The Walt Disney Studios (division)

The Walt Disney Studios
Division
Industry Entertainment
Founded 1923
Headquarters 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, United States
Key people
  • Alan Horn (chairman)
  • Alan Bergman (president)
  • Sean Bailey (president, motion picture production)
Products Motion pictures, music publishing, stage productions
Services Studio production, marketing and distribution
Number of employees
 166,000 (2013)
Parent The Walt Disney Company
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Website waltdisneystudios.com

The Walt Disney Studios is an American film studio, one of the five major businesses of The Walt Disney Company and the main component of its Studio Entertainment segment.[3] The studio, best known for its multi-faceted film division, which is one of Hollywood's major film studios, is based at the eponymous Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

The Studios generated an estimated income of $1.549 billion during the 2014 fiscal year.[4] The studio entertainment business alone (live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays) brought in $5.83 billion in 2012.[5]

Walt Disney Studios' film division is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[6]

Background

Walt Disney Productions began production of his first feature-length animated film in 1934. Taking three years to complete, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in December 1937 and became highest-grossing film of that time by 1939.[7] In the 1940s, Disney began experimenting with full-length live-action films, with the introduction of hybrid live action-animated films such as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) and Song of the South (1946).[8] That same decade, the studio began producing nature documentaries with the release of Seal Island (1948), the first of the True-Life Adventures series and a subsequent Academy Award winner for Best Live-Action Short Film.[9][10]

Walt Disney Productions had its first fully live-action film in 1950 with the release of Treasure Island, considered by Disney to be the official conception for what would eventually evolve into the modern-day Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.[11] By 1953, the company ended their agreements with such third-party distributors as RKO Radio Pictures and United Artists and formed their own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution.[12]

History

1980s-1990s

By the 1980s, The Walt Disney Company's collection of film units emerged as one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios, mostly due to newly designed efforts in branding strategies, a resurgence of Walt Disney Pictures' animated releases and unprecedented box office successes, particularly from Touchstone Pictures.[13] The Walt Disney Productions film division was incorporated on April 1, 1983 as Walt Disney Pictures.[14] In April 1983, Richard Berger was hired by Disney CEO Ron W. Miller as film president. Touchstone Films was started by Miller in February 1984 as a label for their PG films with an expected half of Disney's 6 to 8 movies yearly slate would be released under the label.[15] Berger was pushed out as a new CEO was appointed for Walt Disney Productions later in 1984, as Michael Eisner brought his own film chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg.[16]

Organized in 1985, Silver Screen Partners II, L.P. financed films for Disney with $193 million in funding. In January 1987, Silver Screen III began financing movies for Disney with $300 million raised, the largest amount raised for a film financing limited partnership by E.F. Hutton.[17]

In April 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures with newly appointed head Ricardo Mestres.[18] With several production companies getting out of film production or closing shop by December 1988, Disney Studios announced the formation of Hollywood Pictures division, which would only share marketing and distribution with Touchstone, to fill the void.[16] Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television were grouped together under Garth Ancier as president of network television for the Walt Disney Studios on April 18, 1989.[19]

In September 1990, The Walt Disney Company arranged for financing up to $200 million by a unit of Nomura Securities for Interscope films made for Disney. On October 23, 1990, Disney formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant the Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source.[20] In 1992, Walt Disney Studios agreed to fund a production company, Caravan Pictures, for then 20th Century Fox chairman Joe Roth.[21][22] In 1993, Miramax Films was purchased for $60 million by Disney.[23]

On August 24, 1994 with Katzenberg's resignation, Walt Disney Studios was reorganized spinning out a new TV group. Richard Frank became head of newly formed Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications (WDTT). Roth moved up from Caravan Pictures to helm the remaining Walt Disney Studios.[24]

In April 1996 due to ongoing post Disney-CC/ABC merger realignment and retirement of its president, WDTT group's division were reassigned to other groups with most transferred to the Walt Disney Studios or CC/ABC. Units returning to the studio were the television production companies, Walt Disney Television, Disney Television Animation, Touchstone Television and Buena Vista Home Entertainment.[25]

In 1998, the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group was formed by Joe Roth to unite the Touchstone, Hollywood, and Disney film studios with leadership under David Vogel.[26] This was in order to centralize the various production units and to make live-action film production within Disney more cost-efficient. Roth also determined that the studio's year production slate should be cut. So in August 1998, Roger Birnbaum, Caravan's co-founder, left to co-found Spyglass Entertainment at Roth's prompting in which Disney gave Caravan's development slate, a five year distribution agreement and an advance. Caravan after the remaining three films are release when inactive.[27] By May 2000, Disney had taken an equity stake in Spyglass.[28]

