Disney’s first quarter of the fiscal year was fueled by a 5% increase in revenue (US$24.7 billion), with its entertainment segment contributing 9% more revenue and 95% more profit than in the same quarter last year.

Box-office behemoth Moana 2 (pictured) played a big role in achieving this lift. Released on Thanksgiving weekend and now boasting more than US$1 billion in ticket sales, the sequel pic has gotten Disney off to a tide-turning start to its financial year, compared to back-to-back theatrical underperformers The Marvels and Wish in Q1 2023. 

Streaming revenue rose by 9% to US$6 billion, and operating profit came in at US$293 million (a vast improvement from Q1 2023’s US$138-million loss). However, the Mouse House shed a small number of Disney+ subscribers this quarter, dropping from 125.3 million to 124.6 million. But with Hulu included in the mix, total subs for Q1 were up a million over the previous quarter to 178 million.

CEO Bob Iger was bullish about the company’s streaming performance numbers in an earnings call: “We took prices up significantly fairly recently, and expected the churn would be significantly greater—and it turned out, we delivered numbers that were better than we had expected.” 

In their executive commentary, both Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston highlighted the fact that Disney’s original Moana movie (2016) generated strong viewership on Disney+ throughout the year and recently hit one billion hours streamed—making it a top overall performer on the platform, along with preschool series powerhouse Bluey, which Nielsen recently ranked as the most-streamed title in the US last year.

Iger emphasized that the company’s linear networks were not a burden, instead describing them as an asset. “[I won’t] rule out the possibility [of] some of the smaller networks in some form or another being configured differently in terms of how we bring them to market, maybe even ownership; but we’re not right now,” he said. “We actually feel good about the hand that we have and the manner in which we’re managing both the linear and the streaming businesses across the board.”

Over in the experiences segment, operating income for domestic theme parks and experiences dipped by 5% due to Hurricanes Milton and Helena, as well as higher expenses related to the Disney Treasure cruise ship’s December launch. International parks and experiences fared better, with an operating income increase of 28% (US$420 million), thanks to higher attendance and growth in guest spending.