Peltz, an activist investor, may have found an opportunity to enter the film industry due to Disney's cinematic drought.

• Disney's recent troubles with activist Nelson Peltz may be linked to its inability to regain the high box office revenues of 2019.
• The company has experienced six consecutive quarters of losses in its content sales business, which includes its box office and home entertainment divisions.
• Peltz's Trian Fund Management is using Disney's recent struggles at the box office as ammunition in their quest for board seats, with Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo seeking to join the board.

Disney's recent troubles with activist Nelson Peltz may be linked to its inability to regain the high box office revenues of 2019.

In 2017, the studio's studio entertainment segment generated $11.1 billion in revenue and $2.69 billion in operating income, with seven billion-dollar films contributing to a global box office total of over $13.2 billion.

Disney's theatrical business has been struggling due to a combination of factors, including pandemic shutdowns, labor strikes, and a failure to connect with audiences. As a result, the company has seen its revenues fall below $9 billion in both 2022 and 2023, as well as six straight quarters of operating losses within its content sales business.

Since the last Star Wars movies in 2019, Disney has not had a movie generate more than $1 billion, except for "Avatar: The Way of Water," which it acquired as part of its $71 billion deal for the majority of 21st Century Fox. Sony produced and distributed "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which made $1.9 billion, although Disney's Marvel Studios did serve as a co-producer.

Disney has achieved great success in recent years, with "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3" earning nearly $900 million at the global box office and 2022 titles "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," and "Thor: Love and Thunder" also performing well.

Despite the success of "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," other big-budget franchise films have flopped, including Pixar's "Lightyear" which collected less than $250 million globally in 2022.

Fodder for Trian

Trian Fund Management is using Disney's recent struggles at the box office as an opportunity for Peltz to seek a board seat. Peltz has been critical of the Disney board, stating that it lacks focus, alignment, and accountability, and has failed to address the company's earnings, reputation, and stock price decline.

At Disney's shareholder meeting on Wednesday, the board nominations will be subject to a vote by the shareholders.

In Trian's white paper released in early March, "Wish," "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," "Lightyear," "The Marvels," and "Haunted Mansion" were cited as recent commercial disappointments for the studio.

The white paper expressed concern about the current state of Disney's studios and creative processes across their portfolio.

Disney's creative team has actively sought to create films and television shows centered on non-white and non-male characters as well as explore narratives outside heteronormativity.

"According to Peltz, in a recent interview with The Financial Times, people attend movies or shows for entertainment, not to receive a message."

He highlighted Marvel films featuring Black Panther, an African prince-turned-king, and Captain Marvel, a female U.S. Air Force pilot with cosmic abilities.

"Why do I have to have a Marvel that's all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can't I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?" he said later in the Financial Times interview.

"Black Panther" did not feature an all-Black cast, while "Captain Marvel" and "The Marvels" did not have all-female casts.

Ike Perlmutter, who was ousted from Disney last year and is a friend of Peltz and a supporter of his proxy fight, made similar comments to those made by Peltz.

Disney's failed succession plans and disjointed streaming strategy have been criticized by Peltz.

Disney's side

Disney's recent box office performance has been poor, and it's not just due to storytelling.

The company introduced animated films on streaming during the pandemic, and parents gradually became accustomed to the concept, resulting in a decline in box office sales.

Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, believes that the company has weakened its Marvel brand by producing too many Disney+ spin-off shows and theatrical sequels.

Disney has faced challenges in attracting audiences due to changing consumer preferences and tightening budgets, as they require more than just a nostalgic title to leave their homes and visit the cinema.

Iger has repeatedly addressed these theatrical concerns since his return to the company in late 2022.

In March, he expressed his desire for Marvel to produce more original content and fewer sequels at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference. He emphasized this point again in November at the DealBook Summit in New York, where he also stated that he would no longer allow his company's partners and creative team to prioritize messaging over storytelling.

"First, we must entertain. The focus is not on messages," he stated.

Despite the writers and actors strikes that slowed down production at Disney's studios, box office analysts predict a strong comeback for the company in 2026.

The 2025 movie calendar concludes with a third Avatar film in mid-December, leading to ticket sales continuing into the next year. The summer of 2025 begins with an Avengers team-up film titled "The Kang Dynasty," followed by a "Mandalorian" Star Wars movie over Memorial Day weekend. Another Star Wars film will end Disney's big year in December 2026.

Those franchises' track records suggest they could drive a staggering box-office haul.

In 2019, Disney achieved the highest level of success with a collection of films that seamlessly combined the diverse elements of Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Walt Disney Animation, resulting in a non-stop hit machine that broke box office records, according to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

The 2026 release calendar features three untitled Marvel films, an unannounced Pixar movie, a Disney Animation film set for Thanksgiving, and six additional Disney titles.