As everyone has been saying, one of Bob Iger’s top priorities needs to be mending the rift between Disney and Pixar. Steve Jobs of Pixar has threatened to take his marbles and go play in someone else’s lot if Disney doesn’t start to play nice with the profit distribution. This article in Slate looks at why none of the other studios are interested in hosting Pixar’s marble game.
The gist of it is that since Disney owns the sequel and merchandise rights to the five most successful Pixar franchises anytime Pixar releases a new film, Disney can release a sequel from a proven winner into the theatres at the same time. That would definitely cut into a distributor’s profits.