“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is about to become a $5 billion jewel in Disney’s crown, proving the value of a series of bold moves by CEO Robert Iger that separated the studio from the industry pack and changed the course of Hollywood history.
In 2006, with the U.S. on the verge of the Great Recession, Iger and Disney began spending big as most of their media rivals went into duck-and-cover mode. As the nation’s economy went into financial crisis for three years, Iger allied with Apple Inc. and acquired the Steve Jobs-led Pixar Animation Studios ($7.4 billion). In 2009, he acquired Marvel Studios ($4 billion) and finally in 2012, Lucasfilm ($4 billion), the “Star Wars” rights held by George Lucas (photo below).
“When the rest of the industry was tightening its belt and pulling back, Disney had the guts and foresight to go the other way, and we’re seeing the result of that today and we will be seeing it into the next...
