Publications

01 Dec 2017
News

The Future of VR is Animated Bunnies

all four Madagascar films. Baobab creates interactive, animated VR worlds that feel less like games—in many early VR experiences, users engage with characters only to win something—and more like movies. For Fan, View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Disney's "The Lion King" (A): The $2 Billion Movie

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1994, just 10 years after its filmed entertainment division lost $33 million, Disney's animated creation "The Lion King" became the second highest grossing film ever. In addition to drawing $740 million in worldwide box office sales, its merchandise sales exceeded... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Creativity; Film Entertainment; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Product Development; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Production I.G: Challenging the Status Quo

By: Andrei Hagiu, Tarun Khanna, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Masako Egawa and Chisato Toyama

In July 2006, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa wondered how he could further enhance the success and visibility of his animation production company headquartered in Tokyo, Production I.G. For the year ended May 2006, Production I.G. had sales of 5,439 million yen ($47.3 million),... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Advantage; Markets; Animation Entertainment; Going Public; Growth and Development Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Tokyo

March 2009 (Revised November 2021)
Case

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?

By: Juan Alcacer, David J. Collis and Mary Furey

Soon after Robert Iger took over as CEO of the Walt Disney Company in late 2005, he turned his attention toward Pixar, the animation studio with which Disney had worked since 1991 and was responsible for producing hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Disney's own... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Contracts; Distribution; Partners and Partnerships; Vertical Integration; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

March 2012
Case

Angry Birds

By: Sunil Gupta and Dharmishta Rood

Within months of its launch in December 2009, Angry Birds, a mobile game created by a small Finnish company, Rovio Entertainment Ltd., became an international hit. By late 2011, Rovio was not only making Angry Birds games for the iPhone, Android and other mobile... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Video Game Industry; Finland

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Disney's "The Lion King" (C): Repeat Performance?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Three of Disney's animated films that followed "The Lion King"—"Pocahontas," "Toy Story," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"—were significantly less successful at the box office and in retail sales. Meanwhile, Disney was focusing on developing live-action blockbusters. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Animation Entertainment; Success; Failure; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

FREEJ

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Firas Alkhatib

Mohammed Harib placed his phone on the desk in front of him. As he sat back in his chair and looked out the window, he began to take stock of how his life had taken such a dramatic path over the last few years. Life was good for the founder and CEO of Lammtara... View Details

Keywords: Animation Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Opportunities; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Arabian Peninsula; United Arab Emirates

The finance industry is widely thought of as being morally suspect. Even those who work in finance tend to compartmentalize between their personal lives and how they get ahead professionally. Mihir Desai argues that not only is this preconception completely false... View Details

September 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

This Case Sucks: Beavis, Butt-head, and TV Content (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Beginning in 1992, "Beavis and Butt-head," an animated series on MTV about two uncivilized teenaged misfits, became both a runaway popular sensation and the symbol of a heated national debate about violent and inappropriate programming on television. Especially after... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Decision Choices and Conditions; Animation Entertainment; Fairness; Governance Controls; Media; Outcome or Result; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2022 (Revised February 2022)
Teaching Note

Universal During COVID: The Future of Theatrical Windows

By: Hong Luo, Henry McGee and Carol Lin

The COVID-19 pandemic brought enormous disruption to the movie industry, closing theaters indefinitely by mid-March 2020, halting television and film production, and throwing theatrical release schedules into disarray. Shell had assumed the CEO position at NBC... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Leadership; Decisions; Strategy; Negotiation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Article

The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers' Perceptions of Sharks

By: Andy Nosal, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Philip A. Hastings and Ayelet Gneezy

Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation. These negative attitudes arise from an instinctive yet exaggerated fear, which is validated and reinforced... View Details

Keywords: Natural Environment; Prejudice and Bias; Marketing; Attitudes; Music Entertainment