Disney Breaks Out As ‘Star Wars’ Sets New Record
Expectations for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” are of galactic proportions, with projections for over $2 billion in global box office sales. And that hype is already making history.
Fandango told Variety the movie from Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) set a new record, with over $50 million in pre-sales ahead of the Dec. 18 debut.
The latest installment of the Star Wars series is also expected to be more than just a box office bonanza. Forbes reported that Disney may reap an additional $5 billion revenue windfall in 2016 alone from branded toys, video games and other products.
But while Disney may win the war in a galaxy far, far away, it continues to do battle with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and other online video streaming players here on Earth.
Although the number of cable TV cord-cutters is rising, the House of Mouse has so far held its own. To compete with over-the-top (OTT) TV services, Disney established Hulu with Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), and also makes its channels available on Sling TV, owned by Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH).
In its latest earnings report, Disney’s cable and broadcast segment logged a 12% gain in revenue, and CEO Robert Iger said he’s “bullish” on ESPN.
Key Numbers
Earnings rose 35% and topped analyst estimates for fiscal 2015’s fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 3. Sales rose 9% but came up just short of expectations.
Disney’s 95 Composite Rating is No. 1 within the Media-Diversified industry group.
Chart Analysis
On Wednesday, Disney cleared a 117.68 buy point in a cup-with-handle.
While volume was below average on the breakout, the stock continued higher on Thursday and Friday. Disney closed the week still trading within the 117.68-123.56 buy zone.