Disney's stock falls after 'Toy Story 4' box office sets franchise record but was well below forecasts

Shares of Walt Disney Co. fell 1.1% in morning trade Monday, after the company's "Toy Story 4" dominated the weekend box office, which broke records for the franchise, but came up well short of expectations. Disney's stock has now lost 2.3% since closing at a record $142.02 on Thursday. The movie's domestic box office (DMO) take was estimated at $118.0 million, according to Box Office Mojo, exceeding the previous franchise opening record of $110.3 million by "Toy Story 3" in 2010, and more than 8-times second place "Child's Play," which had an opening DMO of $14.1 million. But as MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler said, "'Toy Story 4' was a hit, but not the mega-hit we hoped," as the DMO came up far below his estimate of $170 million, and the pre-release tracking of $150 million to $200 million range. He said the slower-than-expected start of the movie will likely weigh on 2Q revenue. "That said, given the spectacular critic reviews and a very positive audience CinemaScore ('A' exit polling rating)," Handler said the film should have long legs. The stock has rallied 28% year to date, to biggest gainer among Dow Jones Industrial Average components over that period, as the Dow has gained 5.0%.

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