony agreed to a multi year licensing deal that would give Disney access to Sony s films from 2022 to 2026 to televise or stream on Disney once Sony s deal with Netflix ended 410 Although it performed poorly at the box office because of COVID 19 Disney s animated film Encanto 2022 was one of the biggest hits during the pandemic with its song We Don t Talk About Bruno becoming popular 411 412 After Iger s term as executive chairman ended on December 31 he announced he would also resign as chairman of the board To replace him the company brought in an operating executive at The Carlyle Group and current board member Susan Arnold as Disney s first female chairperson 413 On March 10 Disney ceased all operations in Russia because of Russia s invasion of Ukraine and became was the first major Hollywood studio to halt the release of a major motion picture due to Russia s invasion other movie studios followed soon after 414 In March 2022 around 60 employees protested the company s silence on the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act that was dubbed the Don t Say Gay Bill and prohibits non age appropriate classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida s public school districts The protest was dubbed the Disney Do Better Walkout employees protested near a Disney Studios lot for about a week and some other employees voiced their concerns through social media Employees called on Disney to stop campaign contributions to Florida politicians who supported the bill to help protect employees from it and to stop construction at Walt Disney World in Florida Chapek responded by stating the company had made a mistake by staying silent and said We pledge our ongoing support of the LGBTQ community 415 416 Amid Disney s response to the bill the Florida Legislature passed a bill to remove Disney s quasi government district Reedy Creek Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill which took effect on June 1 417 On June 28 Disney s board members unanimously agreed to give Chapek a three year contract extension 418 In August Disney Streaming exceeded Netflix in total subscriptions with 221 million subscribers compared to Netflix s 220 million 419 2022 onward Bob Iger s return On November 20 2022 Iger accepted the position of Disney s CEO after Chapek was dismissed following a poor earnings performance The board announced Iger would serve for two years with a mandate to develop a strategy for renewed growth and help identify a successor 420 Company unitsFor a more comprehensive list see list of assets owned by the Walt Disney Company and list of libraries owned by The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company operates six primary business segments two primary divisions and four content groups 421 Divisions Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution DMED 422 is responsible for global distribution operations sales advertising data and technology functions for the company s four content production groups It also manages the company s direct to consumer businesses including its multiple streaming services Disney Hulu ESPN and Star theatrical exhibition unit home media distribution Disney Music Group ABC Owned Television Stations and domestic television networks 421 Disney Parks Experiences and Products DPEP oversees the company s theme parks cruise line and other travel related assets consumer products and publishing divisions Disney s resorts and diversified related holdings include Walt Disney World Disneyland Resort Tokyo Disney Resort Disneyland Paris Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Shanghai Disney Resort Disney Vacation Club Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney 423 The division is led by Josh D Amaro 421 Content groups The Walt Disney Studios consists of the company s filmed entertainment and theatrical entertainment businesses Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Animation Studios Pixar Marvel Studios Lucasfilm 20th Century Studios Searchlight Pictures Disneynature and Disney Theatrical Group The division is led by Alan Bergman 421 Disney General Entertainment Content DGE consists of the company s entertainment focused television channels and production companies in the United States Walt Disney Television consisting of American Broadcasting Company Disney Television Studios ABC Signature Searchlight Television 20th Television 20th Television Animation and Freeform Disney Branded Television FX Networks and ABC News