Disney to cut production of Marvel films and TV shows amid superhero fatigue

The studio’s most recent film, The Marvels, is the lowest-grossing in the franchise’s history – Laura Radford/Disney/Marvel Studios

Disney will cut production of Marvel films and TV series amid concerns that so-called superhero fatigue is exhausting demand for the studio’s work.

Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said the company would “reduce output and focus more on quality” particularly when it came to Marvel, known for franchises such as The Avengers and Black Panther.

It came as worse-than-expected subscriber numbers for the Disney Plus streaming service and a slowdown in its traditional broadcast television business sent shares falling by more than 10pc.

Marvel films have dominated the box office in the last decade and a half, with 33 films released since 2008. But recent releases such as The Marvels and a third Ant-Man film have underperformed, leading to concerns that cinemagoers have fallen out of love with the franchise.

The Marvels, the studio’s most recent film, generated just $206.1m (£165m) at the Box Office, less than its $274m production budget. It was the lowest-grossing film in the franchise’s history, bringing in less than a tenth of its most successful title, 2019’s Avenger’s: Endgame.

Mr Iger said Disney would release two or three Marvel films a year, compared to a previous average of four, and cut TV series from four a year to around two. He said that some upcoming TV shows were “a vestige of basically a desire in the past to increase volume” and that in future, “it will just be a balance, which we think is right”.

The comments came as Disney disappointed investors despite its streaming business recording a quarterly profit for the first time, a milestone moment for Mr Iger’s bet on on-demand video.

Profits from the company’s conventional US broadcasting business and its sports operation both fell. Meanwhile, Disney Plus attracted fewer new subscribers than had been expected, and the company said it expected growth to flatline when it next reports quarterly financial results.

“We’ve said all along our path to profitability will not be linear,” Mr Iger said.

Iger says the move allows the studio to ‘reduce output and focus more on quality’ – Angela Weiss/AFP

Overall the company recorded a rare quarterly loss of $20m owing to restructuring charges. Revenues rose from $21.8bn to $22.1bn.

Mr Iger recently won a battle with the activist investor Nelson Peltz. Mr Peltz had sought to win a seat on Disney’s board and criticised the company’s performance as well as its focus on diverse casting in its films.

Shareholders voted down Mr Peltz’s attempt to join the board at last month’s annual meeting.

The company has spent heavily to gain a foothold in streaming and catch up with rivals such as Netflix, but has been under pressure to prove it can make money from internet video. It has recently raised prices and introduced an advertising-supported version of Disney Plus in an effort to improve profitability.

Mr Iger said Disney’s streaming services would be profitable by the end of its financial year, which runs until September.

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