Tag Archives: Walt Disney Co

Entertainment

Disney pauses theatrical releases in Russia, condemns invasion of Ukraine

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Still from Pixar’s “Turning Red.”

Disney

The Walt Disney Company will halt all future theatrical film releases in Russia following the country’s attack on Ukraine.

“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming ‘Turning Red’ from Pixar,” the company said in a statement Monday. “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation.

“In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crises, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees,” Disney said.

Disney is the first major Hollywood studio to take a hard stance against Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Warner Bros., for example, is expected to debut “The Batman” in the country this week.

While ticket sales in Russia are not as significant as those drummed up in China, it is still a prominent market for Disney. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a co-production with Sony, has tallied more than $50 million in the country.

Disney’s decision to forego releases in Russia comes amid a wave of other boycotts from the entertainment industry.

Streaming giant Netflix said it will not comply with Russian rules to carry news channels amid the escalating Russian invasion in Ukraine.

“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNBC on Monday. The decision comes as a wave of Russian state-backed news broadcasts spread Russian propaganda justifying the war Moscow started in Ukraine last week.

Sports organizations and professional athletes are also hitting Russia with their own kinds of sanctions. Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) joined the Union of European Football Associations to announce it would bar Russian teams from events, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, until further notice.

The National Hockey League, which has more than two dozen Russian-born hockey players, has suspended agreements with Russian companies and the International Olympic Committee also recommended banning Russian teams from competitions for violating the “Olympic Truce.”

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Entertainment

Walt Disney World increases prices for multiday, Park Hopper tickets

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A guest takes a selfie at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort on July 11, 2020.

(Photo by Olga Thompson/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images)

Walt Disney World Resort is raising ticket prices for guests visiting the parks for multiple days. This is the first major adjustment to the Orlando-based theme parks ticket pricing since March 2019.

Prices for base tickets for those attending any of Disney’s four theme parks in Florida for between one and three days have not been altered, according to WDW News Today, a prominent Disney theme park media site. But prices of multiday passes for between four and 10 days are up between 2% and 6%.

For example, four-day multiday passes used to range between $435 and $597, depending on if the ticket was for a child or an adult. Now, those passes cost between $447 and $597.

Park Hopper passes for one to two days have not changed, but a similar price increase has been added to these tickets for 3- to 10-day spans. These passes allow visitors to move between the theme parks in the same day.

A four-day Park Hopper pass now costs between $540 and $687, up from between $525 and $540.

Representatives from Disney did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

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Business

This is a treacherous market filled with extreme stock moves

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday offered viewers his game plan for the next five trading days on Wall Street.

The “Mad Money” host’s lookahead came after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted their best weeks so far in 2022, finishing 1.5% and 2.4% higher, respectively.

“This week we saw the true colors of what is a treacherous market,” the “Mad Money” host said. If investors love a stock, there’s “no level it won’t be taken up to,” he said. “But if it’s hated? There are no depths it won’t sink to. Either way … it’s likely to be an extreme.”

All revenue and earnings per share estimates are from FactSet.

Monday: Tyson Foods, Two-Take Interactive and Simon Property Group

Tyson Foods

  • Q1 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $1.93
  • Projected revenue: $12.17 billion

Cramer said the company’s quarter should provide insights into the country’s meat supply chain, which has experienced a host of challenges during the Covid pandemic.

Take-Two Interactive

  • Q3 earnings release after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $1.12
  • Projected sales: $868 million

Take-Two’s quarter will provide a glimpse into how much of the pandemic-related surge in gaming has stuck around, Cramer said. “[CEO] Strauss Zelnick is the straightest of straight shooters. If demand is waning, he’s just going to say it.”

Simon Property Group

  • Q4 earnings release after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m.
  • Projected EPS: $2.89
  • Projected revenue: $1.25 billion

Tuesday: Centene, Pfizer, Chipotle, DuPont and Peloton

Centene

  • Q4 earnings before the open; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 98 cents
  • Projected revenue: $32.5 billion

“I think it’s a takeover target and I bet we’ll get a very good quarter,” Cramer said of the health insurer.

