This Wall Street Journal ($) story reports that The Walt Disney Co.‘s $100 million production of “The Alamo” tanked over the weekend, grossing only an estimated $9.2 million domestically.
The failure is not well-timed. Disney and its chief executive officer, Michael Eisner, are under pressure to meet or exceed the company’s financial targets of 30% earnings growth in the wake of a shareholder revolt that resulted in the Disney board stripping Mr. Eisner of his chairman title.
Disney’s film studio, which had a great year in 2003, has been trying to make it through a shaky stretch of its release schedule this year without a major bomb. “The Alamo,” however, is a clear loser that may struggle to take in even $25 million or $30 million in U.S. theaters at its present pace. Moreover, its prospects overseas are believed to be poor because few foreigners know about the historical event upon which the movie is based. Although the failure of a single film typically doesn’t affect the stock price of Disney much, it is imperative for Disney management to keep its share price up in order to fend off the Comcast, Inc. unsolicited all-stock offer for the company that Disney’s board rejected in February.
“The Alamo” opened to mixed reviews last weekend.