Film Production
Disney FY-2104 op inc grows 21 per cent; Studio Entertainment segment op inc up 234 per cent
BENGALURU: The Walt Disney Company Inc (Disney) reported operating income (op inc) of $ 13,005 million (26.6 per cent of overall revenue or TIO) in the year ended 27 September 2014 (FY-2014), up 21.3 per cent from the $ 10,724 million (23.8 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. The company’s TIO in FY-2014 at $ 48,813 million was 8.4 per cent more than the $ 45,041 million in 2013.
“Our results for fiscal 2014 were the highest in the company’s history, marking our fourth consecutive year of record performance,” said Disney chairman and CEO Robert A Iger. “We’re obviously very pleased with this achievement and believe it reflects the extraordinary quality of our content and our unique ability to leverage success across the company to create significant value, as well as our focus on embracing and adapting to emerging consumer trends and technology.”
Disney’s Studio Entertainment segment reported a 234.3 per cent growth in op inc in FY-2014 at $ 1,549 million (11.9 per cent of all op inc) from $ 661 million (6.2 per cent of all op inc) in FY-2013. This segment’s revenue in FY-2014 at $ 7,278 million (14.9 per cent of TIO) grew 21.7 per cent to $ 5,979 million (13.3 per cent of TIO) in the previous year.
Here is what Disney has to say about Studio Entertainment numbers:
Higher operating income was driven by increases in worldwide theatrical distribution and worldwide home entertainment. Higher worldwide theatrical distribution results were due to the success of Guardians of the Galaxy and Maleficent in the current quarter compared to Monsters University and The Lone Ranger in the prior year quarter.
The increase in worldwide home entertainment was due to higher unit sales, lower per unit costs and higher net effective price resulting from the success of Frozen. Other significant titles included Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier in the current quarter and Iron Man 3 in the prior-year quarter.
Let us look at the results for FY-2014 and Q4-2014 reported by Disney.
Overall Revenue:
In Q4-2014 (quarter ended September 27, 2014), Disney reported a 7.1 growth of TIO to $ 12,389 million from US$ 11568 million in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal, but was marginally less (0.6 per cent less) than the $ 12,466 million in Q3-2014.
Q4-2014 op inc at $ 2,775 million (22.4 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014 was 11.7 per cent more than the $ 2,484 million (21.5 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013, but 28.1 per cent lower than the $ 3,857 million (30.9 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014.
Segment Revenue:
Five segments contribute to Disney’s numbers – Media Networks; Parks and resorts; Studio entertainment; Consumer products; and Interactive.
Media Networks Segment:
The company’s Media Network segment is the largest in terms of contribution to overall revenue (TIO) and op inc This segment consists of two sub-segments – Cable Networks and Broadcasting.
In FY-2014, Disney’s Media Network segment reported revenue of $ 21,152 million (43.3 per cent of TIO), up 3.9 per cent from the $ 20,356 million (45.2 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. Op inc from this segment rose 7.4 per cent to $ 7,321 million (56.3 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2014 from $ 6,818 million (63.6 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2013.
Disney’s Media Network segment reported 5.5 per cent rise in revenue from $ 4,946 million (42.8 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013 to $ 5,217 million (42.1 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014, but was 5.3 per cent less than $ 5,511 million (44.2 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. Op inc dropped marginally by 0.3 per cent from $ 1,443 million (58.1 per cent of overall op inc) in Q4-2013 to $ 1,437 million in Q4-2014, but was 37.2 per cent lower than the $ 2,296 million (59.5 per cent of overall Op Inc) in Q3-2014 (51.8 per cent of op rev).
Parks and Resorts
In FY-2014, this segment’s revenue at $ 15,099 million (30.9 per cent of TIO) grew 7.2 per cent from $ 14,087 million (31.3 per cent of TIO) in FY-2013. Op inc increased 20 per cent in FY-2014 to $ 2,663 million (20.5 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 2,220 million (20 per cent of overall op inc) in FY-2013.
