Disney+ is a big gamble for The Walt Disney company, and losses for the streaming unit more than doubled year-on-year to $740 million (€671.3m) in the quarter – the good news being that was under the $900 million guidance.

It meant overall the company saw a year-on-year dip of 66 per cent on Q4 profit ($0.78bn v $2.3bn) on revenue up substantially to $19.1 billion ($14.3bn) through the addition of the acquired Fox businesses.

“We’re making a huge statement about the future of media and entertainment, [said of Disney+]” Bob Iger, chief executive, told shareholders. The service will be dedicated to movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, the Star Wars franchise, National Geographic and Marvel.

Elsewhere, while the re-made The Lion King delivered big, the slate at 20^th Century Fox bombed and, not surprisingly considering the political climate there, the Hong Kong resort delivered a poor summer.

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