Pfizer

  • Q4 earnings before the bell; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 87 cents
  • Projected sales: $24.16 billion

Cramer also said he expects very good numbers from Pfizer.

DuPont

  • Q4 earnings before the open; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 99 cents
  • Projected revenue: $4.02 billion

“The great industrials have had a real up and down time in this market and I fear this could be DuPont’s down time, which is why we finally decided to ring the register for a terrific profit for the charitable trust,” Cramer said.

Chipotle

  • Q4 earnings after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $5.25
  • Projected sales: $1.96 billion

Cramer said Chipotle’s quarter is the one he’s most interested in Tuesday. “I think it could do low double-digit same-store sales versus last year’s already excellent numbers and that should cause the stock to ignite,” he said. “Raw costs are always a problem in the business, though.”

Peloton

  • Q2 earnings after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: Loss of $1.22
  • Projected revenue: $1.14 billion

Cramer said he’s looking for a host of updates from Peloton’s management after the exercise equipment maker’s stock has been pummeled in recent months. One topic that is likely to come up is The Wall Street Journal’s report Friday that Amazon has approached Peloton about a potential deal, Cramer said.

Wednesday: CVS Health, PepsiCo, Disney and Mattel

CVS Health

  • Q4 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $1.83
  • Projected sales: $75.66 billion

“I expect a very good quarter from CVS [because of] Covid testing, but what happens next?” Cramer said. “Have they monetized the vaccination seekers? That would take it to the next level.”

PepsiCo

  • Q4 earnings release before the open; conference call at 8:15 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $1.52
  • Projected revenue: $24.24 billion

Cramer said he was surprised the beverage giant’s stock fell 1.6% Friday, suggesting he’d pick up some shares ahead of the quarterly print.

Disney

  • Q1 earnings release after the close; conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 73 cents
  • Projected revenue: $20.27 billion

Cramer said he thinks the media and entertainment giant does not get enough credit for the value of its intellectual property. “This isn’t Netflix. It isn’t Facebook. It’s a one-of-a-kind growth vehicle. It is not stagnant. It is not dead, and that’s why I’d like to build a bigger position ahead of the quarter for my trust,” he said.

Mattel

  • Q4 earnings release after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 33 cents
  • Projected revenue: $1.66 billion

“I think there could be a whole new slate of toys and entertainment from CEO Ynon Kreiz, who’s been a turnaround whizz,” Cramer said.

Thursday: Coca-Cola, Twitter, Cloudflare and Zendesk

Coca-Cola

  • Q4 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 41 cents
  • Projected revenue: $8.98 billion

While Cramer said he expects a good quarter from Coca-Cola, he specifically mentioned looking for updates on the beverage maker’s partnership with Molson Coors on a Topo Chico hard seltzer. “I think this is the next big spiked [beverage],” Cramer said.

Twitter

  • Q4 earnings release before the bell; conference call at 8 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 33 cents
  • Projected revenue: $1.58 billion

It’s unclear whether Twitter’s digital ad business faces challenges like Facebook parent Meta or is growing just fine like Amazon or Alphabet, Cramer said. “I think we’ll find out that it remains the same old plodding Twitter when it reports—a company that has nothing we truly want to pay up for,” Cramer said.

Cloudflare

  • Q4 earnings after the close; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 0 cents
  • Projected revenue: $185 million

Cramer said he’s anticipating “great numbers” from the cybersecurity firm, but “I don’t expect anyone to care” because the stock is out of favor on Wall Street.

Zendesk

  • Q4 earnings after the bell; conference call at 5 p.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 18 cents
  • Projected sales: $371 million

Cramer said he’s keeping an eye out for an update on Zendesk’s pursuit of Momentive Global, a deal which activist investor Jana Partners has urged Zendesk to drop.

Friday: Under Armour, Cleveland-Cliffs and Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Under Armour

  • Q4 earnings release before the open; conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 6 cents
  • Projected sales: $1.47 billion

“There’s lots of good buzz about this one, so much that I think it’s actually a terrific speculation going into the quarter. We keep hearing about a potential turnaround, maybe this time it’s going to happen,” Cramer said.