Disney’s Parks and resorts segment reported 6.6 per cent growth in y-o-y revenue to $ 3,960 million (32 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014 from $ 3,716 million (32.1 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013, but marginally less (0.5 per cent less) than the $ 3,980 million (31.8 per cent of overall revenue) in Q3-2014. This segment’s op inc grew 6.6 per cent to $ 687 million (24.8 per cent of overall op inc) in Q4-2014 from $ 571 million (23 per cent of overall op inc), but was 19 per cent less than the $ 848 million (22 per cent of overall op inc) in Q3-2014.
Here is what Disney has to say about Parks and Resorts numbers:
Operating income growth for the quarter was due to an increase at our domestic operations, partially offset by a decrease at our international operations.
Higher operating income at our domestic operations was driven by increased guest spending and attendance, partially offset by higher costs and lower vacation club ownership sales. The increase in guest spending was primarily due to higher average ticket prices for theme park admissions and for sailings at our cruise line and increased food, beverage and merchandise spending. Higher costs reflected increased costs for MyMagic+ and the absence of an offset in the prior-year quarter from a property sale, partially offset by lower pension and post-retirement medical costs. Decreased vacation club ownership sales reflected the prior-year success of The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, for which sales commenced at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2013.
The decrease at our international operations was due to lower operating performance at Disneyland.
Lower operating income at Disneyland Paris was driven by higher operating and marketing costs and lower attendance, partially offset by increased guest spending, due to higher average ticket prices, and higher real estate sales.
Studio Entertainment
Three sub-segments of the Studio entertainment segment contribute to Disney’s revenue – Theatrical distribution; Home entertainment; and TV/SVOD distribution and other.
Annual figures for this segment have been mentioned above.
Disney’s Studio entertainment segment reported 18.1 per cent jump in revenue in Q4-2014 at $ 1,778 million (14.4 per cent of TIO) from $ 1,506 million (13 per cent of TIO), but was 1.6 per cent lower than the $ 1,807 million (14.5 per cent of TIO). This segment reported more than double (2.35 times) growth in op Inc in Q4-2014 at $ 254 million (9.2 per cent of overall op inc), but was 38.2 per cent lower than the $ 411 million (10.7 per cent of overall revenue) in Q3-2014.
Consumer Products
This segment has two revenue streams – licensing and publishing (licensing); and retail and other (retail).
Consumer products segment reported 12.1 per cent growth in consumer products to $ 3,985 million (8.2 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014 from $ 3,555 million (7.9 per cent of TIO) in the last year. Op inc from this segment for FY-2014 grew 21.9 per cent to $ 1,356 million (10.4 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 1,112 million (10.4 per cent of overall op inc).
Disney’s Consumer products segment reported 6.8 per cent increase in revenue in Q4-2014 to $ 1,072 million (8.7 per cent of TIO) from $ 1,004 million (8.7 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013 and 18.8 per cent more than the $ 902 million (7.2 per cent of all revenues) in Q3-2014. This segment reported 9.2 per cent hike in op inc to $ 379 million (13.7 per cent of overall op inc) from $ 347 million (14 per cent of overall revenue) in Q4-2013 and 38.8 per cent more than the $ 273 million (7.1 per cent of overall Op Inc) in Q3-2014.
Disney says that higher operating income from Consumer products was due to an increase at its Merchandise Licensing business driven by the performance of Frozen and Spider-Man merchandise partially offset by lower revenues from Monsters and Iron Man merchandise.
Interactive
Disney says that Interactive revenues for the quarter (Q4-2014) decreased by $34 million to $362 million, and segment operating income increased to $18 million driven by the success of our mobile game Tsum Tsum and recognition of a minimum guarantee for a games licensing contract. These increases were partially offset by lower Disney Infinity performance due to the timing of the launch of Disney Infinity 2.0, which was launched on 23 September 2014, compared to Disney Infinity 1.0, which was launched on 18 August 2013.
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Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
