Disney CEO Bob Chapek Hints At Shorter Theatrical Windows: For “Impatient” Customers, “I’m Not Sure There’s Going Back”

As of now, Disney is set to release “Black Widow” in about a month and a half. Normally, that would mean the marketing machine would be in full swing, with clips, trailers, TV spots, billboards, and all that stuff.

Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek says the release pattern of Black Widow will be a “last-minute” decision, a sentiment that won’t reassure movie theater owners or others rooting for a Covid-19 rebound.

Disneyland will reopen April 30, CEO Bob Chapek announced Wednesday on CNBC’s Squawk Alley.The popular theme park has been shuttered since last March. “We’ve seen the enthusiasm, the craving for people to return to our parks around the world,” Chapek told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAfter a more-than-yearlong closure, Disneyland is set to reopen on April 30, Disney CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” Wednesday morning.More to come… 

While the No. 1 exhibitor AMC has traditionally been flexible about theatrical windows despite their pubic uproar against Universal last year, the chain’s CEO Adam Aron speculated today what the landscape would look like when we come out of this pandemic.

Today at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, CEO Bob Chapek continued to underscore that the release date for Marvel’s long-awaited feature Black Widow is May 7, and that the Cate Shortland-directed title will be seen in theaters. Chapek made the same confirmation back on Feb. 11 during the studio’s FYQ1 earnings call.

Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek on Tuesday addressed the firing of Gina Carano from the Disney+ show The Mandalorian.The executive was asked about the situation during an annual shareholders' meeting.

Disneyland is anticipated to reopen in late April, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek responded to a shareholder on Tuesday who accused Tinseltown, as well as the multimillion-dollar company, of a double standard in firing Gina Carano due to her political affiliation.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaWalt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek was grilled by shareholders about Gina Carano’s firing from “The Mandalorian,” when cruise ships would set sail again and the future of Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy at the entertainment giant’s annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday.It’s been a tumultuous first year atop Disney for Chapek, who took the reins from Bob Iger in February 2020, shortly before COVID-19 upended the entertainment landscape.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek defended the Gina Carano firing on Tuesday, insisting the company doesn’t characterize itself as “left-leaning or right-leaning.”He added that the company stands for universal values and that, “we seek to have not only how we operate, but the content we make, reflect the rich diversity of the world we live in.”Carano was dropped from “The Mandalorian” after the actress posted comments Lucasfilm said it considers “abhorrent” on her social media.More to come…

Disney CEO Chapek Bob Chapek Tuesday said he doesn’t “really see Disney as characterizing itself as left-leaning or right-leaning” – responding to a shareholder who accused Hollywood and the company of a double standard in firing Gina Carano from The Mandalorian because she’s a conservative.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterAfter California officials issued new guidelines Friday allowing theme parks and stadiums to reopen as early as April 1, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday that Disneyland could open its gates again in a matter of weeks.“The fact is, it will take some time to get them ready for our guests,” he said, adding that Disney is focused on “recalling more than 10,000 furloughed cast members and training them to operate under the

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Disneyland will open in “late April” — declining to give a specific date today but at least narrowing the window.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Tuesday the company’s fast-growing streaming service Disney+ has topped 100 million subscribers.

Also Read: Netflix 'Enthusiastic' About Shrinking Theatrical Windows: 'It's What Consumers Want'Several major studios have made significant moves to curtail the theatrical window in recent months, though the length of that window has varied based on the studio. Universal was the first to do so through an agreement with AMC Theaters and Cinemark to release films on PVOD as early as 17 days after theatrical release, or 31 days if the film earns a domestic opening of over $50 million.

2020 was an important year for WarnerMedia. After many were concerned that the studio was late to the streaming game with its (horribly titled) HBO Max streaming service, WarnerMedia wowed people with its platform that has a deep bench of library titles and a very aggressive lineup of originals.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar addressed the media conglom’s controversial move to release Warner Bros.’s full 2021 movie slate on HBO Max day-and-date with theaters — saying that theatrical releases are still a key part of the studio’s strategy, but also acknowledging that the industry’s windowing strategy has likely permanently changed.“I think we’re still in the experimentation mode” on theatrical/streaming movie release windows, said Kilar, speaking Thursday at

Also Read: Bob Bakish Thinks the Paramount+ Theatrical-Window Plan Is More 'Sustainable' Than OthersNetflix has for years fought the exhibition industry over day-and-date releases (when a film is put out simultaneously in theaters and on streaming), which have largely kept the streaming juggernaut’s films out of most theater chains.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Monday that despite how rotten it was to have theme parks closed for so long, the forced downtime was also an opportunity to tinker with technology and data to reopen better than before, for both guests and for shareholders.