In 1999, Walt Disney Television, including Buena Vista Television Productions, were transferred out of the Disney Studios to ABC Television Network[29] to merge with ABC's prime-time division to form the ABC Entertainment Television Group.[30]

2000s

Roth left to form his own production company in January 2000.[28] In January 2003, Disney initiated a reorganization of its theatrical and animation units to improve resource usage and continued focus on new characters and franchise development. Walt Disney Feature Animation — sans Walt Disney Television Animation — and Buena Vista Theatrical Worldwide were organized under The Walt Disney Studios.[31][32]

In 2003, the Walt Disney Pictures banner released its first PG-13-rated film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was based on the famous Disneyland attraction. Film director M. Night Shyamalan, who had done The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and The Village with Disney clashed with the Group's executives during pre-production of his 2006 film, Lady in the Water. Shyamalan left the studio after Nina Jacobson and others become, in Shyamalan's eyes, overly critical of his script, which would eventually be produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. Shyamalan was said, in a book about this period of time, to have "had witnessed the decay of her creative vision right before his own wide-open eyes. She didn't want iconoclastic directors. She wanted directors who made money." In her own defense, Jacobson said, "in order to have a Hollywood relationship more closely approximate a real relationship, you have to have a genuine back and forth of the good and the bad. Different people have different ideas about respect. For us, being honest is the greatest show of respect for a filmmaker."[33]

In July 2006, Disney announced a shift in its strategy of releasing more Disney-branded (i.e. Walt Disney Pictures) films and fewer Touchstone titles. The move was expected to reduce the Group's work force by approximately 650 positions worldwide.[34] After being transferred to various other division groups since they were acquired in 2004 in 2006, The Muppets Studio was incorporated into the Walt Disney Studios' Special Events Group.[2] In April 2007, Disney retired the Buena Vista brand, renaming Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution as Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, respectively.[35][36]

In April 2009, the Studio announced the formation of Disneynature; a nature film production label.[37] The Studio launched its Kingdom Comics division in May, led by writer-actor Ahmet Zappa, TV executive Harris Katleman and writer-editor Christian Beranek. Kingdom was designed to create new properties for possible film development and re-imagine and redevelop existing Disney library movies, with Disney Publishing Worldwide getting a first look for publishing.[38]

On February 9, 2009, DreamWorks Studios entered a 7-year, 30-picture distribution deal with the studio's Touchstone Pictures banner starting in 2011.[39] The deal also includes co-funding by Disney to DreamWorks for production.[40] In late 2009, Miramax Films, a formerly independent Disney film unit, was transferred to the Walt Disney Studios,[41] until its sale in 2010 to Filmyard Holdings.[42] The Kingdom Comics unit's creatives/executives moved its deal to an independent Monsterfoot Productions.[43]

2010s

After The Walt Disney Company's purchase of Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in 2009, Disney began distributing Marvel Studios' films in 2012, acquiring the distribution rights for The Avengers and Iron Man 3 from Paramount Pictures on October 18, 2010.[44]

In May 2011, Disney India and UTV Motion Pictures agreed to co-produce Disney-branded family films with both handling creative function and UTV producing, marketing and distributing the films.[45]

On October 30, 2012, Lucasfilm agreed to be purchased by The Walt Disney Company and a Star Wars trilogy was announced[1] and was finalized on December 4.[46] Later that year on December 4, Disney agreed to have Netflix as its exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first run Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Disneynature feature films starting in 2016 to replace its agreement ending in 2015 with Starz.[47]

In April 2013, the Walt Disney Studios laid off 150 workers including staff from its marketing and home entertainment units.[48][49] In December of that year, Disney purchased the distribution and marketing rights to future Indiana Jones films from Paramount Pictures, while Paramount will continue to distributing the first four films and receive "financial participation" from the additional films.[50]

Studio structure

Studio units[51]
Walt Disney Motion
Pictures Group[36]		 Disney Music Group Disney Theatrical Group Disney Studio Services[52][53] Special Events Group
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Animation Studios (DisneyToon Studios)
Pixar Animation Studios
Disneynature
Lucasfilm

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Touchstone Pictures)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

 Walt Disney Records
Hollywood Records
Disney Music Publishing		 Disney Theatrical Productions
Disney on Broadway
Disney on Ice
Disney Live!		 Studio Production Services
Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)
Golden Oak Ranch
The Prospect Studios
Disney Digital Studio Services[54]		 The Muppets Studio[2]
Former units include

Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group

Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Inc. is the main production arm for Disney's motion pictures.[36] Walt Disney Pictures is a film banner that encompasses the release of its own live-action productions, in addition to films produced by the company's animation studios, mainly Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios.[56] Another film banner, Touchstone Pictures, releases films for more mature audiences including films produced by DreamWorks Studios.[57] In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment, in addition to purchasing full ownership rights to Marvel Studios' films in 2010.[44] Disneynature is an independent film label devoted to nature documentary productions. In December 2012, Disney purchased Lucasfilm, and its intellectual properties.[46]

Hollywood Pictures was another division of Disney, which, like Touchstone, produced films for mature audiences, but was shut down in 2007. In 1993, Disney acquired Miramax Films and its Dimension Films genre label, with the former division operating as an autonomous unit until 2009, and the Dimension label becoming absorbed by The Weinstein Company in 2005.[58] By 2009, Miramax was folded into the Walt Disney Studios, and continued to serve as distribution label until it was sold by Disney to Filmyard Holdings in 2010.[55][59][60] From 2007 to 2010, Disney and ImageMovers ran a joint motion capture animation facility; ImageMovers Digital.[61][62]

All film productions mentioned above are distributed theatrically by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and on home media platforms by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[63]

Disney Music Group

Main article: Disney Music Group

Disney Music Group is a music production group led by Ken Bunt, that consists of two record labels—Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records—and multiple publishing entities that handle Disney's music.

