Pursuits
Disney, Like Fans, Must Wait for 'Star Wars: Force Awakens'
- Company can't book Force Friday toy sales until film's debut
- Analysts say benefits will fall into fiscal 2016 instead
Shoppers browse Star Wars merchandise at a Target Australia department store in the suburb of Parramatta in western Sydney.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Captain Phasma masks, Kylo Ren lightsabers and BB-8 backpacks have been flying out of stores the world over since Sept. 4, yet not a cent of those sales showed up in Walt Disney Co.’s quarterly earnings this week. And they won’t until the new “Star Wars” film opens next month.
Accounting rules bar Burbank, California-based Disney from recording revenue from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” products until the movie hits theaters on Dec. 18, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy told investors on a conference call Thursday. Disney will book the sales in its current fiscal first quarter instead, she said.