The Walt Disney Juggernaut

Walt Disney probably didn’t think his company would one day become the home of an unbelievable number of subsidiaries and synergies. The Walt Disney Company has ownership of three movie-making juggernauts with LucasFilm, Pixar and Marvel Entertainment along with a plethora of television networks from ABC to ESPN. Marvel Entertainment has produced some of the highest grossing movies in the history of the box office in the past ten years since they began their Marvel Cinematic Universe and ABC is home to some of the most popular shows on TV such as the hit sitcom, “Modern Family”.  

Disney has subsidiaries that fit well together by appealing to a similar audience. Marvel Entertainment makes superhero movies based off comic books and LucasFilm is responsible for the Star Wars film series. Both properties deal appeal to fans of fantasy and action/adventure and both have succeeded in gaining a mass audience greatly in recent years especially. This leads to synergies between LucasFilm and Disney owned networks such as ESPN which is profitable for both. For example, the last Monday Night Football game featured the world premiere of the new trailer for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” during halftime. This potential brings in Star Wars fan to watch the football game as well as allows LucasFilm to advertise their upcoming film on national television.

Overall, the synergy within the Walt Disney Company is mostly positive as Disney is sitting pretty atop a pile of money from their overload of properties that appeal to various mass audiences. Walt Disney certainly couldn’t not have imagined the overwhelming force his dream would forge into and nor could anyone else; this company is unbeatable.