and 73 ownership of National Geographic Partners The division is led by Dana Walden 422 424 425 ESPN and Sports Content focuses on ESPN s live sports programming sports news and original and non scripted sports related content for the cable channels ESPN and ABC The division is led by James Pitaro 421 Disney International Content and Operations manages local and regional content for global markets through managing advertisisng sales distribution productions and operations for its international linear channels and streaming services split into four hubs Asia Pacific Europe Middle East and Africa EMEA India and Latin America The division is led by Rebecca Campbell 426 Leadership Team Disney building in Burbank which is the main building at the Walt Disney Studios houses the offices of Disney s CEO and several other senior corporate officials Current Board of directors 427 Susan Arnold Chairman Mary Barra Safra Catz Amy Chang Francis deSouza Carolyn Everson Michael Froman Bob Iger Maria Elena Lagomasino Calvin McDonald Mark Parker Derica W Rice Executives 427 Bob Iger Chief Executive Officer Alan Bergman Chairman Disney Studios Content Rebecca Campbell Chairman International Content and Operations Jennifer Cohen Executive Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility Josh D Amaro Chairman Disney Parks Experiences and Products Horacio Gutierrez Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel Jolene Negre Associate General Counsel and Secretary Alicia Schwarz Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer Christine McCarthy Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Carlos A Gomez Senior Vice President and Treasurer Diane Jurgens Executive Vice President Enterprise Technology and Chief Information Officer Alexia S Quadrani Senior Vice President Investor Relations Brent Woodford Executive Vice President Controllership Finance and Tax James Pitaro Chairman ESPN and Sports Content Paul Richardson Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Latondra Newton Senior Vice President Chief Diversity Officer Kristina Schake Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Dana Walden Chairman Disney General Entertainment ContentPast leadership Executive chairmen Bob Iger 2020 2021 Chairmen Walt Disney 1945 1960 Roy O Disney 1964 1971 Donn Tatum 1971 1980 Card Walker 1980 1983 Raymond Watson 1983 1984 Michael Eisner 1984 2004 George J Mitchell 2004 2006 John E Pepper Jr 2007 2012 Bob Iger 2012 2021 Susan Arnold 2022 present Vice chairmen Roy E Disney 1984 2003 Sanford Litvack 1999 2000 c 428 Presidents Walt Disney 1923 1945 Roy O Disney 1945 1968 Donn Tatum 1968 1971 Card Walker 1971 1980 Ron W Miller 1980 1984 Frank Wells 1984 1994 Michael Ovitz 1995 1997 Michael Eisner 1997 2000 Bob Iger 2000 2012 Chief executive officers CEO Roy O Disney 1929 1971 Donn Tatum 1971 1976 Card Walker 1976 1983 Ron W Miller 1983 1984 Michael Eisner 1984 2005 Bob Iger 2005 2020 2022 present Bob Chapek 2020 2022 Chief operating officers Card Walker 1968 1976 Ron W Miller 1980 1984 Frank Wells 1984 1994 Thomas O Staggs 2015 2016 Awards and nominationsSee also List of Academy Awards for Walt Disney As of 2022 the Walt Disney Company has won 135 Academy Awards 32 of them were awarded to Walt The company has won 16 Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film 16 for Best Original Song 15 for Best Animated Feature 11 for Best Original Score 5 for Best Documentary Feature 5 for Best Visual Effects and several others as well special awards 429 Disney has also won 29 Golden Globe Awards 51 British Academy of Film and Television Arts BAFTA awards and 36 Grammy Awards as of 2022 430 431 432 d LegacyThe Walt Disney Company is one of the world s largest entertainment companies and is considered to be a pioneer in the animation industry having produced 790 features 122 of which are animated films 451 452 Many of their films are considered to be the greatest of all time including Pinocchio Toy Story Bambi Ratatouille Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Mary Poppins 453 454 455 Disney has also created some of the most influential and memorable fictional characters of all time such as Mickey Mouse Woody Captain America MCU Jack Sparrow Iron Man MCU and Elsa 16 456 457 Disney has been recognized for revolutionizing the animation industry according to Den of Geek the risk of making the first animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has changed cinema 458 The company mainly through