Disney pays price as new Fox titles underwhelm

Disney is feeling some pain from its biggest transformation in decades as its acquisition of Fox’s entertainment businesses contributed to a 39% drop in earnings.

CEO Bob Iger said one of the biggest issues affecting earnings was underperformance at the Fox movie and TV studio. Tuesday’s results, the first complete quarter with Fox’s businesses included, missed Wall Street’s expectations. Disney’s shares fell 3% in aftermarket trading.

The Fox studio was “well below where we hoped it would be when we made the acquisition,” Iger said during a conference call with analysts. Particularly underperforming was “Dark Phoenix,” a Fox X-Men movie. That offset box office successes such as “Avengers: Endgame.”

Disney completed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business in March, putting “Cinderella,” “The Simpsons,” “Star Wars” and the “Avengers” under one corporate roof. The deal paved the ways for Disney to boost its streaming ventures, with the addition of Fox videos. In May, Disney also gained full control of Hulu after Comcast sold its stake in the streaming service.

Iger said it would be two years before Disney can have an impact on the Fox films in production.

“We’re all confident that we’re going to be able to turn around the fortunes of Fox live action and you’ll see those results in a couple of years,” he said.

Disney also spent more money on its ESPN Plus and upcoming Disney Plus streaming services. And its results were hurt by taking control of Hulu, including a $123 million charge as it lowered its estimated valuation of the service.

Disney said Tuesday that it will offer its three streaming services in a package for $13. Hulu now costs $6, and ESPN Plus costs $5. The upcoming Disney Plus service will cost $7.