Paramount Has Disney SHOOK, Looking to BUY LIONSGATE

Overview

The video argues that Disney is performing well financially in the short term, but the company is trying to “shore up” its long-term audience by acquiring other studios—specifically Lionsgate.

Disney’s Current Slate vs. Waning Brand Power

• Disney is said to be having a solid year overall, including reportedly being the first studio to reach $3B so far.
• The video highlights momentum from releases and projects such as:
  • Toy Story 5 (strong reception/opening)
  • Devil Wears Prada 2 (success)
  • Moana (live-action) and other franchise activity, including Avengers-related projects and the Spider-Man deal with Sony
• Despite this, the commentary claims Disney’s acquired legacy brands have lost fan pull, described as “hollowed out” fanbases. Examples mentioned include:
  • Lucasfilm issues, with references to Mandalorian and Grou
  • Marvel being more mixed outside of a couple hits

Core idea: Disney can still deliver strong individual titles, but its major brands may be weakening with audiences.

Core Thesis: Acquisition as the Answer to Stalled Franchise Growth

The presenter’s main argument is that Disney’s likely strategy is acquisition because creating new “fan-returning” franchises has stalled.

• Historically, Disney’s power has come from buying companies (e.g., Fox, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm) rather than consistently revitalizing brands organically.
• With the audience appeal from those acquisitions allegedly weakening, Disney is portrayed as looking for a new catalog with more reliable audience segments.

Why Lionsgate Specifically (Two Target Audiences)

1) Regaining families and a “core critical” faith/inspiration audience

The video emphasizes Lionsgate’s strength in faith-based and family-friendly films, citing:

• I Can Only Imagine
• American Underdog
• Jesus Revolution

Additional points include:

• Lionsgate’s association with Kingdom Story Company, described as building a niche around faith, inspiration, and family-friendly storytelling.
• Interest in adjacent content styles is mentioned (e.g., references to The Hill and Father Stew), with a comparison to Angel Studios as a model for reaching underserved audiences.
• The implication: Disney may not be targeting this market effectively under its main brand identity.

2) Rebuilding male-skewing adult genre audiences

The video also claims Disney’s male-skewing brands have taken hits—again referencing Marvel and Star Wars.

• Lionsgate is positioned as holding adult-oriented genre franchises that Disney doesn’t control as strongly, including:
  • John Wick
  • Saw
  • Horror/action properties
• The presenter argues that genre slates matter because Disney has struggled to maintain the kind of “four-quadrant” audience that major franchises once delivered.

“Renaissance” Framing: Rest and Relaunch with New “Ammunition”

The video suggests Disney’s acquisition strategy could function like a “renaissance”—using acquisitions such as Lionsgate to gain time and resources (“ammunition”) while it repairs or relaunches its existing properties.

• This may include distribution approaches associated with 20th Century Studios / Hulu, depending on which brands gain the adult/genre space.

Moana (Live-Action) Expectations: Not a Complete Fix

The video discusses forecasts for Moana (live-action), expecting a $65–80M opening range, with reasoning such as:

• Moana 2’s strong performance
• Live-action openings may be smaller than past big remakes (comparisons to Lilo & Stitch and The Lion King)
• Market crowding from other family releases, including Minions and Toy Story 5

Overall point: even strong standalone releases don’t fully resolve the broader issue—Disney needs a deeper strategy to re-energize the right audiences.

Additional Commentary: Netflix Interest Mentioned (But Skeptical)

The presenter notes rumors that Netflix may be interested in Lionsgate, but frames Netflix as historically unsuccessful at buying major companies.

Presenters / Contributors

• Brett D’Asia (aka Brett Dacific)