Walt has introduced new technologies and more advanced techniques for animating as well as adding personalities to characters 459 137 Some of Disney s technological innovations for animation include invention of the multiplane camera xerography CAPS deep canvas and RenderMan 215 Many songs from the company s films have become extremely popular and several have peaked at number one on Billboard s Hot 100 460 Some songs from the Silly Symphonies series became immensely popular across the U S 25 Disney has been ranked number 53 in the 2022 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and fourth in Fortune s 2022 World s Most Admired Companies 1 461 According to Smithsonian Magazine there are few symbols of pure Americana more potent than the Disney theme parks which are well established cultural icons with the company name and Mickey Mouse being household names 462 Disney is one of the biggest competitors in the theme park industry with 12 parks all of which were the top 25 most visited parks in 2018 Disney theme parks worldwide had over 157 million visitors making it the most visited theme park company in the world doubling the attendance number of the second most visited company Of the 157 million visitors the Magic Kingdom had 20 8 million of the guests making it the most visited theme park in the world 463 464 When Disney first entered the theme park industry CNN stated It changed an already legendary company And it changed the entire theme park industry 465 According to The Orange County Register Walt Disney World has changed entertainment by showing how a theme park could help make a company into a lifestyle brand 466 Criticism and controversiesMain article Criticism of The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company has been criticized for making purportedly sexist and racist content in the past putting LGBT elements in their films and not having enough LGBT representation There have been controversies over alleged plagiarism poor pay and working conditions and poor treatment of animals Several of Disney s films have been considered to be racist one of the company s most controversial films Song of the South was criticized for portraying racial stereotypes For that reason the film was never released to home video in the U S or Disney 467 Other characters that have been called racist are Sunflower a black centaurette who serves a white centaurette in Fantasia the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp who are considered to be over exaggerated as Asians stereotypes of Native Americans in Peter Pan and crows in Dumbo who are depicted as African Americans who use jive talk Their leader being named Jim Crow which is considered to be a reference to racial segregation laws in the U S 468 469 When watching a film on Disney considered to have wrongful racist stereotypes Disney added a disclaimer before the film starts to help avoid controversies 470 Disney has also been accused a number of times of plagiarizing already existing works in its films Most notably The Lion King has many similarities in its characters and events to an animated series called Kimba the White Lion by animator Osamu Tezuka 471 Atlantis The Lost Empire also has many similarities to the anime show Nadia The Secret of Blue Water that were considered so prevalent the latter show s creator Gainax was planning to sue Disney but was stopped by its series network NHK 472 Kelly Wilson creator of the short The Snowman 2014 filed two lawsuits one which came after the first was rescinded against Disney for copyright infringement in Disney s animated film Frozen Disney later settled the lawsuit with Wilson allowing the company to create a sequel to Frozen 473 Screenwriter Gary L Goldman sued Disney over its film Zootopia claiming he had earlier pitched an identical same titled story to the company A judge dismissed the lawsuit stating there was not enough evidence to prove any plagiarism 474 Disney has been criticized for both putting LGBT elements into its films and for having insufficient LGBT representation in its media In the live action film Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon announced LeFou would be depicted as a gay character prompting Kuwait Malaysia and a theater in Alabama to ban the film and Russia to give it a stricter rating 475 In Russia and several Middle Eastern countries the Pixar movie Onward was banned for having Disney s first openly lesbian character Officer Specter while others