This article is also available in:
English
At the start of the year, we told you that a layoff plan was planned at Pixar this year, as part of a cost reduction within the Disney empire.
The Hollywood Reporter tells us that the layoff plan is now underway. Around 14% of the workforce is ultimately affected, or approximately 175 people. We take this opportunity to take stock of Disney’s strategy on the animation side, and its financial results.
Disney wants to spend less
The positions destroyed at Pixar correspond in particular to a refocusing of the studio on cinema releases. Remember that Bob Chapek, who led Disney from 2020 to 2022, had focused heavily on streaming in a Covid context which had generated an unprecedented explosion of platforms. Pixar had launched certain feature films directly on Disney+, and we had also witnessed the establishment of Pixar teams intended to provide the platform with content. For example with the series Win or Lose which will be launched this year.
Now in the hands of Bob Iger, Disney is looking to reduce expenses. It must be said that the group has experienced significant turbulence with Covid and its consequences, particularly in terms of parks and cruises. Hence layoffs in many branches of the group, including here at Pixar.
Streaming finally in the green
Another point to highlight: Disney announced new financial results. The DTC (Direct to Consumer) segment, which notably includes Disney+, finally came out of deficit during the second fiscal quarter of 2024. Until now, it had always been in the red.
Suites and licenses
Furthermore, remember that Pixar will be released this summer Vice-Versa 2. We will therefore carefully monitor its box office results. This film is emblematic of the strategy announced by Bob Iger for animation: a desire to concentrate more on existing sequels and licenses.
During the announcement of the financial results, Bob Iger explained this strategy and specified that it concerns all cinema releases, but in particular animation: both Disney and Pixar are therefore concerned. Bob Iger added that for him, sequels made more sense because they are already known and “require less marketing resources” to be sold to the general public.
We’re going to balance sequels with originals, particularly in animation. We had gone through a period where both our original films in animation, Disney and Pixar, were dominating. We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels. And so we’ve talked, as you know, about Toy Story and obviously Inside Out this summer. I just think that right now, given the competition in the overall movie marketplace that actually there’s a lot of value in the sequels obviously because they’re known and it takes less in terms of marketing.
Bob Iger
If the CEO of Disney also talks about “refocusing on quality” (a comment taken up by the Hollywood Reporter to explain the layoffs), let’s not kid ourselves. It is above all a question of reducing risks and expenses, in order to avoid leading to financial failures as were wish Or Avalonia: The Strange Journey.
Vice-Versa 2, Toy Story 5, Moana 2, Zootopia 2 are therefore emblematic of the future of Disney and Pixar studios, for the moment.