Cleveland-Cliffs

  • Q4 earnings before the bell; conference call at 10 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: $2.15
  • Projected revenue: $5.73 billion

“I’m betting actually that Cleveland-Cliffs will do a decent number,” Cramer said, complimenting the company’s management and improved balance sheet.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber

  • Q4 earnings before the open; conference call at 9 a.m. ET
  • Projected EPS: 32 cents
  • Projected sales: $5.01 billion

“I think that Goodyear will positively dazzle,” Cramer said.

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Business

Jim Cramer says he’d buy Disney after shares slid on Netflix news

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CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday he views the sell-off in Disney as a buying opportunity for investors.

Shares of the media and entertainment giant fell 6.94%, hitting a fresh 52-week low during the session. However, the “Mad Money” host said he would not shy away from the stock because its steep decline appeared tied to Netflix’s forecast of slowing subscriber growth.

Netflix’s outlook — offered Thursday night when the company reported earnings — spooked investors, and the company’s shares plunged 21.8% Friday.

“I want to own the stocks of longstanding, great Americans that are brought down in a guilt-by-association fiasco, and that’s exactly what happened to the stock of Disney today,” Cramer said, while noting he was prevented from adding to his charitable trust’s position in Disney on Friday because he mentioned the stock on TV in the morning. Cramer’s ethics policy is that he waits 72 hours before executing a trade in a stock that he discusses on CNBC’s TV shows.

Cramer’s trust bought back into Disney in September, about three months after exiting its position entirely for the first time in 16 years. The trust added to the stock in late November and then again in December.

Cramer acknowledged Friday that he’s “been too early” on Disney, alluding to the fact the stock is trading lower than when the trust made its buys.

“But it’s time to stop conflating speculative stories with investment-grade stories. Many stocks that have bee annihilated here belong to companies that don’t have much in the way of earnings, companies that mostly trade on hype or hope,” Cramer said.

He said he sees a range of speculative assets — including cryptocurrencies and stocks that went public through a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company — that deserve to be struggling right now, as Wall Street prepares for likely interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

“But you can’t just extrapolate the weakness of one company which has done very well, Netflix, with a whole host of other companies with great brand names that make fantastic products and generate good earnings, like Disney,” Cramer said.

“I am not saying that Netflix isn’t worth owning. At some price, it sure will be,” he added. “I am saying that there are plenty of high-quality companies that were poleaxed today because of Netflix, and those were the best ones to buy.”

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Business

JPMorgan, Wynn Resorts and more

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Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Casino stocks — Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts saw their shares jump more than 11% and 7%, respectively, after the Macau government said the number of casinos allowed to operate there would remain limited at six. Licenses of the current operators – which include Wynn Macau, Sands China and MGM China – are set to expire this year. Shares of MGM Resorts slipped slightly.

JPMorgan Chase — Shares of the major bank fell more than 5%, dragging down the major equity averages. The sell-off came after the firm posted its smallest quarterly earnings beat in nearly two years and the lender’s chief financial officer lowered guidance on companywide returns. CFO Jeremy Barnum said on a conference call that management expected “headwinds” of higher expenses and moderating Wall Street revenue.

Wells Fargo — The bank stock jumped more than 3% after the company posted quarterly revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations and a significant jump in profit. Results were helped by a $875 million reserve release that the bank had set aside during the pandemic to safeguard against widespread loan losses.

Citigroup — Citi shares lost 2.5% despite the company reporting a beat on quarterly earnings and revenue. However, the bank also reported net income for the latest quarter dropped 26% to $3.2 billion, citing an increase in expenses.

BlackRock — Shares of the asset manager fell 2.6% after the company reported a quarterly revenue miss of $5.11 billion, versus expectations of $5.16 billion, according to FactSet’s StreetAccount. The company beat earnings estimates, however, and grew its assets under management to above $10 trillion.

