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Disney announces ‘Frozen 2′, ‘Star Wars VIII’
BURBANK (CNS) – Walt Disney Co. stockholders were told today that “Star Wars: Episode VIII” will be released on May 26, 2017, and that the first stand-alone “Star Wars” movie featuring characters and events beyond the core saga will be titled “Rogue One” and be released in December 2016.
It was also announced that Disney will be making “Frozen 2.” John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, said the sequel will reunite the creative team and cast from the first film.
The announcements came at Disney’s annual meeting at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, where Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger told shareholders the company has had “four straight years of record results.”
“Driven by extraordinary creativity, innovative technology and global expansion, 2014 was in fact the best year in our history,” he said. “Our revenue was up 8 percent to $48.8 billion, our net income was up 22 percent to $7.5 billion, and our EPS (earnings per share) was up 26 percent to $4.26.”
He said total shareholder return for the year “was 38 percent, almost double the 20 percent return delivered by the S&P 500 during the same period, and we also paid our 59th straight year of dividends, increasing the dividend per share by 34 percent.”
Based on preliminary results, all Disney directors standing for election were re-elected to the board, including Iger, and shareholders approved an advisory resolution on executive compensation.
Shareholders agreed with the board in rejecting two proposals, one regarding the future selection of an independent board chairman, and the other limiting accelerated executive pay.