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Apple's Theater Flop
Experimentation with a potential new revenue stream
Hello and happy Sunday! Today’s Visual Brunch is packed with major stories from the housing market to Hollywood’s box office, and everything in between. Here’s what’s on the radar:
Miami’s housing bubble: The city tops the risk list, but luxury buyers are still flocking in.
Disney price hikes: Theme park tickets soar, but fans are still lining up for the magic.
Apple’s theater bet: Big-budget movies are flopping, and Apple is pivoting to streaming.
Pharma stocks slump: Post-pandemic blues hit Pfizer, and investors want a shake-up.
Threads’ comeback: The social media platform gains traction but still faces challenges.
Miami’s Bubble Trouble
Miami is officially the top city at risk of a housing bubble, according to the 2024 UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index. 🫧 🏠 But that didn’t stop David and Victoria Beckham from reportedly dropping $60 million on a Miami Beach mansion, joining celebs like Tom Brady and Ken Griffin in splurging on the city’s luxury homes.
Home prices in Miami have surged, with houses now almost 50% more expensive than they were in 2019. Rich buyers are flocking to grab waterfront properties, lured by Miami’s new status as a financial hotspot, warm weather, and Florida’s tax breaks. Even with higher mortgage rates cooling things off a bit, the demand for prime real estate from the super-wealthy is still going strong.
Ticket Prices Soar, Fans Still Flock
Disney's parks just got more expensive—again—but the real Disney fans probably won’t mind. Starting last week, prices for the most in-demand daily tickets at Disneyland went up by $7 to $12, and annual passes increased by as much as $125. While the base entry fee of $104 hasn’t changed, prices for the most popular days have skyrocketed over the past decade, rising from $96 to $206—a 114% increase, according to a Disney blog, MickeyVisit. 🏰🏷️🏷️
Disney World in Florida is also hiking prices, though those won’t kick in until 2025. Despite the grumbling from some die-hard Disney fans about these steep costs, plenty of people are still shelling out for that magical experience. Disney's parks and experiences division raked in $25.9 billion in the first three quarters of this fiscal year, up 7% from last year, proving that even with higher prices, Disney’s parks remain as popular as ever.
Apple's $20B Theater Bet Falls Short
Apple's attempt to make a splash in theaters hasn't quite worked out as planned. Despite spending more than $20 billion over the last five years on movies and TV shows, including a push to release $1 billion worth of films in theaters annually, most have underperformed at the box office. Take Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney—it barely made it to theaters before landing on Apple TV+.
While some Apple efforts, like CODA, won awards (including an Oscar for Best Picture), most haven’t resonated with theater audiences. Argylle, for instance, flopped in theaters, earning just $96 million globally, but found new life once it hit Apple TV+. Now, Apple is shifting gears, focusing on a dozen smaller-budget films, most of which will go directly to streaming on Apple TV+. This move makes sense, given that even its 3 top-grossing movies of all time —Argylle, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Napoleon—didn't break even, costing a reported $700 million to make but grossing only $476 million worldwide.🫠
Pharma Stocks Struggling Post-Pandemic
Pfizer's stock has taken a serious hit, nearly halving since its pandemic highs. Activist investor Starboard Value has now built a ~$1 billion stake in the company, hoping to shake things up and boost the share price. While the exact details of their plans aren’t clear yet, their aim is to address Pfizer's post-pandemic slump.
Pfizer’s stock soared during the pandemic, largely thanks to its COVID-19 vaccine developed with BioNTech, which became the best-selling pharmaceutical product in history for a single year. 💉💵 But with the pandemic fading, investor confidence has dipped, and the stock has dropped by 46% in just under three years. Other pandemic-era pharma winners like BioNTech and Moderna have faced similar struggles, while more diversified players like Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca have fared better.
Threads had its biggest month yet, with 21.7 million hits from US visitors in September, according to Similarweb. After a rocky start following its Instagram-boosted launch in 2023, where it quickly gained 100 million users but struggled to keep them, Threads is slowly finding its groove. 📈
The platform hit 175 million users three months ago, and while it’s nowhere near Twitter (now X), which pulled in over 1 billion visits in the same period, Threads is showing signs of momentum. However, it still faces challenges, like dealing with "engagement bait" content that’s deliberately designed to stir up controversy, something the team is actively working on fixing, according to Instagram’s Adam Mosseri.
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