THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS CELEBRATES RECORD PERFORMANCE IN 2006

The Walt Disney Studios posted a record-breaking performance in 2006 as worldwide box office revenues climbed to a sensational $3.26 billion (as of 12/27/06) with Walt Disney Pictures “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest” capturing the #1 spot all over the world; Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment setting an unprecedented domestic milestone with the top three bestselling DVD titles – “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “Cars” and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”;
“High School Musical” and “Rascal Flatts” becoming the year’s number one and number two top-selling CD titles across all genres; and Disney Theatrical Productions celebrating the successful Broadway debuts of “Tarzan” and “Mary Poppins,” it was announced today, Thursday, December 28, by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “In every area and on every level, 2006 was an extraordinary year for The Walt Disney Studios. At the worldwide box office, moviegoers everywhere were captivated by the latest incredible ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ adventure and there’s more surprises and thrills in store this coming May with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.’ John Lasseter’s exciting, inventive, and heartfelt film, ‘Cars,’ further demonstrated the worldwide appeal of Pixar’s great characters and storytelling. With the acquisition of Pixar, and the benefit of John and Ed Catmull’s leadership at Disney and Pixar, the Studio can look forward to a steady flow of great animated films for many years to come. Our worldwide home entertainment division continued to benefit from the Studio’s great box office successes and added some impressive new milestones of their own with the year’s three top domestic titles. Buena Vista Music Group enjoyed a record year with enormous hits from Rascal Flatts, ‘High School Musical,’ and ‘Hannah Montana,’ and had the top two selling CDs of the year across all genres. ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘Tarzan’ had their bows on Broadway, adding to Buena Vista Theatrical Group’s amazing track record. And Miramax Films returned to its roots as a provider of quality independent and modestly budgeted films from outstanding filmmakers. The critical acclaim for films like ‘The Queen’ and ‘Venus’ are among their latest successes. I am very proud of the Studio’s phenomenal performance in 2006, and salute all the great members of the team that worked so hard to make this possible.”

At the box office, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” became Buena Vista’s top domestic grosser of all-time with a tally of more than $423 million, while BVI posted a new record with its gross-to-date of $642 million. It was only the third film in industry history to cross $1 billion in global box office and in record time. Additionally, “Pirates” ranked number one for nine consecutive weeks at the international box office – the longest consecutive week reign of any film this century. Disney/Pixar’s latest computer-animated offering, “Cars” also revved up the box office, crossing the domestic finish line in second place with $244 million in ticket sales. The global performance of over $462 million made “Cars” the fifth consecutive Disney/Pixar production to achieve more than $400 million at the worldwide box office. The one-two punch of “Pirates” and “Cars” represents the first time in 20 years that the same studio had the year’s number one and two films domestically.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution has passed the $1 billion mark for the 10th time, more than any other studio, and Buena Vista International marked an unprecedented 12th consecutive year with a 2006 box office gross of more than $1 billion.

Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment achieved an industry milestone by having the top three selling DVDs in the domestic market. With over 10.5 million units sold in the first week alone, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” was on track to become the #1 live-action DVD seller of all-time, the #1 DVD of the year, and the #1 DVD of the holiday season. Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” was the worldwide best-selling animated title on DVD for 2006, and the year’s #2 top performer domestically. “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” dominated the charts for the first half of 2006, and was the year’s #3 domestic best-seller. The home entertainment release of “High School Musical,” became the biggest TV movie DVD of all-time in most markets. Internationally, BVWHE performed well holding many of the top selling DVDs in most markets, with “Pirates,” “Narnia,” and “Cars” leading the pack.

Buena Vista Music Group achieved unprecedented success in 2006, culminating in 11 Grammy nominations – the most ever in the music group’s history. The Group’s biggest success for the year was the soundtrack to the hit Disney Channel Original Movie, “High School Musical,” which is the #1 top-selling album across all genres for the year-to-date, and has been certified triple platinum. Country superstars Rascal Flatts new CD, “Me and My Gang” also went triple platinum and holds the 2006 record for highest-selling debut week. The soundtrack to “Hannah Montana” is BVMG’s third #1 album of the year, and was recently certified double platinum.

Miramax Films took home the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film this year for its hard-hitting drama, “Tsotsi.” “The Queen,” directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren, has received critical acclaim and nominations (including four Golden Globes – Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Performance by an Actress and Best Screenplay) from numerous critics around the world. The year-end release of “Venus,” starring Peter O’Toole has received similar attention.

Buena Vista Theatrical Group added to its impressive track record with the Broadway debuts of “Tarzan” and “Mary Poppins.” “Beauty and the Beast” celebrated its 12th anniversary on Broadway and became the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history. In 2007, “The Lion King” will celebrate its 10th year in New York. It has been seen by nearly 40 million people worldwide. A new musical based on the 1989 animated film, “The Little Mermaid,” will make its world premiere in Denver in June 2007.