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David Mumpower: I think that we give a studio too much of a pass when we say "Everyone will have a bomb from time to time." While true, that statement rings hollow when the same studio experiences three such catastrophes in 30 months. Oddly, I am inclined to give them the biggest pass on Mars Needs Moms, a hallmark visual achievement whose story would get a C- in a seventh grade Composition class. Disney knew it was terrible, they knew they couldn't save it and they didn't waste money marketing it. The same is not true of John Carter and The Lone Ranger, both of which employed massive marketing campaigns in a blatant attempt to trick consumers into believing that the movies were not as bad as they looked. Global audiences were wise to those tricks.

Why does this keep happening? I will use a baseball analogy here, primarily because I'm a Braves fan and the similarities between our 2013 team and Disney are undeniable. Disney as a corporation does not make their money by hitting singles. They do not care about on base percentage. Disney is one of the largest conglomerates in the world. In order to advance their bottom line, they need blockbusters. And the only way to create blockbusters is to swing for the fences. Everyone knows that power hitters are going to strike out more because they cede consistent contact in exchange for making their contact count.

The above explains why Disney does not release a lot of small scale movies like The Odd Life of Timothy Green. $25 million productions rarely move the dials to the degree that they need. Ergo, Disney is in the business of making movies like Oz the Great and Powerful, which did what it was supposed to do (more or less), and The Lone Ranger, which has died screaming.

What drives Disney's decision making is finding the next Phineas and Ferb, the next Sofia the First. These are properties that afford ancillary revenue opportunities. We will see a Phineas and Ferb movie next year, and that release will feature a new line of toys that will drive toy sales through the holiday season. The Lone Ranger and John Carter were intended to afford opportunities such as amusement park rides, franchise sequels and, yes, toy sales. Alas, both films were strikeouts. Oz isn't a grand slam or even a homer but it did well enough to keep those possibilities in play. We all know where Iron Man and The Avengers fall into the conversation just as we recognize the Star Wars sequels will behave the same way.

What Disney must avoid is exactly what Kim stated. Their decision making has to improve on these projects that scream "Failure!" that scare them off for years before they suddenly decide, "Eh, we're Disney. We can make it work." The recent evidence demonstrates that the Mouse House isn't impervious either.

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