Disney Theatrical Group

Disney Theatrical Group is the division producing live theatrical and stage events. It is currently under the leadership of Thomas Schumacher. The Disney Theatrical Productions division has been responsible for the production of many different musicals, touring events, ice shows and other live theatrical events. Their shows include: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aida, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, Newsies and numerous incarnations of Disney on Ice.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Disney purchases Lucasfilm, announces new Star Wars". 3 News. October 30, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Masters, Kim (20 October 2011). "Kermit as Mogul, Farting Fozzie Bear: How Disney's Muppets Movie Has Purists Rattled". The Hollywood Reporter. pp. 3 of 4. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Walt Disney Co: Company Description". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Walt Disney Company: Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Financial Report And Shareholder Letter" (PDF). Page 36. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ Revenue of Walt Disney's studio entertainment business, 2008-2013. The Walt Disney Company. November 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Motion Picture Association of America – About Us". MPAA. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  7. ↑ Gabler, Neal (2007). Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Random House. pp. 276–277. ISBN 0-679-75747-3.
  8. ↑ "The Walt Disney Company History". Company Profiles. fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Best of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures (1975)". NY Times Movies. New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  10. ↑ "New York Times: Seal Island". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  11. ↑ "The Walt Disney Studios". Disney Corporate. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ Fixmer, Fixmer (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say (Update1)". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  13. ↑ Schatz, Tom. "The Studio System and Conglomerate Hollywood" (PDF). (PDF). Blackwell Publishing http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/9781405133876/9781405133876_C01.pdf. Disney also exploited new technologies and delivery systems, creating synergies that were altogether unique compared to other studios, and that finally enabled the perpetual “mini-major” to ascend to major studio status. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "Business Entity Detail: Walt Disney Pictures (search on Entity Number: C1138747)". California Business Search. California Secretary of State. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (February 16, 1984). "Touchstone Label to Replace Disney Name on Some Films". New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Harmetz, Aljean (December 2, 1988). "COMPANY NEWS; Disney Expansion Set; Film Output to Double". New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ "BRIEFLY: E. F. Hutton raised $300 million for Disney.". Los Angeles Times. February 3, 1987. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "People: Los Angeles County". Los Angeles Times. April 13, 1988. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Haitman, Diane (March 30, 1989). "Disney TV Chief Heads Back to Mainstream". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Disney, Japan Investors Join in Partnership : Movies: Group will become main source of finance for all live-action films at the company's three studios.". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 23, 1990. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  21. ↑ "Fox May Lose Chief To Disney". Orlando Sentinel. Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1992. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Seasoned Performer Takes Lead Studio Role". Orlando Sentinel. Los Angeles Times. August 28, 1994. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
  23. ↑ Mason, Ian Garrick (October 11, 2004). "When Harvey met Mickey". New Statesman. UK. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
  24. ↑ Weinraub, Bernard (August 25, 1994). "Chairman of Disney Studios Resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Roth, Iger Assume Expanded Responsibilities at the Walt Disney Company". PRNewswire. April 16, 1996. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
  26. ↑ Disney War, by James Stewart, 2005. Page 301.
  27. ↑ Eller, Clauida (August 21, 1998). Spyglass Offers Disney Lower-Risk Deals. Los Angeles Times. Accessed on March 18, 2015.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Eller, Clauida (May 23, 2000). Spyglass Hopes for More Good 'Sense' in Future Projects. Los Angeles Times. Accessed on March 18, 2015.
  29. ↑ Hofmeister, Sallie (July 8, 1999). "Disney Plans to Consolidate Two of Its Television Groups". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  30. ↑ Hofmeister, Sallie (July 9, 1999). "Disney Combining Network TV Operations Into One ABC Unit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  31. ↑ Godfrey, Leigh (January 3, 2003). "Disney Streamlines Television Animation Division". AWN News. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  32. ↑ Godfrey, Leigh (January 3, 2003). "David Stainton Named President, Disney Feature Animation". AWN News. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  33. ↑ Los Angeles Times (June 23, 2006): "Book Tells of Breakup with Disney"
  34. ↑ "Schaeffer's Upon Further Review Highlights the Following Stocks: Abbott Laboratories, Bank of America, Knight Capital Group, and Walt Disney". Boston.com. Business Wire News Releases/Schaeffer's Investment Research. July 19, 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  35. ↑ Fixmer, Andy (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say". Bloomberg Television. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 "Company Overview of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Inc.". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 13 May 2014. Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Inc., an entertainment production company, produces and distributes scripts and oversees films for Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, and Hollywood Pictures. The company was formerly known as Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Burbank, California.
  37. ↑ Eller, Claudia; Dawn C. Chmielewski (April 22, 2008). "Disney gets back to nature". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Kit, Borys (May 29, 2008). "Disney draws up plans for graphic novel biz". The Hollywood Reporter. Reuters. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  39. ↑ "The Walt Disney Company: 2011 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 30 December 2012. Page 12.
  40. ↑ Eller, Claudia (February 10, 2009). "DreamWorks gets Disney cash in distribution deal". Los Angeles Times.
  41. ↑ Eller, Claudia (October 3, 2009). "Disney to slash Miramax Films staff to 20, reduce releases to 3 a year". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  42. ↑ Lang, Brent (December 3, 2010). "Tutor Gets His Prize as Miramax Deal Closes". The Wrap. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  43. ↑ McNary, Dave; Dana Harris; Justin Kroll (2009). "Facts on Pacts" (PDF). Variety. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Kim Masters (October 18, 2010). "Disney to Distribute Marvel's 'The Avengers,' 'Iron Man 3'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  45. ↑ "THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY INDIA & UTV JOIN CREATIVE FORCES" (Press release). Bangalore, INDIA: The Walt Disney Company (India). Bloomberg. May 19, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Patten, Dominic (December 4, 2012). "Disney-Lucasfilm Deal Cleared By Feds". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  47. ↑ Crowe, Deborah (December 4, 2012). "Disney, Netflix Sign Distribution Deal". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  48. ↑ Barnes, Brooks (April 10, 2013). "Disney Studios Lays Off 150 Employees". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  49. ↑ Miller, Daniel (5 April 2013). "Walt Disney Co. expected to begin layoffs". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  50. ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 6, 2013). "Disney Acquires Rights to Future ‘Indiana Jones’ Movies". Variety. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  51. ↑ "The Walt Disney Studios – Our Businesses". The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  52. ↑ "The Walt Disney Studios". The Walt Disney Studios.com. The Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Disney Studios Services". go.com. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  54. ↑ "Disney Digital Studio Services". Disney Digital Studio.com. Disney. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 "The Walt Disney Company: 2011 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved December 30, 2012. Page 12
  56. ↑ "About The Walt Disney Studios". The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  57. ↑ Variety: Disney signs deal with DreamWorks; Company will handle distribution for films, Variety, February 9, 2009
  58. ↑ Eller, Claudia; Lorenza Munoz (22 February 2005). "Disney's Miramax Unit to Get a Makeover". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  59. ↑ "Miramax offices close, Disney says brand continues". Lowell Sun. Associated Press. January 29, 2010.
  60. ↑ Graser, Marc (January 29, 2010). "Rich Ross reshapes Disney film studios". Variety.
  61. ↑ "Disney, "Polar Express" director in animation deal". Reuters. February 5, 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  62. ↑ Finke, Nikki (March 12, 2010). "Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  63. ↑ "Company Overview of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Inc.". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 10 February 2013.

External links