Disney to limit Marvel movie releases each year as it doubles down on 'quality'

Disney will release no more than three Marvel films and up to two Disney+ shows each year going forward as it works to place more focus on quality output.

The announcement by CEO Bob Iger comes as Disney shares plunged 8% in Tuesday trading following the release of the entertainment giant's quarterly earnings.

This year will see the release of just one Marvel film: "Deadpool and Wolverine" starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, slated for a July 26 release.

The next Marvel film, a Captain America sequel, won't be released until at least February 2025, according to Disney's latest earnings presentation. "Thunderbolts," a film focused on Captain America sidekick Bucky Barnes, is scheduled for May 2025.

Disney also has Marvel content in the works for Disney+, including ones related to Black Panther and Spider-Man — but no release dates yet.

"I’ve been working hard with the studio to reduce output and focus more on quality," Iger said on the company's earnings call Tuesday.

"That’s particularly true with Marvel ... Some of what is coming up is a vestige of basically a desire in the past (to) increase volume. We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, to the maximum three, and we’re working hard on what that path is."

Disney reported quarterly revenues of $22.1 billion, short of Wall Street expectations; Disney+ subscribers of 153.6 million also failed to hit analysts' targets.

It was the company's first earnings report following a tumultuous vote on whether to continue down a course led by Iger, who faced a challenge from outside investors critical of the company's performance.

While Iger ultimately won that vote, Tuesday's results could spark new fears that the company may take longer to reach its financial goals.

Iger also announced that the company intends to derive significant revenues from limits on Disney+ password-sharing. The company already began limiting sharing on its Hulu platform, and previously signaled account-sharing restrictions would start rolling out in June.