An iconic film series goes from one plus to another, and this is a negative.
Indiana Jones fans got a rude awakening Walt Disney‘s (DIS -0.77%) flagship streaming service earlier this week. The first four of the five films in the iconic film series were removed from Disney + on Tuesday. Now they are only available Parmamount Global‘s (PARA -0.62%) Paramount+ platform.
Movies and shows come and go, and rival studio Paramount was and continues to be the distributor of the four classic films. However, because Disney paid $4 billion to acquire Lucasfilm – the studio behind the Indiana Jones films – and released the fifth and potentially final one last year, it’s easy to see why Disney+ subscribers are confused about the franchise that is now split between the films. two services. It is the new normal for consumers of premium streaming services that continue to grow more premium with each price increase.
I had a bad feeling about this.
Where does it not hurt?
The first four Indiana Jones films were not part of the Disney + content catalog when the service launched at the end of 2019. Disney made an agreement to bring the films with the thrill-seeking archaeologist to its streaming service of the same name last year. The move was made ahead of last summer’s release Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinythe first Indiana Jones film from Disney since the acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 and the first new entry in the franchise since 2008.
There was a lot of horse riding on the film. It was widely expected to be one of the biggest theatrical releases of last year, but it failed to crack the top 10 at the box office. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny it collected $174 million in domestic ticket sales and $384 million worldwide. It would be a big deal for most films, but a relative dud for a big-budget release when the previous entry attracted far more moviegoers 15 years earlier.
A scene from Disney World’s “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show”. Image source: Disney.
It is not as easy as before
One can imagine that Disney could have found a way to extend the streaming rights if last year’s film had been a blockbuster. After last summer’s disappointing turnout, there is currently no sixth film publicly in the works.
It doesn’t mean that Disney is abandoning the franchise. Attractions with Indiana Jones are present in many Disney theme parks around the world. A new Indiana Jones ride is coming to the Disney theme park in Florida in 2027. Chatter about a Disney + prequel to the franchise that was originally reported by Variety at the end of 2022 it seems to have faded following cost cuts and the poor performance of Dial of Destinybut nothing ever really dies in Hollywood.
For now, fans of the franchise have to subscribe to two different streaming services to get access to all five films in the series. It is not ideal. The timing is also pretty bad.
Disney is raising prices for its streaming services in two weeks. The ad-free tier of Disney+ will increase by $2 per month to reach $15.99. This will also be the first time that the House of Mouse will raise prices on the cheapest ad-supported plan that it introduced two years ago. It will be $7.99 to $9.99 per month.
It took Disney+ five years to become profitable. If sticker shock and the removal of valuable content hurt subscriber numbers, things could become problematic for this scalable business model.
Fortunately, Disney continues to add more fresh content to its streaming channels than it carries. Media stocks that once posted 10-digit annual operating losses are on a roll and can’t afford to reverse now.
poles Why should I be judgmental?
Rick Munarriz has positions in Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.