Disney’s Recent Layoffs Might Thin Out Your Physical Media Collection

Holding a movie or TV show you love in your hands has a different effect. Yes, chances are the show or movie is available to stream somewhere, or you may have even purchased a digital copy. But knowing that you can look at it at any time, have it safely on your shelf, and hopefully learn a little more about it because of special features, has always been an enjoyable experience.

At Disney, this is perhaps even more true. The company is known for delivering classic animated titles, big blockbusters and more, feature-packed releases with huge, amazing artwork and much more. Now, this isn’t necessarily going away, but recent layoffs at the company are going to change that in a big way.

You may have heard that last week, nearly 1,000 people were laid off in the first major cuts of new CEO Josh D’Amaro’s reign. It included Marvel Studios’ most talented visual development artists, executives from multiple departments, and more. However, here we are going to focus on the domestic entertainment department, which reportedly sent its entire promotional team home.

According to Vulture, “production of the discs will continue,” but sources told them, “they are also concerned that new releases will not receive the kind of promotional efforts that have helped Disney succeed in the marketplace in the past.” Under the new structure, those duties will be handled by the theatrical promotion staff. That staff, in recent years, has also had to absorb all the streaming content from the likes of Disney+ and Hulu. So, where other companies have dedicated staff to handle all those titles at various stages, Disney, arguably the biggest of the group, has now fully consolidated them.

Let’s break it down. Disney releases approximately 12-15 films in theaters per year. Add to this all the titles—shows, movies, etc.—that go straight to streaming; It should be at least three to four times. Then, add as many of those movies and shows a second time when they return for physical media. You can’t blame anyone if a little less attention was paid to the last step of the process.

In the past, any time there was a big title—like a big animated anniversary or a new star wars oR Marvel movie – came home, it was discussed a lot. Disney releases clips, cuts new trailers, debuts new artwork, etc. Will this still happen? Obviously. But, even if this happens, it may be much more difficult for you to hear about them. And this is really nonsense.

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