The Walt Disney Studios Celebrates Record Performance in 2006 With Worldwide Hit Films, Top Selling DVDs and CDs, and New Stage Hits

The Walt Disney Studios Celebrates Record Performance in 2006 With Worldwide Hit Films, Top Selling DVDs and CDs, and New Stage Hits

December 30, 2006

    BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Walt
Disney Studios (NYSE:
DIS) 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.

    (Logo:
http://211.154.41.99:9080/xprn/sa/200612301148.jpg )

    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.


SOURCE The Walt Disney Studios