Disney CEO Admits Box Office Misses for Summer Hits

Even the House of Mouse can slip. Two of this summer's most hyped releases failed to ignite the way executives expected.

At Disney's recent earnings call, CEO Josh D'Amaro acknowledged that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana underperformed at the box office. He didn't dodge the numbers; he framed them. The point, he argued, isn't only about ticket sales.

Box office isn't the only ledger that matters for Disney.

D'Amaro walked investors through the wider economic ripple those titles created: a spike in Star Wars merchandise at retail, surging interest in the refurbished Millennium Falcon attractions at Disney parks, and notable upticks in engagement with related videogames. In other words, these films function like anchors in a much larger ecosystem—one that includes toys, theme-park attendance and digital play.

Still, the theatrical figures are hard to ignore. The Mandalorian and Grogu opened over Memorial Day weekend with roughly $81 million domestically and closed its global run near $345 million—respectable, but far from the billion-dollar hauls of earlier entries such as The Rise of Skywalker or The Last Jedi. Live-action Moana, with Dwayne Johnson returning as Maui, has brought in about $262 million worldwide against an estimated $250 million production price tag. Those margins tighten quickly.

Disney's financial report echoed D'Amaro's message: investment in marquee franchises yields value beyond cinema screens. For Moana, executives expect a second life on Disney+, leaning on the original animated film's streaming longevity as a model. The company is essentially balancing a ledgers game: theatrical receipts on one side, long-term revenue from licensing, parks and streaming on the other.

So what does this mean for audiences and the industry? Big-budget tentpoles can still underwhelm in theaters while powering other revenue streams. The ecosystem that surrounds a franchise now matters as much as the opening weekend. Studios will keep chasing blockbuster moments, but they are increasingly judging success across a constellation of metrics rather than a single weekend headline.

Are we ready to stop measuring a film's worth by box office alone, or will Hollywood cling to the old scoreboard? Consider the next release and watch which side of the balance it tips toward.