Disney and nine other major Hollywood studios are being sued regarding their movie advertisements containing favorable comments from critics. The ten class-action lawsuits state that these comments come only after the critics have been persuaded by press junkets, for which studios often pay for airfare, meals, hotels, and merchandise.

Three films from the Mouse finished in the top Ten at the box office this week:

6. Atlantis: The Lost Empire with $7,800,000
8. crazy/beautiful with $4,500,000
9. Pearl Harbor with $4,400,000

However, the number 1 film this weekend, AI, grossed $30,135,000, surpassing all three Disney films combined, including crazy/beautiful which also opened this weekend.

Michael Eisner, chairman of Walt Disney Co., has recently told the New York Times that he is nervous over the state of the company. He is not nervous because of any recent failures, but rather because of the mindset of some its employees. Eisner is having trouble keeping it clear to everyone that “content” is the most important factor when it comes to Disney media.

“But for us, the main product is intellectual product, or content. And all those words are so antiseptic that it’’s hard to talk about it and much harder to write about it,” Mr. Eisner said. “But if you sit in a theater and you see `Dinosaur” or `Atlantis” or a Garry Marshall movie or you watch a television show in a group or you go to a theme park and you see people react, then you start to understand content. And it is our single driver.”

Hopefully the rest of the Walt Disney Co. shares Eisner’’s vision of what products that come out of Disney should be. You can read the full story at New York Times” web site here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/02/business/02GIAN.html

With the nation’s economy recently slowing down, less tourists are flocking to the family vacation capital of the world, Orlando. Attendance at Walt Disney World has dropped 7 to 8 percent from its usual summer numbers. A Disney-MGM Studios Cast Member told me that the annual Fourth of July celebration, which always results in immense crowds, was not as full this year. While the Magic Kingdom did shut its doors around noon with over 85,000 people in attendance, the Studios only brought in around 15,000 people that day.

It isn’t only Walt Disney World that is experiencing this decreased attendance. Parks around the nation, including Disney’’s California Adventure, have had minimal attendance. Disney has recently dropped prices for the summer for its new California park with hopes of bringing in more people.

While this may seem like bad news for the parks, it’’s certainly good news for us park-goers. Less people means shorter queues which lets us ride the E-rides all day long.