A report today from the UK’s Financial Times headlined “Disney Axing Local Language Film Unit” wasn’t really news for most in Hollywood and certainly not Burbank. Disney backed away from its strategy of producing local language films with local actors and made the decision to close the small Burbank office overseeing the effort in June. That was spelled out in a Fast Company profile of studio chief Rich Ross, who early on in his tenure had set up the team to focus on limited-release Disney-branded films in Brazil, Russia, India and China. The economics were always tricky and the good will generated was tough to quantify. When Ross saw big box office returns on Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 ($65M in Russia) and Cars 2 in those same countries, he decided it made more sense to spend the money on marketing and distributing the studios’ franchise films than to bank on local talent. Disney will still consider attaching its brand to local productions. But the decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.


Go Rick!
how is this “go rick”? he killed a potential growth business for short term goals…
Take it from Germany:
Disney was the first US major to produce local productions – successfully. (back in the mid ’90s)
Warner, Fox, Columbia (Sony) all followed. Today even Paramount. For the German film business, the US involvement has always been good to excellent.
Warner by now has Til Schweiger, the biggest German box office star in the last 40 (!) years under contract. (Over 50 Million US $ in Box Office)
And Disney? Nothing to show of. 2-3 pics a year. No box office. Head of local production left three months ago…the German Disney pics don’t mean a thing in terms of box office… Somehow it seems this was orchestrated from Burbank. Sad, since there is so much local subsidies, that any US company – like Disney – would never lost a nickel.
Makes no sense….
Will Jason Reed stay with Disney? In what capacity? I assume after such a failure he will be axed too…