Disney officially acknowledged: The Mandalorian and…

Disney has for the first time acknowledged the industry's assessments regarding its two most important films of the summer.

During the financial results meeting held on August 5, CEO Josh D’Amaro clearly stated that The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana did not reach the box office levels Disney expected. This statement is not an external commentary on the performance of the two productions as a "failure"; it is a direct assessment presented by the company's management to its investors.

Disney does not measure the success of the two films solely by box office

Immediately following this acknowledgment, D’Amaro also presented Disney's core defense.

According to the CEO, even if major brand films do not meet expectations in theaters, they continue to support the company's other business lines. Disney views this approach as an integrated system that allows the same characters to generate revenue in theaters, on platforms, in stores, in games, and at theme parks.

In other words, Disney separates the revenue generated from ticket sales of a film from the total value that film provides to the entire company.

This defense does not change the box office results of the two productions. However, it explains why Disney has not immediately abandoned major brands that did not deliver the expected returns at the box office.

The Mandalorian and Grogu remained at $345 million

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu reached approximately $345.2 million in global revenue. Of this, $177.7 million came from the US and Canada, while $167.4 million came from other markets.

The film was the first new production shown in theaters since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The extent to which Din Djarin and Grogu's popularity on Disney+ would translate to theaters was seen as one of the film's biggest tests.

Disney is no longer hiding that the result fell below its expectations. In contrast, D’Amaro stated that the film has increased retail sales of Star Wars products, attracted interest in the revamped Millennium Falcon experience at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and generated significant engagement in the gaming sector.

It reached 111,000 viewers in Turkey

The Mandalorian and Grogu's performance in Turkey was not different from the global picture.

The film reached a total of 111,678 viewers during its seven-week run that began on May 22 and generated approximately 35.1 million TL in revenue. The audience count for the first weekend remained at 32,210.

Considering the return of a brand with wide recognition like Star Wars to theaters after years, this result shows that the series was unable to carry its platform audience to theaters with the same strength.

However, this should not be read as definitive proof that all Star Wars viewers in Turkey were indifferent to the film. Disney's own statement also reveals that the company no longer evaluates interest in the brand solely through cinema ticket sales.

Moana currently stands at $263 million

The live-action Moana also became the second major summer film that did not meet Disney's high expectations.

Released in the US on July 10, as of August 5, the film reached approximately $262.7 million in global revenue. The total for the US and Canada was $116.1 million, while international revenue was at $146.6 million.

The film had already fallen short of expectations during its opening weekend. Disney had projected a range of $60-65 million for the US opening, but Moana managed to earn about $43 million in its first three days.

After the cinema results, D’Amaro shifted the focus to Disney+. The CEO stated that they expect the live-action film to perform strongly when it arrives on the platform, linking this expectation to the long-standing viewing success of the 2016 animated film.

This is not a realized digital success at this stage, but Disney's forward-looking expectation.

Two different results in the same quarter as Toy Story 5

Another detail that makes D’Amaro's statement significant is that the company used Toy Story 5 as a contrasting example in the same meeting.

The film, which surpassed the $1 billion mark worldwide, was presented as Disney's ideal franchise model, not only through ticket revenue but also by increasing viewership of previous Toy Story films on Disney+ and boosting product sales.

Thus, the company categorized three different films into two separate groups in the same investor meeting:

Toy Story 5 succeeded at the box office, thereby growing other business lines. The Mandalorian and Grogu and Moana, however, were defended because they did not deliver expected results at the box office, focusing on parks, products, games, and streaming.

Disney's statement changes the definition of "failure"

D’Amaro's words also make visible a broader shift in how major entertainment companies evaluate the success of a film.

In the traditional model, the primary test of a high-budget film was box office revenue. In Disney's model, the same production can still sell toys, attract visitors to a theme park experience, increase viewership of old content, and bring new users to games, even if it falls short at the box office.

This approach does not eliminate the box office result. Disney's own CEO has clearly acknowledged that both films' cinema performance was below expectations.

However, the second message the company conveys is just as important as this acknowledgment: For Disney, a film is not considered a complete failure as long as it continues to generate revenue in other parts of the brand company, even when it loses at the box office.

The next part of the discussion surrounding The Mandalorian and Grogu and Moana will take shape here. Will Disney's product, park, and platform revenues truly compensate for the potential lost in theaters, or is this defense being used to cover the declining box office power of major brands?

The company answers the first question with a yes. The box office figures, however, leave the second question open.