Monster Beverage — Shares of Monster Beverage fell 4.5% a day after the company revealed plans to acquire CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, a craft beer and hard seltzer company, for $330 million in cash. The deal would bring brands such as Jai Alai IPA, Florida Man IPA, Wild Basin Hard Seltzer and others to the Monster beverage portfolio.

Boston Beer Company — The alcoholic beverage company’s shares slid more than 9% a day after the brewer cut its annual earnings outlook, citing high costs related to supply chain issues and waning growth of its hard seltzer brand Truly.

Walt Disney Co — Disney shares dropped 3.8% after Guggenheim downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, citing slowing profit growth in streaming and parks. The firm also cut its price target on Disney to $165 from $205.

Sherwin-Williams — The paint company saw its shares fall nearly 3% after it cut its full-year forecast, citing supply chain issues it expects will persist through the current quarter. Sherwin-Williams also said demand is still strong in most of its end markets.

Domino’s Pizza — Shares of Domino’s Pizza slid 2.8% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the restaurant chain stock to an equal weight rating. “DPZ still embodies many of the characteristics of a great long term growth compounder, we see limited justification for further multiple expansion, especially as DPZ’s sales growth will likely being to normalize after experiencing substantial Covid (and stimulus) benefits in 20/21,” Morgan Stanley said.

 — CNBC’s Yun Li and Hannah Miao contributed reporting

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World

What will be shut down starting Jan 7

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Transparent barriers enforcing social distancing measures are seen on tables at a restaurant in Hong Kong, on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

Roy Liu | Bloomberg via Getty Images

From bars and pubs to sports premises and karaoke rooms, Hong Kong will be banning most public activities from Friday.

The Asian financial hub will be re-imposing strict Covid-19 measures for two weeks — starting Friday to Jan. 20 — as the city braces for the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant. They will be reviewed in one week.

“We are facing a very dire situation of a major community outbreak any time, and that’s why we have to take very decisive measures,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Wednesday when she announced a slew of stringent measures in a bid to contain the outbreak as early as possible.

The government also announced that incoming flights from eight countries will be banned from Saturday to Jan. 21. They are: Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Hong Kong recorded 38 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, and has 12,708 confirmed cases so far, according to a government website.

So far, 73.4.% of the total population has received two doses of a vaccine as of Thursday, according to government data. 

The tightened social distancing rules include a ban on eating in restaurants after 6 p.m., closure of theme parks, museums and venues including fitness centers and bars.

The government is also canceling a mass cycling event, Cyclothon, and entertainment facilities such as Hong Kong Disneyland, cruise ship tours and nightclubs and karaoke venues for 14 days starting Friday.

Here’s a list of everything that will be closed from Jan. 7.

  • Restaurants must stop offering dine-in services to customers daily from 6 p.m. until 4.59 a.m. local time the following day.
  • Bars or pubs will be closed.
  • No live performance and dancing activity is allowed in catering premises. Karaoke or mahjong-tin kau activity should also be suspended.
  • Entertainment premises shut: theme parks, museums, party rooms, karaoke rooms, game centers, Chinese-style gambling establishments for mahjong and tin kau (dominoes); cinemas as well as event and performance venues will also be closed.
  • Sports and beauty activities: fitness centers, swimming pools, sports premises, as well as beauty parlors and bathhouses will be shut.
  • Tours to cease: All local tours and “cruises-to-nowhere” suspended.
  • Public hospital and nursing home visits to be halted.

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Entertainment

‘West Side Story’ is officially a box office bomb

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Despite rave reviews, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” has failed to gain traction with audiences at the box office.

In its first three weeks in cinemas, the adaption of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical, has captured just $36.6 million in global ticket sales. Its production budget was around $100 million, not including marketing costs.

“Sounds like a write-off to me,” said Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at MKM Partners. “The markets that have done the best have been New York and L.A. The film wasn’t able to grab middle America, and it didn’t seem to have that great of a penetration into the Latino community.”

“West Side Story” tells the tale of love-struck teenagers from two different social classes in New York City during the 1950s. Tony, a young white boy with ties to a gang called the Jets, and Maria, a young Puerto Rican girl with ties to the Sharks gang. The Sharks and the Jets are in the midst of a struggle for control of the Upper West Side of the city, making Tony and Maria’s love forbidden.

