Disney: They’re Everywhere
Updated: Aug 27
Recently Disney invested $1.5 billion into the popular video game developer Epic Games, the creators behind Fortnite, to acquire an equity stake. Now that Disney has a grasp over the video game industry, and is one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, just how powerful and influential are they?
Disney. We all know them. We all recognise the famous logo and the iconic talking mouse. And in a modern day you just can’t escape them. Personally, I’ve been a fan of Disney, Marvel and Star Wars my whole life but when you look at them from a broader point of view in 2024 it’s mind-blowing how big they are. The Walt Disney company now has some sort of ownership of over 200 companies – including GoPro!
Who would have thought this would happen 100 years ago when Walt Disney started this iconic brand. It’s hard to keep track of everything Disney owns as they are able to throw billions of dollars to any company and usually they end up owning them. The best example of Disney’s success and power is their relatively new streaming service Disney+. Everyday something new from a different brand is added to the platform which draws in wider audiences; they own Pixar (for $7 billion in 2006), Marvel ($4 billion in 2009) and Lucasfilm ($4 billion in 2015). Each one of those brands brings in millions of audiences who now bow down to Disney and rely on them for quality media. But is this right?
Not really, in my opinion. Disney’s sheer economic strength and recognisability deters audiences away from independent developers. In the first half of 2019 in America and Canada alone, Disney made $2.03 billion – which to you and me is around £1.8 billion. The next best company was Universal, who made just $858 million (around £600 million). Not even half of what Disney made. But I, like most of us, can say that I contributed to Disney’s success in 2019. A string of blockbuster films including Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King (live action) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in the winter. All year-round Disney used their strength and owned companies to attract audiences and make money.
So how on Earth are audiences going to want to watch an indie film? When wherever you go there’s a Disney advert, merchandise, film, TV show – even a whole TV channel (or several in the USA). Media and Film students will know of the Ken Loach film I, Daniel Blake which was marketed on a very restrictive budget and originally started with small viewings in secret locations within small towns. To some audiences that experience would be much more enriching and enlightening than watching a superhero fight aliens in a computer-generated world.
As much as I enjoy quality and reliable media, like the ones mass-produced in the Disney factory, I personally don’t feel as exposed to smaller films made by underground independent media companies. Which is a shame as these films probably have more heart and personality than Disney franchises. And that’s the problem with Disney especially – their power and their 200+ companies dominate the media and entertainment market so much it’s hard to escape them and look for something else. Is this a problem?
Yes. Disney’s success has now created a formula for others to follow – other media companies have analysed Disney and tried to replicate their victory over the market. Over the past few years in particular, many other companies have tried to establish franchises or bring iconic fictional characters to big and small screens. Specifically, there has been an influx of media in the superhero genre or with exciting action scenes – all of which have been included in order to replicate Disney and Marvel’s praise from audiences and critics alike. But it seems as though these companies are trying so hard to be like Disney and Marvel to the point where they’re losing their creativity and individualism.
The main example we can compare Disney and Marvel to is the partnership between DC and Warner Brothers. First of all, DC and Warner Bros. went for the ‘subtle’ approach to replicating Disney by calling their franchise the ‘DC Expanded Universe.’ Very creative considering Marvel’s film and TV franchise is called the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe.’ Even down to names of other media products it’s clear that Disney’s influence is restricting creativity in modern media. So finding something original, pure and different is like gold dust. DC had incredible potential for a film and TV franchise – seeing Marvel’s adaptations of iconic superheroes like Iron Man, Captain America and Black Widow made audiences excited for what DC could do to the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. But I think the numbers talk for themselves – Marvel’s franchise has made nearly $30 billion whereas DC has made only $7 billion.
Recently DC and Warner Bros. have stepped away from the current franchise by making separate, reboot films of other owned assets. The most memorable was The Batman that was released in 2022 and made $770 million - making it the seventh highest grossing film in the year. Although The Batman wasn’t the most successful film of the year, or the best considering it faced competition from the likes of Top Gun: Maverik and Avatar: The Way of Water, I personally loved the film as it took a more creative and different approach to the character of Batman. Even though it wasn’t a low budget indie film, I would argue that it was more experimental to other oppositions to Disney with a darker but more interesting fictional world of Gotham City.
But overall, DC has suffered from being up against Marvel. If it wasn’t for Marvel’s reputation and their parent company being Disney, maybe DC’s franchise would have been more positively received. The effect Disney has had on its audience means that we are all subconsciously comparing other companies’ media to Disney’s media. For example, when I was younger I liked lots of animated films from Despicable Me to Rio, but still to this day I prefer Disney and Pixar films over them – Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, the list goes on. Disney has set the example and has made it close to impossible to replicate the same influence and recognition they have. Everyone wants to go to Disney World. Why? Because it’s Disney. It was only while writing this article I found out that Columbia Pictures (a subsidiary of Sony Pictures) has a water theme park.
Speaking of Sony, Disney owns so much that they have something for everyone. Sport? ESPN. Documentaries? National Geographic. TV? ABC. But in the case of Sony, Disney even partly owns Spider Man. Where DC has Batman, Marvel has Spider Man. Spider Man: No Way Home was a media sensation and was the highest grossing Spider Man film to date and the highest grossing film in the whole of 2021 – making $1.9 billion (£1.4 billion). The film was a huge success and although the rights to Spider Man belong to Sony, the film was part of the Disney Marvel franchise. Therefore, Disney was a key figure in the success of the film just because of the Marvel name. Disney seems to have their fingers in lots of pies and are influential in different industries as a result. I’m also a Formula One fan and a few months ago Disney was the talk of the community as they released a documentary of the Brawn GP team on Disney+. They are everywhere.
Either way Disney deserves every success and respect in the world. An idea that stemmed from Walt Disney in 1923 has been worked on, believed in and carried forward to where they are now. In my opinion, the Walt Disney company is smart and skilful in their media production and have captured the minds and hearts of audiences worldwide. Although seeming like they’re everywhere in the modern world, they deserve their influential status through the quality products they have made. Realistically where would we be without Disney? What would the media industry be like if someone else was to take charge? Universal? Sony? It’s an interesting thought and although I’d be interested in giving smaller voices in the media world a more elevated status, I’m confident that soon enough someone will step out of Disney’s shadow, be creative and do their own thing. So, is Disney’s power and influence a good thing or is it too restrictive towards other companies? What do you think?
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