Disney Hits Pause On Culture Wars (Only Kidding!) | Christian Toto

Disney's Bob Iger is having a tough time of it.

The former and current Disney CEO resumed control of a flailing mega-studio last year, with most assuming Iger would steer the ship back toward profitable waters. And, in the process, avoid the culture war fights that have stained the brand's image.

Think again.

Disney+ subscriptions continue to shrink while the streaming platforms red ink shows no sign of slowing down. That’s only part of the Mouse House’s problem. 

Yet Iger keeps crying uncle, at least in public. 

Last year, Iger vowed to cool down the culture war battles raging within the company, for starters. 

"Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not. It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company. And to the extent that I can work to kind of quiet things down, I’m going to do that," he added. 

More recently, Iger used some of the same verbiage, hoping to assuage the marketplace that Disney would soon be back to the usual business. Making smiles, not culture war smart bombs.

Needham & Company analyst Laura Martin wrote in a report released Wednesday that Iger told investors the day before that his primary goal is to "quiet the noise," because culture wars are bad for business.

He better stick to his word. Why?

Theme-park attendance is slowing, the various Hollywood strikes put a crimp in its production schedule, it can’t seem to get a new “Star Wars” movie going and 2023 is proving to be the year of the Disney flop.

The latter scored an impressive $300 million haul in the U.S. but fared poorly overseas. The upcoming MCU film “The Marvels” could be yet another box office disappointment.

BoxOfficePro has the film tracking for a $50-75 million opening Nov. 10, a sequel with a $270 million reported budget. That’s nearly a third what the original “Captain Marvel” movie made during its opening weekend four years ago.

Yet there’s little evidence that Iger’s “quiet” offensive is paying dividends, or even happening in real time.

Consider the recent ESPN docuseries “Skin in the Game” with embattled anti-racism “expert” Ibram X. Kendi - Disney owns the far-Left sports network. The series takes a hard Left look at sports and race, arguing that modern athletes, who come from all backgrounds, are “literally the new slaves,” according to Gwendolyn Berry. “Because we need this. Our family, our friends depend on this contract to eat," she added.

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has made the same heated charge, in between begging the New York Jets to bring him back.

To its modest credit, Disney and ESPN gave “Skin” little promotional love, but the damage to its already tattered brand sunk in as soon as the 5-part series went live Sept. 20. 

Disney’s live-action “Snow White” offers another example of the company refusing to stay “quiet” on social activism.

The film, tentatively slated to debut in 2024, nixed the “seven dwarfs” of the classic film’s title for fear of offending LPs (Little People).

If that isn’t precious enough, the film’s lead can’t stop bad mouthing the original film, a beloved Disney classic.

Rachel Zegler’s rants against the source material and eagerness to “update” the story went viral in the worst ways possible, from a marketing point of view.

Disney can’t trot Zegler out directly to do damage control. The ongoing actor’s strike won’t allow it. The company can still send the project’s creative team to talk up their faith in the material, passion for the story in play and, along the way, distract the public from Zegler’s bratty comments.

Iger may have his own "Mission: Impossible" on his hands.

The Mouse House may be too far gone at this point. The woke rot is entrenched within the system, and no amount of pressure may be able to reverse it.

If so, reports that he’s “overwhelmed and exhausted” by the battle to right the Disney ship will only get worse.