Disney is Dominating the Film Industry and That's Bad

            Now that the decade is coming to a close, we can know look back on the last ten years with clear eyes. The 2010s were dominated by surprise albums, Game of Thrones, and most importantly, Disney movies. Now, with the massive footprint Disney has left on our culture, it’s hard to imagine them as a struggling and desolate production company. The status Disney has today, however, didn’t happen overnight. The formula that Disney successfully crafted has now become weaponized against other studios to slowly shut them out and keep them from finding the same gradual success.

            It’s common knowledge that Disney has, over the past decade, come to be the dominant force in both Hollywood and at the box office. An anonymous filmmaker told BuzzFeed News, “The days of competition are over. This is not, like, the Yankees win some, and the Red Sox win some, and occasionally the Marlins will slip in there and grab one... It’s just… Disney. They’re going to be No. 1.” As reported by Sarah Whitten, in the first nine months of 2019 alone, Disney already accounted for over 40 percent of the box office gross. This is a record that the Mouse broke which was, of course, set by them in the previous year. This suggests the death of competition; other companies don’t stand a chance when Disney is the one setting and beating records. The numbers are staggering when compared to other rival production companies.

            Disney currently has, according to Frank Pallotta, the top five highest-grossing films at the box office this year. In addition, Erik Childress reported that out of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time, Disney accounted for seven out of ten of those films. However, after squashing most of their competition, Disney’s thirst still hasn’t been quenched; a larger chunk of the industry was scored through the Disney-Fox merger that happened earlier this year. As of now, according to David Sims, the merger is now the reason why Disney owns 35 percent of the movie industry. In addition, Scott Mendelson reported that Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Sony, and Lionsgate were also able to snag huge chunks of the market as well. However, smaller companies like A24 have to fight for the remaining 10 to 15 percent. Such numbers point to something vile; it shows a desire held by large production companies, like Disney, to push out creativity and originality.  Still wanting more control, however, one of the first acts Disney took to after the acquisition of Fox was to close down Fox 2000, their indie film studio and layoff Fox employees, according to Brett Lang. This decision cut over 4,000 jobs. With the dominance of these large production companies, smaller distributors struggle to find their footing, especially now when their jobs are being cut at drastic rates, despite putting out well-received films like Hidden Figures (2016). The closing of a well-known studios that produces original mid-budget films points to just how unstoppable Disney may become in the future.

            Besides hoarding the film industry and constantly crushing their competition at the box office, Disney has also taken to quietly placing Fox movies into their vault, blocking them from theatrical distribution. This is bad news for movie theaters around the country that depend on showing the classics to turn a profit. When interviewed by Matt Zoller Seitz, one anonymous film programmer said, “Over the course of a year, it all adds up. A lot of these movies are... ‘steady earners’ for theaters.” Disney has refused to comment on this, but it’s obvious to some that this is yet another tactic to fill their pockets and drain others. It’s strange and almost sinister to witness a film distributor enthusiastically go out of their way to make things harder for movie theaters.

            This power that Disney has acquired over the film industry is dangerous. Disney has the power to oversaturate the market with as many unoriginal remakes and superhero films as they please. What makes it worse is that they have the backing of the public; whether it be cleverly using public opinion as a bargaining chip against Sony, or people dogpiling on critics for not groveling at the feet of the company, Disney can and will use its power over the public in their favor. Even Academy Award-winning director, writer, producer, and film historian, Martin Scorsese garnered harsh criticisms from Marvel fans for his statement about the company.

Scorsese’s criticism of Disney’s subsidiary company, although harmless, points to something more insidious. He said, “The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes.” He further expounds on this thought by saying “In the past 20 years… the movie business has changed on all fronts. But the most ominous change has happened… under cover of night: the gradual but steady elimination of risk. Many films today are perfect products manufactured for immediate consumption.” Although much of the public disagrees with this sentiment, a small sector of film fans have pushed back in support of Scorsese. Disney films, although on the surface are diverse in content, have very little variety in them. They have commodified art, genuine human connections, and truth replacing it with insincerity and gaudy CGI battles. Their movies often mirror each other, following similar emotional beats and story structures because they know it will bring in the most money.

Furthermore, when Disney actively goes out of their way to shut out other studios and put their classics in inaccessible vaults, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Disney films, at this point in time, exist purely to squeeze millions of dollars out of casual moviegoers—and this tactic works. Avengers: Endgame (2019) raked in $858.4 million and then The Lion King (2019) managed to score an additional $543.6 million at the domestic box office. Many people who like to watch independent films, or other wholly original works have to find themselves driving miles outside of their town, or resorting to illegally streaming just to have access to said content. Thanks to this, Disney has maintained a cleverly calculated stronghold in the industry and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

            It is so important that audience members support independent and foreign-language films. It is so important to support movies that aren’t being mass-produced and spoon-fed to us by mega-corporations like Disney. Movies that aren’t perfectly packaged, tested, and perfected for automatic blind consumption have heart that Disney films simply don’t have the range and ability to do. This is not to say that Disney movies are in no way enjoyable, but it is so vital that audiences expand their palette and see what other distributors have to offer before Disney makes it impossible for younger generations to tell their own authentic stories.

Sources

Childress, Erik. “The 50 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time: Your Top Box Office Earners Ever Worldwide.” Rotten Tomatoes, 25 November 2019, https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/highest-grossing-movies-all-time/.

Donnelly, Matt, and Brett Lang. “Fox Layoffs: Distribution and Marketing Leaders Out.” Variety, 21 March 2019, https://variety.com/2019/film/news/layoffs-hit-fox-after-disney-completes-deal-1203169337/.

Lang, Brett. “Disney Retiring Fox 2000 Label.” Variety, 21 March 2019, https://variety.com/2019/film/news/disney-retiring-fox-2000-label-1203169597/.

Mendelson, David. “Hollywood Is About To Become A 3-Way Battle Between Disney, Universal And Warner Bros.” Forbes, 13 December 2017, https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/12/13/hollywood-is-about-to-become-a-cage-match-between-disney-universal-and-warner-bros/#62c65f4d43fa.

Pallotta, Frank. “Disney Sets Record for Highest-Grossing Year for a Studio with Five Months to Spare.” CNN, 29 July 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/28/media/disney-box-office-record-year/index.html.

Scorsese, Martin. “Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain.” The New York Times, 4 November 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/opinion/martin-scorsese-marvel.html.

Seitz, Matt Zoller. “Disney Is Quietly Placing Classic Fox Movies Into Its Vault, and That’s Worrying.” Vulture, 24 October 2019, https://www.vulture.com/2019/10/disney-is-quietly-placing-classic-fox-movies-into-its-vault.html.

Sims, David. “Hollywood Makes Way for the Disney-Fox Behemoth.” The Atlantic, 21 March 2019, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/disney-fox-merger-and-future-hollywood/585481/.

Vary, Adam B. “Disney Won. Now What?” BuzzFeed News, 3 July 2019, https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/disney-hollywood-20th-century-fox-marvel-outlook.

Whitten, Sarah. “Disney Films Accounted for Nearly 40% of the US Box Office in the First Nine Months of 2019.” CNBC, 17 October 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/17/disney-accounted-for-40percent-of-the-us-box-office-in-the-first-9-months.html.