The musical launched on Broadway in 1957 and has been revived a dozen times in the decades since.

Spielberg’s new iteration, distributed by Disney’s 20th Century Studios, generated largely positive reviews from critics, earning a 93% Certified “Fresh” Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was praised for its choreography and singing performances. However, this wasn’t enough to bring moviegoers to cinemas.

“[‘West Side Story’] was largely a victim of timing and an inability to attract younger moviegoers,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “Women over 35 are the drivers of most musicals. Not only has that audience been the most cautious to return to public social spaces like the movie theater during the pandemic, but renewed concern created by omicron headlines seems to have played a major role in doubling down on that hesitance for the time being.”

Box office analysts said “West Side Story” also likely suffered from not having a big Hollywood star attached and because its release was so close to that of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe Film has dominated at the box office over the last two weeks.

In its opening weekend, “West Side Story” garnered $10.5 million, but the figure was more than halved during its second weekend when the film tallied just $3 million.

“‘West Side Story’ was supposed to rebound this week,” said Jeff Bock, senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “You can’t rebound when you were never in the box office game to begin with.”

Many had hoped that strong word of mouth would help boost the film, similar to what happened with 2017’s “The Greatest Showman.” But “West Side Story” took in only $2.8 million over the Christmas weekend.

The box office is an industry of diminishing returns, meaning each week a film will make smaller and smaller amounts. At this pace, “West Side Story” is not expected to turn a profit.

“And when you spend $100 million to do that, it will certainly cause studios to reevaluate song and dance numbers going forward,” Bock said.

Movie musicals have struggled at the box office in recent years. During the pandemic, “Dear Evan Hansen” scored less than $20 million during its global theatrical run and “In the Heights,” which had a dual release in theaters and on HBO Max, secured just $43.8 million worldwide.

2019’s “Cats,” which replaced the iconic Broadway costumes with digital fur, bombed at the box office, pulling in just $72.4 million globally on a production budget of around $95 million, not including marketing costs.

In fact, the highest-grossing musical films in the last five years were 2019’s “Frozen II,” which topped $1.4 billion globally and 2017’s live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast,” which reached $1.2 billion. The only other film in the musical category to top $500 million globally was the animated feature from Illumination called “Sing,” according to Comscore data.

“The musical genre, at least for now, seems to have fallen out of favor for modern audiences,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Rotten Tomatoes and distributed “Sing,” “Cats” and “Dear Evan Hansen.”

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Business

Best Buy could offer investors ‘gift’ if it continues pullback: Trader

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Investors may soon get their best chance to purchase Best Buy, Inside Edge Capital Management founder Todd Gordon said.

Nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s components including Best Buy, Disney, Biogen and a number of travel stocks are trading below their 200-day moving averages, a key indicator that tracks long-term price changes.

Best Buy could be close to a unique buying opportunity, however, Gordon told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Tuesday.

“The stock … has been a solid outperformer relative to the S&P since, like, 2013,” he said, citing the company’s digital expansion.

“A pullback to that $90 breakout level I think would be a gift. I don’t know if we’re going to get it. I’m certainly eyeing it.”

Best Buy traded 1.4% lower Wednesday afternoon to around $105.35.

The stock is likely to regain momentum after sustaining losses tied to its November earnings report, in which gross margins contracted and management pointed to a projected decline in fiscal fourth-quarter sales, Gordon said.

“The main reason … the stock was hit so hard in this earnings report was the margins, and I think once supply chain issues start to ease, demand increases, perhaps we go back to normal, I think Best Buy might come back, so I’m certainly watching this stock,” he said.

Boeing’s stock could also be on a path to recovery, Sanctuary Wealth’s Jeff Kilburg said in the same interview.

“It was encouraging over Thanksgiving weekend that TSA data said 20 million people traveled in the United States,” the firm’s chief investment officer said. “That’s optimism. It’s not represented in the chart.”

Boeing trading under $200 a share “does present an opportunity” given that around two-thirds of the company’s profit comes from manufacturing commercial airplanes, Kilburg said.