said Disney needed more representation of LGBT persons in its media 476 477 Because of a scene featuring two lesbians kissing Pixar s Lightyear was banned in 13 predominantly Muslim countries and barely broke even at the box office 478 479 In a leaked video of a Disney meeting participants talked about pushing LGBT themes in the company s media angering some people who say the company is trying to sexualize children while others applauded its actions 480 Some Disney Princess films have been considered to be sexist toward women Snow White is said to be too worried about her appearance while Cinderella is deemed to have no talents Aurora is also said to be weak became she is always waiting to be rescued In some of the princess films men have more dialogue and there are more speaking male characters than female Disney s more recent films are considered to be less sexist than its earlier films 481 In 1990 Disney paid 95 000 to avoid legal action over 16 animal cruelty charges for beating vultures to death shooting at birds and starving some birds at Discovery Island The company took these actions because they were attacking other animals and taking their food 482 When Animal Kingdom first opened there were concerns about the animals because a few of them died Animal rights groups protested but the United States Department of Agriculture found no violations of animal welfare regulations 483 Disney has been accused of having poor working conditions A protest by 2 000 workers at Disneyland accused the company of poor pay at an average of 13 an hour with some saying they were evicted from their homes 484 In 2010 at a factory in China where Disney products were being made workers experienced working hours three times longer than those prescribed by law and one of the workers committed suicide 485 Financial dataRevenues Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company in millions USD Year Studio Entertainment e Disney Consumer Products f Disney Interactive Media 486 487 Parks amp Resorts g Disney Media Networks h Total Source1991 2 593 0 724 2 794 0 6 111 488 1992 3 115 1 081 3 306 7 502 488 1993 3 673 4 1 415 1 3 440 7 8 529 488 1994 4 793 1 798 2 3 463 6 359 10 414 489 490 491 1995 6 001 5 2 150 3 959 8 414 12 525 489 490 491 1996 10 095 f 4 502 4 142 i 18 739 490 492 1997 6 981 3 782 174 5 014 6 522 22 473 493 1998 6 849 3 193 260 5 532 7 142 22 976 493 1999 6 548 3 030 206 6 106 7 512 23 435 493 2000 5 994 2 602 368 6 803 9 615 25 402 494 2001 7 004 2 590 6 009 9 569 25 790 495 2002 6 465 2 440 6 691 9 733 25 360 495 2003 7 364 2 344 6 412 10 941 27 061 496 2004 8 713 2 511 7 750 11 778 30 752 496 2005 7 587 2 127 9 023 13 207 31 944 497 2006 7 529 2 193 9 925 14 368 34 285 497 2007 7 491 2 347 10 626 15 046 35 510 498 2008 7 348 2 415 719 11 504 15 857 37 843 499 2009 6 136 2 425 712 10 667 16 209 36 149 500 2010 6 701 j 2 678 j 761 10 761 17 162 38 063 501 2011 6 351 3 049 982 11 797 18 714 40 893 502 2012 5 825 3 252 845 12 920 19 436 42 278 503 2013 5 979 3 555 1 064 14 087 20 356 45 041 504 2014 7 278 3 985 1 299 15 099 21 152 48 813 505 2015 7 366 4 499 1 174 16 162 23 264 52 465 506 2016 9 441 5 528 16 974 23 689 55 632 507 2017 8 379 4 833 18 415 23 510 55 137 508 2018 9 987 4 651 20 296 24 500 59 434 509 Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company Re segmented in millions USD Year Studio Entertainment Direct to Consumer amp International Parks Experiences and Products Media Networks h Total Source2018 10 065 3 414 24 701 21 922 59 434 510 2019 11 127 9 349 26 225 24 827 69 570 511 2020 9 636 16 967 16 502 28 393 65 388 512 Annual gross revenues of the Walt Disney Company Re segmented in millions USD Year Media and Entertainment Distribution Parks Experiences and Products Total Source2021 50 866 16 552 67 418 513 2022 55 040 28 705 83 745 514 Operating income Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company in millions USD Year Studio Entertainment e Disney Consumer Products f Disney Interactive Media 486 Parks and Resorts g Disney Media Networks h Total Source1991 318 229 546 1 094 488 1992 508 283 644 1 435 488 1993 622 355 746 1 724 488 1994 779 425 684 77 1 965 489 490 1995 998 510 860 76 2 445 489 490 1996 1 596 f 300 k 990 747 3 033 490 1997 1 079 893 56 1 136 1 699 4 312 493 1998 769 801 94 1 288 1 746 4 079 493 1999 116 607 93 1 446 1 611 3 231 493 2000 110 455 402 1 620 2 298 4 081 494 2001 260 401 1 586 1 758 4 214 495 2002 273 394 1 169 986 2 826 495 2003 620 384 