DISNEY PLUS

Walt Disney Co. has reported sharp profit growth for its fiscal fourth quarter while announcing an expansion of its cost-cutting drive under returning CEO Bob Iger.

Walt Disney Co. said it will acquire a 33% stake in Hulu from Comcast for at least $8.6 billion, a deal that will give Disney full control of the streaming service.

Disney said it is raising prices for streaming subscribers in the U_S_ who want to watch Disney+ without ads as more viewers switch to what CEO Bob Chapek described Wednesday as the “best value in streaming.”.

It’s that time of year again: To watch all of the classic (and a few new) Christmas movies -- and given how 2021 has gone, we could all use a little holiday cheer these days, right?

This week’s new entertainment releases include new music from Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers and a reboot of “Gossip Girl” less than 10 years after the CW series ended.

This week’s new entertainment releases includes Conan O’Brien closing out his TBS late-night show and the new soccer documentary “LFG,” a revealing look at the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team’s battle for equal pay.

This week’s new entertainment releases include new music from rockers Greta Van Fleet and the return of John Stamos to TV as a hot-button NCAA basketball coach in “Big Shot” who ends up coaching girls at an elite private high school.

(Disney Plus via AP)NEW YORK – When Steve Rogers handed Sam Wilson his Captain America shield at the end of Marvel's massive 2019 event “Avengers: Endgame,” Wilson tried it on for a beat. That reluctance and skepticism is front-and-center as Wilson's story continues in “The Falcon and the Winter Solder,” a new six-episode Disney+ series that promises an exploration of patriotism and race alongside its shootouts and soaring chase scenes. While “Endgame" appeared to promise a quick transition for Anthony Mackie's Falcon to take up the Captain America mantle, as he has in the comics, the creator of “Falcon” promises only complications. AdSo will there be a Black Captain America by the time the final credits roll in April? Agent, a sometime antagonist to Captain America who twists American patriotism to darker ends.

Most films are kid-friendly.

SAN ANTONIO – A graduate of Alamo Heights High School, Mike Jones has come a long way from watching movies at the old Broadway Theatre. “It’s now a bank but I would always walk to Broadway Theatre and see movies every time I possibly could,” Jones said. His career started in journalism but he ended up at Pixar and is now a head writer. “The film is coming out now when I think people need to see it the most,” Jones said. His next movie is titled “Luca” and it is set to release next year.

Disney Plus has honored actor Chadwick Boseman in a special tribute on the day that would’ve been his 44th birthday. Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company Robert Iger made the announcement on Twitter Saturday, urging fans to watch the “Black Panther” film for the tribute. — Robert Iger (@RobertIger) November 28, 2020If you watch the beginning of the “Black Panther” film, you’ll notice that Disney redesigned the Marvel logo intro, keeping the classic comic book page-turning format. You can watch the full video tribute below:Disney has updated the Marvel Studios intro for 'Black Panther' on Disney Plus in remembrance of the late Chadwick Boseman. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”RELATED: ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer at 43

TOKYO – The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday as optimism built among investors that a coming vaccine for the coronavirus will help end the shutdowns that have devastated the economy. The S&P 500 added 48.14 points, or 1.4%, to 3,585.15, rising above the index's previous closing record of 3,580.84 set back in early September. The S&P 500 ended the week up 2.2%. Stocks in the S&P 500 energy sector rose more than 16% this week, while tech stocks were essentially flat. “I still think the dust is kind of settling from that vaccine news as investors think about how to be positioned,” he said.

Walt Disney Co. reported fiscal fourth-quarter loss on Thursday thanks largely to changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their primary focus is on making shows and movies for streaming services. Subscribers to Disney's main streaming bundle — Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu — top 120 million. Disney posted a loss of $629 million, or 39 cents per share, in the three months that ended Oct. 3. Disney said revenue at its parks, experiences and products business fell 61% to $2.6 billion.

The first season of “The Mandalorian” was a huge success for Disney Star Wars. Right now, we only know this little green pointy-eared creature as “The Child.” We don’t even know what its species is. The character became popular in the two animated series, “Star wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels” while she was best friends with her former master Anakin. She survived through the events of the original Star Wars trilogy and is one of the only surviving links to the Clone Wars era of Star Wars. The Mandalorian: Season 2 hits Disney Plus on Friday, Oct. 30.

Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after pandemic concerns snapped a four-day winning streak on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 erased early losses to gain 0.2% to 23,645.81 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gave up 0.2% to 24,608.27. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7% to 2,386.54 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.2% to 6,185.30. JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup and BlackRock all reported stronger results for the summer than analysts had forecast. Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 17 cents to $40.03 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The company said in August that its Disney Plus service has more than 60 million subscribers, and subscribers to its main combination of streaming services — Disney Plus, ESPN Plus and Hulu — top 100 million. It still plans to launch another international streaming service called Star. Disney has released several major titles on streaming services that would traditionally have appeared at cinemas, like a live-action remake of "Mulan" and the upcoming Pixar film “Soul" that will hit Disney Plus at Christmas. Their primary focus will be on making shows and movies for streaming services, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement. Disney Plus is considered one of the most successful so far.

Racially segregated movie theaters disappeared decades ago after court rulings struck down the legal framework of Jim Crow America, but another element of the era just wont die: Walt Disneys 1946 movie Song of the South. “Song of the South” is easily viewed on the internet either in whole or in pieces, and numerous websites offer versions of the movie or memorabilia for sale. Some have reinterpreted old, racist films in a new way rather than simply screening them in their original format. In “Rebirth of a Nation,” DJ Spooky (whose birth name is Paul D. Miller) trimmed the original film and applied new graphics and music he composed. In a live performance during the 2016 presidential campaign, he spliced together the original film with scenes from the civil rights movement and post-9/11 wars.

Did you wake up excited to download the new Disney Plus app and binge on the content this morning only to be met with messages about technical errors? Whether they were anxious to watch “The Mandalorian," “Avengers” or “Boy Meets World” (no judgment), Disney fans clamored to download the app Tuesday. The app launched Tuesday at midnight with content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Disney officials haven’t commented about what may have caused the issues, but Disney Plus may be a victim of its own success. pic.twitter.com/fnTlrzVQIg — KSRebelBelle18 (@KSRebelBelle18) November 12, 2019