Disney released its fourth-quarter earnings report this week, which showed the company exceeding its estimated earnings across all divisions. The company’s film studios reported significant year-over-year gains from improved box office returns and its streaming divisions increased revenues based on across-the-board price hikes. However, the number of subscribers to Disney streaming services declined, as some users opted to cancel their subscriptions.
The streaming division posted another profitable quarter, with profits of $293 million compared to last year’s Q4 in which streaming lost $138 million. Revenue from advertising on Disney streaming channels also helped to offset the loss of subscribers.
In a call with investors, Disney CEO Bob Iger said he “feels good” about the streaming numbers because he had “expected the level of churn to be significantly greater.” Iger acknowledged Disney has “a lot of work to do” to increase its subscriber count, which is expected to decline again in the first quarter. Disney is also reducing its costs in 2025 by cutting back its spending on content across all streaming platforms.
The quarterly report also gave details on the film division’s bounce-back year in 2024. MOANA 2’s $1 billion+ worldwide box office helped the theatrical division earn $312 million in the quarter, compared to a Q4 2023 loss of $224 million.
MOANA 2 was Disney’s third billion-dollar release of the year, putting an exclamation mark on Iger’s stated goal for the studio to return to its former glory after a disappointing year in 2023. Positive theatrical results from the company’s Twentieth Century and Searchlight labels also helped the cause. Disney is also well-positioned with its upcoming film slate for 2025.