957 1 213 3 174 496 2004 662 534 1 123 2 169 4 488 496 2005 207 543 1 178 3 209 5 137 497 2006 729 618 1 534 3 610 6 491 497 2007 1 201 631 1 710 4 285 7 827 498 2008 1 086 778 258 1 897 4 942 8 445 499 2009 175 609 295 1 418 4 765 6 672 500 2010 693 677 234 1 318 5 132 7 586 501 2011 618 816 308 1 553 6 146 8 825 502 2012 722 937 216 1 902 6 619 9 964 503 2013 661 1 112 87 2 220 6 818 10 724 504 2014 1 549 1 356 116 2 663 7 321 13 005 505 2015 1 973 1 752 132 3 031 7 793 14 681 506 2016 2 703 1 965 3 298 7 755 15 721 507 2017 2 355 1 744 3 774 6 902 14 775 508 2018 2 980 1 632 4 469 6 625 15 706 509 Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company Re segmented in millions USD Year Studio Entertainment Direct to Consumer amp International Parks Experiences and Products Disney Media Networks Total Source2018 3 004 738 6 095 7 338 15 689 510 2019 2 686 1 814 6 758 7 479 14 868 511 2020 2 501 2 806 81 9 022 8 108 512 Annual Operating income of the Walt Disney Company Re segmented in millions USD Year Media and Entertainment Distribution Parks Experiences and Products Total Source2021 7 295 471 7 766 513 2022 4 216 7 905 12 121 514 Film libraryHighest grossing films Indicates films playing in theatres in the week commencing 6 January 2023 Highest grossing films worldwide 515 516 Rank Title Year Box office gross1 Avengers Endgame 2019 2 797 800 5642 Star Wars The Force Awakens 2015 2 064 615 8173 Avengers Infinity War 2018 2 048 359 7544 Avatar The Way of Water 2022 1 707 789 3795 The Lion King 2019 1 654 367 4256 The Avengers 2012 1 515 100 2117 Frozen II 2019 1 445 182 2808 Avengers Age of Ultron 2015 1 395 316 9799 Black Panther 2018 1 336 494 32110 Star Wars The Last Jedi 2017 1 331 635 14111 Beauty and the Beast 2017 1 273 109 22012 Frozen 2013 1 265 596 78513 Incredibles 2 2018 1 242 805 35914 Iron Man 3 2013 1 215 392 27215 Captain America Civil War 2016 1 151 918 52116 Captain Marvel 2019 1 129 727 38817 Toy Story 4 2019 1 073 080 32918 Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker 2019 1 072 848 48719 Toy Story 3 2010 1 068 879 52220 Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man s Chest 2006 1 066 179 72521 Rogue One A Star Wars Story 2016 1 055 135 59822 Aladdin 2019 1 046 649 70623 Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides 2011 1 045 713 80224 Alice in Wonderland 2010 1 025 491 11025 Finding Dory 2016 1 025 006 125Highest grossing animated films worldwide 517 Rank Title Year Box office gross1 Frozen II 2019 1 445 182 2802 Frozen 2013 1 265 596 7853 Incredibles 2 2018 1 242 805 3594 Toy Story 4 2019 1 073 080 3295 Toy Story 3 2010 1 068 879 5226 Finding Dory 2016 1 025 006 1257 Zootopia 2016 1 004 629 9358 The Lion King 1994 986 214 8689 Finding Nemo 2003 936 094 85210 Inside Out 2015 852 830 10711 Coco 2017 797 666 42512 Monsters University 2013 743 455 81013 Up 2009 731 463 37714 Big Hero 6 2014 649 657 40715 Moana 2016 634 965 56016 The Incredibles 2004 631 441 09217 Ratatouille 2007 626 549 69518 Tangled 2010 584 899 81919 Monsters Inc 2001 560 483 71920 Cars 2 2011 560 155 38321 Brave 2012 554 606 53222 WALL E 2008 532 508 02523 Ralph Breaks The Internet 2018 529 290 83024 Toy Story 2 1999 511 358 27625 Aladdin 1992 504 050 219See also Disney portal Animation portal Film portal Los Angeles portal Companies portal United States portalLists of films released by Disney List of Disney television series Disney University Disneyfication Buena Vista Mandeville Anthony v Walt Disney Co a federal court case in which Mandeville claimed Disney infringed on his copyrighted ideas by creating Cars List of conglomerates List of acquisitions by DisneyReferencesNotes WED is from the initials of Walter Elias Disney Although July 17 was supposed to be preview opening foregoing the public opening the next day Disneyland uses July 17 as its official opening day 91 His official title was co vice chairman List of references for Grammy Awards 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 a b Also named Films and Film Entertainment a b c d Merged into Creative Content in 1996 merged into Consumer Products and Interactive Media in 2016 which merged with Parks amp Resorts in 2018 a b Called Walt Disney Attractions 1989 2000 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts 2000 2005 Disney Destinations 2005 2008 and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide 2008 2018 a b c Broadcasting from 1994 to 1996 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