The Walt Disney Co. was hoping 2023 would mark a rebound over its disastrous 2022. But six months into the year, Disney is dealing with a new string of embarrassing failures and controversies that threaten to further erode its formerly sterling reputation.
Among Disney’s most prominent fails so far this year are a brutal round of layoffs, a doubling down on its aggressive LGBTQ messaging to children despite surging public backlash, and CEO Bob Iger’s broken promise to heal the relationship with Florida.
Disney is facing one of the most challenging periods in its corporate history as it seeks to repair its financial situation following a calamitous 2022 that saw then-CEO Bob Chapek lose his job.
Like other legacy studios, Disney is contending with a perfect storm of media mayhem — a collapsing advertising market as American consumers hammered by Bidenflation drastically reduce their spending; continued cord cutting; and the financial black hole of streaming entertainment.
But unlike other studios, Disney is also waging a bitter cultural war that has alienated millions of loyal customers and fans. For decades an untouchable brand, the company has quickly become a toxic symbol of woke corporatism run amok.
Here are seven of Disney’s biggest fails for 2023.
Disney doubles down on LGBTQ indoctrination of children
Despite surging backlash, Disney has doubled-down on its LGBTQ indoctrination of children. A recent viral video showed a male Disneyland employee dressed in drag and greeting children at the California park’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Disneyland’s first gay “Pride Nite” celebration takes place this month and will admit children of all ages.
Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid is also steeped in gay culture. Actress Melissa McCarthy, who plays Ursula, revealed she “100 per cent” drew inspiration from drag queens for her performance.
Expect more. “Diversity is a real priority for us” CEO Bob Iger recently said, adding that Disney will continue to create content that promotes “greater understanding, greater acceptance.”
CEO Bob Iger’s broken promise to heal relationship with Florida
When he returned to the company late last year, CEO Bob Iger vowed to “quiet things down” in the company’s political war with Florida. But the precise opposite has happened. In April, Iger escalated the war by suing Disney in federal court, claiming Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) engaged in retaliation against Disney for the company’s attempts to thwart the state’s anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law.
DeSantis countersued in state court, ensuring the battle will continue for months to come.
The dispute revolves around Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which protects public school children from radical LGBTQ indoctrination, including transgenderism. Disney, which is based in California, not Florida, has publicly denounced the law and vowed to fight to get it repealed.
Disney enacts mass layoffs targeting 7,000 workers worldwide
As it seeks to recover from 2022’s financial disaster, Disney enacted sweeping layoffs this year that will see a total of 7,000 workers worldwide depart the company, or 3.2 percent of its workforce,. The head-chopping included employees at Disney-owned news outlets, including the virulently anti-Trump ABC News and left-wing fivethirtyeight.
Layoffs also hit the once-invincible Pixar, whose brand is in jeopardy with the flop Lightyear and likely flop Elemental.
Box office disappointments include The Little Mermaid, Ant-Man 3… Indiana Jones 5?
Disney continues to rule the global box office thanks to its industry ubiquity. But Disney titles that were considered slam dunks are faltering as audiences grow weary of heinous live-action remakes and uninspired superhero sequels. Disney’s multi-racial remake of The Little Mermaid is tanking in overseas markets, imperiling the movie’s chances of breaking even at the box office.
Meanwhile, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to break even at the global box office — an ominous sign that that the Marvel juggernaut is running out of gas.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is expected to gross just $60 million domestically on its opening weekend after getting clobbered by critics at its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The shockingly low estimate signals a rough road ahead for the movie at the domestic box office.
Streaming failures include Willow, National Treasure
Disney+ has also faced a number of embarrassments this year. The woke Willow series — a follow-up to the 1988 Ron Howard movie — was canceled after just one season. In a money-saving move, Disney has completely expunged the series from the streaming service — an indication of just how few people were watching it.
Willow featured featured a gay romance between two main characters while also casting a transgender actor in a prominent role. The creative team behind Willow publicly admitted to putting “queerness” at the core of the series, saying they received no pushback from Disney executives.
Disney+’s National Treasure: Edge of History was also canceled after just one season. The series’ protagonist was a Latina DREAMer, who led a multi-racial crew on adventures focused on identity.
Disney’s streaming services keep losing billions of dollars
The money pit known as streaming entertainment is costing Hollywood studios billions of dollars a year and Disney is no exception.
In February, Disney reported it was losing more than $1 billion a quarter on its streaming business, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and other services. For the fiscal first quarter, the division lost $1.05 billion, a 78 percent larger loss from the same period a year ago. The figure represents a slight sequential improvement from the fourth quarter, which saw a $1.5 billion loss for the unit.
Disney managed to rein in streaming spending during the second quarter. But Disney+ domestic subscriber growth is virtually stalled out, signaling problems ahead for the company as it seeks to compete with Netflix.
Under Iger, Disney is renewing its commitment to the CCP
With Iger back in the power, Disney has renewed its close relationship with China’s murderous Communist regime.
After repeatedly getting iced out of the Chinese market under former CEO Bob Chapek, Disney has scored Chinese release dates for a number of blockbuster titles, including The Little Mermaid, which promptly bombed with a miserable $2.5 million opening weekend haul.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com