The stock fell nearly 2% on Wednesday to around $193.98 a share.

“At the end of the day, we have not seen Boeing really recover” from the crisis around its 737 Max airplane model, he said.

“I do think omicron, the new [coronavirus] variant that we have right now, will potentially be a waning situation which will allow more and more holiday travel,” he said. “This is an opportunity under $200 that I think you have to own.”

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Entertainment

No Way Home’ ticket demand crashed box office sites

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Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker in Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

Disney

When the clock stuck midnight on Nov. 29, tickets for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” went on sale. Within minutes domestic movie ticket sites began to crash as moviegoers rushed to snag seats for one of the most anticipated films of the year.

It is something that the box office has not experienced since the pandemic began and a sign that with the right releases, the movie theater industry has a “bright future,” experts say.

The pandemic battered cinemas, crushing demand and nearly bankrupting some of the industry’s largest exhibitors. The box office has been slow to rebound, but sustained momentum over the last six months has provided confidence in an eventual recovery.

Overnight, the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a co-production between Disney and Sony, has sparked even more optimism. Ticketing sites like Atom Tickets, Fandango and MovieTickets.com alongside movie theater sites like AMC, Cinemark and Regal saw a surge of demand for tickets leading many to crash or place visitors in hour-long online queues.

“There are different tiers of intense fan demand when it comes to box office pre-sales, and this film is clearly showing it belongs near the top with a select few others,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “For anyone who doubted the communal draw of the theatrical experience over the past two years, look to this enthusiasm for ‘Spider-Man’ as a major inflection point during the box office recovery period and the sign of a bright future ahead.”

This kind of fervor has not been seen at the box office since 2019 when advanced tickets for titles like “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” went on sale.

Movie theater chains have been eagerly awaiting the debut of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” with some going as far as to provide additional incentives for moviegoers to pick up tickets for opening night.

AMC partnered with and Sony Pictures to offer 86,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to members of its AMC Stubs Premiere, AMC Stubs A-List and AMC Investor Connect who ordered tickets for the Dec. 16 opening of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in advance.

Box office analysts were already optimistic that the latest Spider-Man film could top $100 million during its December debut, but this high demand for tickets is even more encouraging for the film’s opening.

The previous solo films for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man opened at $117 million in 2017 and $92 million in 2019, according to data from Comscore.

“It would be entirely fitting that a Spider-Man movie could potentially be the first pandemic-era release to break the $100 million opening weekend mark,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, noting that Sam Raimi’s 2002 “Spider-Man” was the first film in the history of cinema to open to more than $100 million at the box office.

“It should come as no surprise that pre-release online ticket sales for ‘No Way Home’ are, in essence, breaking the internet as excited fans clamor to be the first in the virtual line to grab their tickets for the film.”

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango.

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Entertainment

What critics are saying about Disney’s new film

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Disney’s “Encanto” centers around the Madrigals, an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia and have been blessed with unique gifts.

Disney

Walt Disney Animation Studios has been delivering charming animated feature films to the masses since 1937. Its 60th feature, “Encanto,” is one of the best, critics say.

Due out in theaters ahead of Thanksgiving, the movie centers on the Madrigals, a family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a place called the Encanto.

The family arrived in the Encanto after Abuela Alma was forced to flee her home with her infant triplets. She was granted a miracle, which provided her with a magical house and blessed every child in the family with unique gifts — except Mirabel.

However, when the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, causing the house’s foundations to crack and the Madrigals’ powers to disappear, Mirabel is the one to step up and figure out how to stop it.

The film has been largely praised by critics for its animation style, diversity and “spellbinding” songs. It currently holds a 93% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 82 reviews.

“Disney’s 60th animated feature is among their best,” said Scott Mendelson in his review of the film for Forbes.

“Even with some grim undertones and periodically downbeat thematic elements, it is a generally joyful and thrillingly colorful fantasy that’ll once again make us realize how much visual wonder we take for granted in modern animation,” he wrote.

