Bohemian Rhapsody is the #1 movie in the country taking in more than $51 million in its opening weekend. By contract, Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which also opened last weekend, took in only $20 million. But even that shellacking has a silver lining…
Like any good Disney fan, I follow former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on Disney. This morning he tweeted this interesting tidbit…
Really? I had no idea (ok, I should have. It’s mentioned in our own review of the Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack). So I went and Googled Queen / Disney and found this on Wikipedia:
In 1972, Queen signed a production deal with Trident Studios. Later in their career, Queen signed a record contract with EMI, and Elektra in the United States. The band would remain with EMI for the rest of their career, though, in 1983, they terminated their American contract with Elektra and signed with Capitol Records. However in 1990, they terminated their U.S. contract with Capitol and signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records, which has remained the current owner and distributor of Queen’s entire music catalogue in North America.
Disney paid $10 million for the distribution rights in 1990. In 1991 Queen released their first album under Hollywood Records, Innuendo. Unfortunately, the tragic death of Queen front man Freddie Mercury followed soon after on November 24, 1991. But despite that, the catalog generated nearly $94 million from 1991 – 1995 – a great investment!
I guess this explains, at least partially, the Don’t Stop Me Now segment in the Pixar Play Parade. The song, a 1978 Queen hit, can be heard over The Incredibles unit. Saves on royalties!
Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 and is a record label under the Disney Music Group. Other popular artists under Hollywood Records have included Hilary Duff, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus – all recognized Disney acts in the Disney demographic.