The Fox-Disney merge was a desperate gamble

Everyone's been talking about this deal in one of two ways: how it effects entertainment from the creative side (zomg Marvel owns Xmen again!) or the corporate side of the market (megacorp with massive control over the market).

But here's something people haven't realised: both Fox and Disney are actually in a bad situation right now. 2017 was not a good year, the film industry declined by a full 10% from what its revenue was in 2016, which itself continues an overall downward trend in the market. This is bad on its own, but made worst by the fact Disney and Fox took the brunt of it. Disney did not have the largest marketshare in 2017, the large gap it had over Warner in 2016 disappeared and Warner is the one which made the most money. Fox saw a similar hit, going from being between Warner and Universal to being below Universal and just above Sony.

The only winner last year was Lions Gate, which is now significantly ahead of Paramount and so close to Sony they're effectively equals (and also means that once the merger happens we can still refer to the six studios as such).

To put it simply, this move wasn't some sweeping act to expand the library of their streaming service when it goes live, it was a desperate one to make sure they survive the changing market since their current course is one that will lead to disaster. It's why Fox quit in the first place, news and sports coverage are the only thing that they believe they can remain competitive in for a reasonable price, and they're quitting while they're ahead.

This gambit might work, with the current value of the global movie market and their share of it, if their streaming service gets 90 million subscribers paying an average of 11$ per month it would bring in as much gross revenue as their combined movie studios. Now this isn't realistically going to happen, not any time soon anyway, but it shows things aren't all sunshine and roses as we've been made to believe.

bump

Got some numbers or sources to back up who made most money?

Disney did, with fewer movies.

I've thought this from the beginning.. Disney is vulnerable.. maybe their inept handling of the Star Wars franchise will be their eventual demise

They made more on a per-movie basis, but Warner reported more revenue then them
If you think their handling of the Star Wars movies is bad, you should see the dust their toys are collecting. Sure parents get a backpack or shirt of the latest whatever, but there's a reason ToysRUs is bankrupt despite being loaded with toys from the successful major IPs

Given how other countries treat antitrust, will it even be able to reach certain major markets like the EU or Canada or Japan?

MSM is dying. makes sense they'd consolidate shit to cut costs.

>muh competition

that's the thing. we don't watch tv or go to movies. there's too much competition from other modes of entertainment. now you'll have the giant superhero movies, and you'll have good stuff that is delivered in an alternative way. capeshit might survive and keep disneyfox alive, but the new entertainment will rise regardless.

Toys R Us went bankrupt because they overextended themselves on loans to expand beyond their market reach.

This is why the Jews in Hollywood have been colluding with the tech Jews to demonetize things people actually watch instead of shitty kike scripted tv shows.

I worked at one in the 2016 christmas season, stuff wasn't moving despite it being the time of year most of their merch moves. No one buys stuff from toy stores anymore.

Source: ASS

They've built an artificial and ever expanding media bubble that won't last forever. Something like a pyramid scheme. Buy an endless array of overpriced plastic shapes and watch our propaganda disguised as entertainment in the theater nearest you. Disney better hope capeflicks and Star Wars fatigue doesn't happen anytime soon or else they're going to lose a massive chunk of their profits.

Given how TLJ is projected to make 600 million less then it was expected to before it released, Star Wars fatigue has already hit and settled in.

I really think TLJ underperforming is solely due to it being a shit movie. It had a massive opening and even a half-decent second weekend. What killed it was bad word of mouth. If it had been good it probably would have come within $100 million or so of TFA's final gross.

Let's not forget the huge burden that ESPN is creating.

Disney is probably in a similar position than every single mortgage lender in America

*forgot to add every single mortgage broker in America in 2006

>mid-sized movies are doing gangbusters
>Netflix is eating cable television's lunch
>2017 was one of the best years for video games every
>shitheads in Hollywood got ousted for being lecherous fucks

a lot of shit happened in 2017, but entertainment got a whole lot better

>even a half-decent second weekend
I disagree, given the fact it had the largest drop of any Star Wars movie for its second weekend.

Though here's another problem it'll have to deal with: the Han Solo movie is bad. We all know it. Disney doesn't even hid the fact they think they'll loose money on it. That'll be two high profile stinkers in a row. Given who they have working on 9, they'll at best be able to pull off a "well at least it isn't as bad as the last two".

>Lions Gate now a major studio

I guess their strategy of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks worked.

>given the fact it had the largest drop of any Star Wars movie for its second weekend
It had the biggest second weekend drop EVER and looks like it'll make $700 million less than TFA after opening essentially just as big. Those are disastrous numbers no matter how well the media attempts to spin it.

I am actually incredibly excited at the thought of this sexual harassment/metoo shit leading to the death of Hollywood as we know it. I say burn the whole thing down, it will make movies better.

The whole #MeToo thing these last few months reminds me a lot of the Black Plague. You're seeing a massive industry-wide decapitation of executives and writers from Hollywood and what's left is this gaping void that can be filled by people who aren't assholes with shit ideas

>Feminists taking over Hollywood
>movies will get better

Of course they won't, but that's the point. The scandals will wound Hollywood, and the feminists being in charge will finish it off. Their shitty moviemaking abilities will kill Hollywood once and for all. And maybe once it's dead, something better will take its place.

Everyone in this thread that actually believes that Disney is in any trouble is a brainlet retard. Companies this big can’t die.

Ladybird was fucking good.
Brett Ratner was a fucking hack.

>Companies this big can’t die.
Two words: Pan Am.