Here’s what some critics thought of Disney’s “Encanto” ahead of its debut Wednesday:

Maya Phillips, The New York Times

Disney’s two animation studios have long been praised for their revolutionary techniques in creating delicate details, from stitching on clothing to realistic hair. “Encanto” continues that tradition.

“The computer animation, some of the best from any major studio in the last several years, presents a dazzling confabulation of hues and a meticulous weaving of precious details — like the embroidery on skirts, the golden-brown crust of a cheese arepa and the selection of native Colombian flora,” said Maya Phillips, a writer for The New York Times.

Phillips said that “Encanto” has a “robust engagement with, and respect for, Latino culture,” noting that the Madrigal family members have skin tones that range from light to dark and have hair textures that vary from straight to kinky-curly. It is a spectrum that is representative of the diversity within the Latino community.

“And the grand pooh-bah of the contemporary musical movie score, Lin-Manuel Miranda, provides a spellbinding soundtrack of songs combining salsa, bachata and hip-hop played with traditional folk instruments from Colombia,” Phillips wrote.

Read the full review from The New York Times.

Stephanie Beatriz voices Mirabel Madrigal in Disney’s “Encanto.”

Disney

Caroline Siede, AV Club

“From ‘Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs’ to ‘Raya And The Last Dragon,’ Walt Disney Animation Studios has spent the past eight decades perfecting its signature riff on the classic hero’s journey,” wrote Caroline Siede in her review of the film for AV Club. “So it’s a bold move that for its 60th feature, ‘Encanto,’ the studio turns so many of those classic tropes on their head.”

Siede notes that unlike many of Disney’s animated protagonists, Mirabel Madrigal not only has two living parents but is surrounded by an expansive extended family.

“How fun to see a Disney heroine with cousins,” she wrote.

She pointed out that Mirabel’s lack of magical abilities also sets her apart from other Disney heroines. In many cases, Disney’s protagonists possess either special gifts or skills that distinguish them from other characters.

“That makes Mirabel a sort of reverse Elsa, if you will, and instead of setting off on an adventure to find herself, her quest leads inward into her own family history and the secrets buried inside it,” Siede wrote. “Therein lies ‘Encanto’s’ biggest innovation: It’s a Disney adventure that never leaves the house.”

Read the full review from AV Club.

Owen Gleiberman, Variety

“The songs, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are syncopatedly infectious, word-weavingly clever, and unabashedly romantic; they keep the film bopping,” wrote Owen Gleiberman in his review of the film for Variety.

Miranda has collaborated with Disney on several projects in recent years, including “Moana” and the upcoming live-action adaptation of the studio’s “The Little Mermaid.”

“And the whole picture is intricate and accomplished enough to make the era when your average Disney house animated feature was several tiers below that of Pixar seem like ancient history,” Gleiberman wrote. “Yet for all the dazzle on display, none of it would mean much if ‘Encanto’ didn’t present its heroine’s moving journey in a way that kept surprising you.”

“That’s the key to enthralling animation — it stays one jubilant beat ahead of the audience,” he said.

Read the full review from Variety.

Ravi-Cabot Conyers voices Antonio Madrigal, who has the ability to speak with animals in Disney’s “Encanto.”

Disney

Scott Mendelson, Forbes

Mendelson was just one of many critics who praised the film’s voice cast. In particular, he pointed to John Leguizamo — who voices an uncle whose ability to see the future puts him at odds with his family — as giving a performance that is “equal parts comedy and misery.”

While Mendelson criticized Miranda’s songs as often repeating information already provided to the audience, he said Disney smartly used the film to not only introduce diverse characters but to tell a unique story.

“‘Encanto’ uses the commercial freedom of being a big-scale Disney Animation release to both exist as a triumph of demographic representation and to not use that representational milestone as an alibi to tell an otherwise generic story,” Mendelson wrote.

“Mirabel joins the ranks among one of the more realized Disney heroines, partially because she’s not required to hit ‘bad-ass female warrior who isn’t your everyday princess’ notes,” he said. “If anything, the awkward misfit is who would usually be a supporting character in a conventional animated epic, and that adds to her universal relatability.”

Read the full review from Forbes.

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