Joining Captain America: Brave New World, Disney has now confirmed that Marvel’s Thunderbolts is a big bust.
In its latest investor report, Disney cited Thunderbolts ($382.4 million box office) and Pixar’s Elio ($144.2M) as key reasons for a $21 million operating loss in its Content Sales/Licensing division — a steep drop from the $254 million gain it reported during the same quarter last year.
While Lilo & Stitch was also released in the quarter and performed well at the box office (making over a billion dollars), it wasn’t enough to offset the losses from Thunderbolts and Elio.
Thunderbolts and Elio Likely Hit With Write-Down
Things get even worse. The investor report mentioned “higher film cost impairments” for the quarter, which is corporate-speak for admitting that at least one of the films, either Thunderbolts and/or Elio, is expected to lose money (Disney doesn’t specifically name which one).
In accounting terms, that means Disney doesn’t believe the movie will make back its production and marketing budget through box office, streaming, or licensing (Thunderbolts budget was reportedly $180M, with Elio potentially more than $200M). So instead of pretending the film is still worth what they spent, they take a write-down, officially recording the loss now. It’s a clear sign Disney already sees Thunderbolts and/or Elio as a long-term failure.
Thunderbolts Omitted from Disney’s Highlights — Another Red Flag
During Disney’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Bob Iger and CFO Hugh Johnston also highlighted the company’s film successes, but Thunderbolts wasn’t one of them. In fact, despite being released during the same quarter, Thunderbolts wasn’t mentioned once, while they praised Lilo & Stitch as a billion-dollar hit and called out other strong performers like Moana 2, Inside Out 2, and Deadpool & Wolverine.
The omission is telling. Disney used the call to build a narrative around renewed studio momentum and “long-term value,” and left Thunderbolts out entirely. Instead, Thunderbolts was buried in the financial section of the investor report, grouped with Elio under films that contributed to operating losses and were likely to be hit with write-downs.
Here is the full statement from the call:
Our renewed momentum at our film studios continued in Q3, growing our popular brands and franchises and further demonstrating their ability to generate ongoing, long-term value across our businesses. The Walt Disney Studios’ live-action Lilo & Stitch recently crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, making it Hollywood’s first film to reach that milestone this year. Lilo & Stitch joins global hits Moana 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Inside Out 2 to become Disney’s fourth billion-dollar-film in just over a year.
Lilo & Stitch‘s success has fueled viewership of the original 2002 animated film and related content on Disney+, with more than 640 million hours streamed globally, and a sequel to the live-action film is already in development. Meanwhile, Lilo & Stitch is on track to become the company’s second-largest licensed merchandise franchise this year behind only Mickey Mouse, with more than 70% revenue growth compared to last year. Stitch has also been deployed across our parks and experiences worldwide as we leverage the popularity of this global phenomenon.
Meanwhile, Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps opened to rave reviews two weeks ago, successfully launching this important franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And later in the calendar year, we will release the highly anticipated Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash. In 2026, we are looking forward to bringing audiences Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Pixar’s Toy Story 5, a live-action Moana, and Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, among other exciting new originals and sequels.
Our branded and general entertainment content demonstrated strong performance across streaming and linear. Disney is responsible for four of the top five streaming programs in the U.S. for the first half of the calendar year, including Bluey, Grey’s Anatomy, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers. We earned 137 Emmy nominations last month across 50 titles – a testament to the strength and breadth of our portfolio. Leading the way was Lucasfilm’s Andor with 14 nominations, and we’re proud to have five of the eight shows nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Disney also remains a leader in children’s and family programming. We continue to serve this audience with the three most streamed shows for preschoolers: Bluey, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
