Disney Narrows Its Movie Focus, Building on Known Characters

As the business model that propelled Hollywood for more than a decade fades to black, Walt Disney Co. is retooling how its movie studio makes and markets films.

The Disney studio, which is to unveil its production slate this spring, is backing away from one-off comedies like “When in Rome” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” according to people familiar with the studio’s new gameplan.

In their place, Disney plans to focus on films that are essentially brands—like a planned Muppets movie—that can be exploited across its network of theme parks, videogames and commercial products. The recent success with “Alice in Wonderland” has given a new team of executives who run the studio confidence in their approach.  Wall Street Journal

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