movies
Disney’s Josh D’Amaro On The Biggest Opportunities As CEO & Why Other Media Companies “Are Trying To Look Like Disney”
Josh D’Amaro attended his first D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, having succeeded Bob Iger five months ago.
On Day 3 of the Disney event, D’Amaro had a sit down with Ginnifer Goodwin where he opened up about the future of Disney and how it’s been for him as the new CEO of the company.
For starters, the executive says “it’s still strange” for people to refer to him as CEO “because I’ve been here for 30 years,” adding, “I started at an entry-level position at Disneyland in 1998.”
“I loved Disney growing up,” he said. “I visited the parks with my family. I remember those moments so clearly. They truly have stuck with me. I’ve been a fan first for my entire life, and then to come and actually work for the company — the moment I got inside the walls, it’s cool to be working for Disney.”
D’Amaro gave a shoutout to the cast members and “the leaders behind the scenes,” who “care about this place, care about the company, care about the fans in a real, genuine way. To be here at D23, it takes a lot of work to pull an event like this, but to see the fandom, to see the rewards of all the hard work that’s been put into making these places and making these stories as special as they are, there’s nothing like it.”
In terms of opportunities that D’Amaro considers for the future of the company he said there are several important things that are important to him at the highest level.
“First is that we are a company that tells the world’s best stories, and we will never — I will never relent on that,” he explained. “So, making sure that we’re making great films like Zootopia, making sure that we’re making the next attraction that just blows people away, the next Broadway show that pulls people in. As simple as it sounds, that has to be the focus of all leaders, quite frankly, at the Disney Company.”
D’Amaro also pointed that currently the industry is at the “intersection of technology and media,” adding, “I don’t think it’s ever been more relevant and more powerful. And this company, the Walt Disney Company, has always thrived in these moments, all the way back to to Walt as he was thinking about film and how to change how films are made, or Disneyland and animatronics.”
He continued, “We’re in this moment where I want to push in to the technology that’s available to us, marry it with this beautiful story making, and push the company forward.”
Lastly, D’Amaro noted that the Walt Disney Company is an accumulation of different things, wether it’s ESPN, a streamer, a theme park, and a film producer.
“We’re the Walt Disney Company, and for anyone that’s looking around contextually at the entertainment landscape right now, it kind of looks like people are trying to look like Disney,” he said. “They’ll try to buy some of this stuff and that stuff. And for us, we have all of that. We have the the best IP in the world. We have the best collection of businesses in the world. We have scale around the globe like nobody else has, and we have talent that everyone wishes they had. So if we now pull this whole company together in one, and show up as one company wherever that is-Disney+, or in a theme park, or at a place like D23-no one can compete with us. There’s nothing like the Walt Disney Company where we can operate as one.”
>
movies
Kristen Bell Makes Surprise Performance At Savannah Bananas Game
For the first time in forever, Kristen Bell has both Frozen and baseball on the mind as she treated sports fans to a surprise performance from Princess Anna.
On Saturday, the 2x Golden Globe nominee popped up in the stands of the Savannah Bananas game against the Indianapolis Clowns in Denver, where she sang her Disney character’s song “For the First Time in Forever” in a mashup with Tony-nominated pitcher Derek Klena singing “Dancing Through Life” from Wicked, in which he performed as Fiyero Tigelaar on Broadway.
“The mashup we never knew we needed,” the team wrote on Instagram with a video of the performance, which also included “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing, complete with the lift.
Following his Tony-nominated 2017 performance in Jagged Little Pill, as well as subsequent Broadway runs in Moulin Rouge!, Sunset Boulevard and Wicked, Klena was scouted by the viral exhibition barnstorming team in December.
Bell’s surprise appearance came after she stopped by D23 in Anaheim to tease Anna’s wedding to Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) in Frozen 3, joining co-stars Idina Menzel and Josh Gad onstage to debut new music and scenes from the threequel. The Disney movie premieres Nov. 24, 2027.
The $2.76 billion-grossing launched with Frozen in 2013, followed by the 2019 sequel Frozen 2.
>
movies
Dolly Parton Misses Dollywood Ride Opening Amid “Health Issues”
As Dollywood opens its latest attraction, NightFlight Expedition, Dolly Parton is contending with ongoing health issues.
On Friday, the 11x Grammy winner virtually greeted guests of her Nashville park to let them know that her doctor “clipped my wings” and advised her against attending the opening of the new coaster in the Tennessee theme park.
“Well, hey Eugene. I’m right here… Well, kind of. Sorta,” she told Dollywood President Eugene Naughton in a pre-recorded video during the dedication ceremony, which was shared by Knoxville News Sentinel. “I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that. I was supposed to be there in person like I planned.”
Parton added, “Now, I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues. And sometimes, I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated, and I’m dehydrated. And so, my Nashville doctor has kinda clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess, if your doctor tells you, ‘you ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week. But I like to keep all of you in the loop, like I said I would, on everything.”
Raving about the “great new ride,” Parton told guests, “You have fun, and I’m gonna see you down the road.”
Last September, Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges” before ultimately canceling the stint in May while taking “meds and treatments” for her condition. Her health issues come after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, on March 3, 2025.
>
movies
Box Office Global: ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is Second-Fastest To Cross $2B
Holy cow! Or whatever kind of Holy is yelled out in a comic book, but Sony/Marvel Studio’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed the $2 billion global mark, becoming the second fastest movie to do so and the eighth movie to ever cross that benchmark.
Brand New Day pulls off this feat in 17 days while Avengers: Endgame crossed $2B in 11 days.
Broken out, Brand New Day counts $785.8M domestic, the fourth highest ever in U.S./Canada, and a running cume of $1.236B abroad for a current worldwide tally of $2.022B.
Third global weekend for the Destin Daniel Cretton directed, Tom Holland and Zendaya starring pic is $188.7M. Stateside, the pic posted the second-best third weekend at the domestic B.O. at $70M after Force Awakens third weekend of $90.2M.
Abroad in 67 markets, Brand New Day made $118.7M this weekend on 53,700 screens. China led the frame with $10M taking it cume to $210M followed by France at $9.1M (-39%) for a cume of $63.7M.
Other top markets this weekend: the United Kingdom ($8.2M weekend, -49%, $106.0M cume), Brazil ($7.5M, -47%, $59.5M), Mexico ($7.3M, $78.0M),Australia ($6.6M, -45%, $48.8M), South Korea ($6.4M, -41%, $53.2M), Germany ($6.4M, -42%, $48.8M), Japan ($3.4M, -15%, $27.0M), India ($3.2M, $59.6M), Spain ($2.8M, -44%, $35.2M), and Italy ($2.2M, $36.4M).
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing release ever in 36 international markets, including Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Italy, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
We’ll have more foreign updates for you in a bit.
More…
>
-
movies3 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years agoAccording to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years agoModel Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years agoEmily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years ago9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Fashion9 years agoYour comprehensive guide to this fall’s biggest trends
-
Fashion9 years agoA photo diary of the nightlife scene from LA To Ibiza
