Disney’s shocking announcement last Sunday that it was replacing current CEO Bob Chapek with the former office holder Bob Iger rocked the entire entertainment industry. The Board of Directors’ decision to move on from the Chapek era was the culmination of long-simmering tensions. Many investors were upset by Chapek’s tone-deaf reaction to a disastrous fourth-quarter earnings report earlier this month.
This was on top of political fallout after a confrontation between Chapek and Florida governor Ron DeSantis over the state’s recently enacted “Don’t Say Gay” legislation and a public legal battle with Scarlett Johansson over the company’s decision to release BLACK WIDOW simultaneously to play in theatres and stream on Disney+.
Bob Iger’s return has been welcomed as a giant step in the right direction for the company, with Iger having earned a reputation as a bold and effective leader over his 15-year tenure from 2005 to 2020. Many exhibitors are reserving their judgment on the abrupt change in leadership at the world’s biggest movie studio.
While Chapek struck a particularly sour note with exhibitors, Iger has also been open about his opinion that theatres will play a diminishing role in the future of the movie business. Both leaders have been “all-in” on Disney+, which was conceived, developed, and launched during Iger’s previous reign. Still, Iger has a reputation for collaborating successfully with the company’s traditional business partners, including exhibitors.
See also: The Streaming Death Spiral Must End (The Atlantic)