Recently, Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation studios fired dozens of employees in the first significant job cut at the studio in nearly a decade. The news comes after the film “Lightyear” bombed at the box office worldwide.
The reduction in headcount of 75 employees at Pixar included the executives behind “Lightyear” and its abysmal performance. Director Angus MacLane, who worked on the senior creative team of many other high-profile animated films, was let go. Galyn Susman, who had been with Pixar since the release of the original “Toy Story” in 1995 and produced “Lightyear,” also exited the company. Furthermore, Michael Angulnek, who served as Pixar’s vice president of publicity since 2015, was also let go.
Reportedly, the firings fall under a broader restructuring effort at Disney, where CEO Bob Iger seeks to cut 7,000 jobs and eliminate nearly $5.5 billion in expenses. Iger had run Disney for 15 years before retiring in 2021. However, he was tapped to return as the chief executive after former CEO Bob Chapek was ousted in late 2022 for poor performance.
“Lightyear,” released during pride month last year, was a disaster at the box office. The movie featured a controversial LGBT scene, leading to 14 Middle-Eastern and Asian countries banning the film’s showing. The same-sex kissing scene was included in the movie following backlash from LGBT employees at Disney who complained that the company censors “overtly gay affection.”
The film also ruffled feathers by excluding the long-time voice conservative voice actor for Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen, and replacing him with woke actor Chris Evans. Financially, “Lightyear” brought in only $226.7 million worldwide revenue, while the film cost $200 million. For perspective, the 2018 Pixar film “The Incredibles 2” earned $1.2 billion in ticket sales with a similar budget.
The American Tribune previously reported on several high-profile box office bombs that cost Disney hundreds of millions in 2022, one of which was “Lightyear.” “Strange World,” “Lightyear,” and “Turning Red” were three films last year that had substantial budgets and performed horribly at the box office. At the time, reports indicated “Strange World” could lose almost $150 million. “Turning Red” was estimated to have lost over $150 million. Many have suggested Disney’s insistence on injecting a woke ideological agenda into much of its new content has driven Americans away from the latest films and shows the company offers.
The American Tribune also covered how Disney was seriously struggling in the streaming market with many household-name franchises it owns. None of the company’s Disney+ streaming service content could break the top most-watched shows in 2022. This comes after Disney has invested billions over the past decade in acquiring franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel, which are wildly popular. This even led to leadership at Marvel Studios to state they would cut back on Disney+ streaming content due to the performance.
More recently, the remake of “The Little Mermaid” appears that it could also lose millions. The film has done decently well in the United States. However, ticket sales overseas have been extremely low. The movie had a huge budget, which must be offset by substantial domestic and global revenue.
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