The Walt Disney Company Releases Fiscal Third Quarter Report and Announces ‘Star Wars’ News

The Walt Disney Company recently announced the fiscal third quarter earnings report, but perhaps more interesting than the numbers was the Star Wars news mentioned during the conference call.

Let's talk about the fiscal report first.

The company's Parks and Resorts division had another successful quarter with an 8 percent increase in revenue to $4 billion and a 23 percent increase in operating income to $848 million.

The increase in operating income was due to an increase in guest spending and higher attendance at domestic theme parks. Guest spending increased due to higher ticket prices and a more spending for food and merchandise.

The Studio division had a good quarter too thanks to the international box office success of Frozen, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Maleficent. This division increased revenue to $1.8 billion.

During the conference call to discuss the quarterly report Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney is planning a much greater Star Wars presence in the theme parks.

"When we grow Star Wars presence, which we will do significantly, you will see better bets being made that will pay off for us than were made in the past," Iger said during the conference call.

Disney is planning to release a first look at new Star Wars-themed attraction next year, in addition to have a strong presence at the D23 Expo in August 2015.

And in April 2015, Lucasfilm and Disney are hosting a Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California.

Star Wars Episode VII is set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2015.

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