Ben Fritz

Exclusive | Iger Has Told Associates He Plans to Leave CEO Role Before Contract Expires Disney’s board is planning to meet next week, where it is expected to vote on a new CEO.

Disney's board will meet next week, where they're expected to vote on the company's next CEO. Bob Iger has told people he wants to step back from daily management soon after his successor takes over. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Fast & Furious & Way Less Expensive. A Star Film Franchise Gets a Reality Check. Long-running film series are sputtering at the box office. Universal wants to cut the budget of its most important franchise by $140 million.

Universal has finally dated the long-delayed 11th (and possibly final, at least with this cast) Fast and Furious film, titled "Fast Forever," for March 17, 2028.
I covered the major drama behind-the-scenes on this movie a few months ago: www.wsj.com/business/med...

I for one would prefer even slightly faster service than a "meaningful" sharpie message on my cup. www.wsj.com/business/hos...

25 new films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry:

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" seemed like a slam dunk to be the top grossing movie released in 2025. Then "Zootopia 2" opened in China and a very different Disney film stole the crown. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Chart buried at the very bottom of the 10-K Disney just filed

If anyone's taking side bets, I'd put my money on @mattbelloni.bsky.social's box office draft

The Rise and Fall of the American Monoculture For most of the 20th century, pop culture was the glue that held the U.S. together. But what will it mean now that everything has splintered?

For a special issue that's part of the Journal's celebration of the U.S. 's 250th anniversary, I wrote an essay about the rise and fall of American monoculture. Which is probably both a very good and very bad development.
www.wsj.com/business/med...

Reminds me of the setup at Universal in the early 2010s, when Adam Fogelson was the studio's "chairman" and Donna Langley was "co-chairman." Once an LA Times editor who only spoke English, not Hollywood-ese, described them as "co-chairmen" in a photo caption and all hell broke loose.

The least important but most amusing aspect of yesterday's Lucasfilm news is that Dave Filoni is "president" and Lynwen Brennan is "co-president." This is classic Hollywood job title insanity where two people are equal, but one is a little more equal than the other.

Star Wars Gets New Leader for Franchise’s Next Era Kathleen Kennedy exits as Disney’s Lucasfilm refocuses on making movies. Veteran filmmaker and George Lucas protégé Dave Filoni has been named Lucasfilm’s president and chief creative officer.

James Mangold and Taika Waititi, as well as director Sharmeen Obaid-Chino's potential Rey movie. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Lucasfilm's strategy is to make films the focus of its stories going forward, people close to the company told me. TV will take a backseat. There's the Mandalorian movie this year, Starfighter next year, a new trilogy being written by Simon Kinberg, scripts in the works from...

Star Wars Gets New Leader for Franchise’s Next Era Kathleen Kennedy exits as Disney’s Lucasfilm refocuses on making movies. Veteran filmmaker and George Lucas protégé Dave Filoni has been named Lucasfilm’s president and chief creative officer.

Dave Filoni has replaced Kathleen Kennedy as president of Lucasfilm. It's official. www.wsj.com/business/med...

The Marketing Master Trying to Make Us Fall in Love With Disney Again The company’s first chief brand officer, Asad Ayaz, is Bob Iger’s pick to depoliticize America’s best-known entertainment company.

Disney has named Asad Ayaz as its first chief marketing officer, with oversight of parks and consumer products on top of his existing film and TV portfolio. I wrote a big profile of Asad, the most powerful marketing exec in Disney history, last month: www.wsj.com/business/med...

Out with the new, in with the old! www.latimes.com/travel/story...

Exclusive | Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Himself to Fight AI Misuse Actor plans to use trademarks of himself saying ‘Alright, alright, alright’ and staring at a camera to combat AI fakes in court.

Matthew McConaughey has trademarked himself in a novel legal approach to fight AI misuse of his image and likeness. The star has gotten eight trademarks of his image and voice approved, including, of course, one saying "alright, alright, alright." www.wsj.com/tech/ai/matt...

This can’t be legal.

Small talk overheard at the Golden Globes: “When do you start shooting?… And when do you wrap?”

It’s a cliche that the real scene at the Golden Globes is at the bar. But also… yea.

I started the applause at the Globes when Stellan Skarsgard said people should see “Sentimemtal Value” in a theater. I may have already made my biggest impact on the world of 2026.

One of my favorite details in the story:

Imagineering's overspending and delays in the 2010s led to a depressing period of austerity and pandemic layoffs, but now they're in growth mode, determined to build a lot and do it right.

Fun financial details in the story: The recently delayed Adventure cruise ship costs $1.8B compared to an original budget of $1B. Shanghai Disneyland was $2 billion over budget. Avatar Land cost $1.2B compared to an $850M budget.

The 3,000-Person Team Working in Secret to Create Disney Magic It’s a $60 billion bet on the future of entertainment—and it’s up to the Imagineers to make it work

So excited for this story about Disney's Imagineers, the secretive group who design its theme parks and cruise ships. It's been a rough past decade, but Disney is counting on them to spend $60 billion that will drive the company's next decade of growth. www.wsj.com/business/med...

Zootopia 2 is now the highest grossing Hollywood movie of all time in China (excluding inflation, which is of course a big asterisk). $601.6 million there so far, which is more than 1/3 of its $1.6 billion global total.

Theme Parks’ New Strategy: Smaller, Cheaper and Shorter Entertainment companies and developers are rushing to create a high-end middle market for out-of-home entertainment.

Theme park-caliber experiences don't all have to be part of multi-billion dollar projects that cost a family thousands of dollars to visit. www.wsj.com/business/hos...

Bonus detail for Marvel nerds: Part of Asad's early success was that he was one of Disney's only "Ike whisperers." (If you know, you know)

The Marketing Master Trying to Make Us Fall in Love With Disney Again The company’s first chief brand officer, Asad Ayaz, is Bob Iger’s pick to depoliticize America’s best-known entertainment company.

If you're interested in Disney, you should know Asad Ayaz: The most powerful marketing executive in the company's history, the immigrant son of a Pakistani general, and a leading candidate to be Disney's "next next" CEO. www.wsj.com/business/med...

China’s Sprint for Tech Dominance Can’t Hide an Economy Full of Holes A self-sufficiency push has made China a tougher competitor to the U.S., but it comes with enormous waste.

Apparently the problem with China's economy is that they spend too MUCH on research and technology. www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Exclusive | Universal Studios Looks to Saudi Arabia for New Theme Park The Comcast division is considering a licensing deal for a project that would compete with Disney in the Middle East.

Universal is in the early planning stages for a potential new theme park in Saudi Arabia that would be built by a state-backed enterprise. Scoop with Jessica Toonkel: www.wsj.com/business/med...