The water tower at The Walt Disney Co., featuring the character Mickey Mouse, is seen behind a silhouette of mouse ears on the fencing surrounding the company’s headquarters in Burbank, California, February 7, 2011. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Oct 16 (Reuters) – In 1923, Walt Disney left his failing animation company called Laugh-O-gram Films and used his last $40 to buy a train ticket to join his brother, Roy, in Los Angeles, where they began making animated films out of their uncle’s garage. The company they founded would become one of the most influential media and entertainment brands in history.
The Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) turns 100 this month.
The company, which Walt Disney famously observed “was all started by a mouse”, is now a $156 billion behemoth, spanning theme parks, television networks, films and a streaming service that reaches millions of people across continents.
As it marks its centennial, Disney is navigating a tumultuous period for the industry, marked by the decline of the traditional television business, slumping ad revenue, a movie box office that has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels and video streaming services that for the most part have failed to achieve profitability.
Here’s a timeline of Disney’s journey from a small studio in Burbank to a global media behemoth:
Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa, Zaheer Kachwala, Tanya Jain, Chavi Mehta and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
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