It's fitting that Bob Iger returned as CEO at Walt Disney (DIS 0.16%) last week, just days before Disenchanted hit Disney+ and Strange World hit theaters. Investors and Disney enthusiasts alike were "disenchanted" with outgoing CEO Bob Chapek. And it's a "strange world" with Iger on a two-year clock to turn things around.
December will be Iger's first full month back at the helm. It was going to be a month worth watching even before his arrival, but the stakes are even higher now. Disney has price hikes and one of its biggest theatrical releases happening this month. Let's look at some of the dates that could get Disney moving in December.
Image source: Disney.
Dec. 8
A bad day for fans of Disney+ and Disney World could be a good day for shareholders. Prices are rising everywhere these days, but Disney is making moves to milk more money out of two of its fastest growing businesses next week.
Let's start with Disney+. The media giant's namesake streaming service is going through some big changes next week. Disney will introduce an ad-supported version of the platform. Some rivals that have gone this route have introduced the version monetized by marketers' missives at a lower price point, but Disney is taking a more aggressive approach.
The new ad-backed Disney+ will cost the same $7.99 a month that subscribers were paying before. If they want to continue to enjoy the service without commercial interruptions, it will cost $10.99 a month. This is just $3 a month, but it's a 38% increase. Multiply that by the platform's growing audience -- 164.2 million and counting -- and it adds up.
It's not just Disney fans in their living rooms who will be paying up for support of the company. Getting past Disney World turnstiles will also be more expensive starting next Thursday. Annual-pass prices are going up as much as 8%. The big move will come for folks buying single-day tickets that are increasing as much as 19%.
Disney World is shifting to its pre-pandemic strategy of giving each of its four Florida theme parks a different cover charge. If you want to head out to the Magic Kingdom park later this holiday season, it will cost as much as $189 a day, $30 more than the signature attraction's peak pricing.
Dec. 14
Iger is making it a priority for Disney+ to reverse its widening operating losses. The rub is that content isn't cheap, and Disney+ subscribers expect a healthy pipeline of content.
There's a lot coming to Disney+ this month. One interesting series making its debut on Dec. 14 is National Treasure: Edge of History. When most people think of Disney's vault of audience-drawing franchises, it's easy to think about the properties it acquired when it struck deals for Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm. There's also its well-known animation studio. However, Disney had a life in the realm of live-action theatrical releases. One of its biggest hits was National Treasure.
The new series won't feature the top star of the original, much to Nicolas Cage fans' displeasure. The reboot has younger characters, but it also brings back the original screenwriters. Jerry Bruckheimer is also back as a producer. Keeping its audience close -- a week after a significant pricing move -- needs compelling content. We'll see if the new show does the trick.
Dec. 16
James Cameron has been behind some of the world's highest grossing movies. There's Titanic. There's Avatar. Let's talk about the latter. It has been 13 years since Avatar wowed theatergoers. Cameron is finally back with the first of at least four sequels, and they belong to Disney after closing on its deal for certain Fox assets in 2019.
Movie theaters have had a rough year, so they're hoping as hard as Disney that Avatar: The Way of Water is a major blockbuster in two weeks. Disney is a hit factory. The media stock had all six of the top-grossing films of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. There's a lot riding on the new film, especially with three more on the way in years to come.
