The combination of Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2 and Alice in Wonderland 3D lifted Walt Disney Co.'s third-quarter profits 40 percent, according to the company's quarterly earnings report, beating analysts' forecasts by a wide margin. Income rose to $1.3 billion from $954 million during the comparable period a year ago. Revenue rose 16 percent to $10 billion. In a statement, Disney CEO Robert Iger said, "Our performance underscores the value of sticking to a smart strategy even in tough times, of inveSting in the right people, and of focusing relentlessly on quality and innovation to drive growth in shareholder value." Later, in a conference call with reporters and investors Iger said that the shortened window between the release of Alice theatrically and on home video paid off handsomely. Daily Variety estimated that home video sales of Alice totaled $67 million in the quarter. Iger indicated that those results would spur the company to "become aggressive in experimenting with new windows, including digital" for its releases.

11/08/2010