“People don’t want to pay for endless reboots” – Social media mocks Disney+ after losing 700k subscribers in Q1 2025

Disney+ just took a hit, and not the cool Marvel-level kind. They just lost 700,000 subscribers. Between October and December 2024, Disney+ waved goodbye to a solid chunk of its audience, bringing the total number of subscribers (excluding India’s Disney+ Hotstar) down to 124.6 million.

Mickey is probably sweating under that oversized head, but social media is laughing out loud.

One X (formerly Twitter) user stated:

"Turns out people don’t want to pay for endless reboots, forced agendas, and the same three franchises on repeat."

A user joked:

"The question is where they go"

A user mentioned:

"This is what exactly happens when you are continually increasing subscription prices."

A user went on to add:

"Yeah we tired of endless Reboots and Washed Shows"

A user thinks:

"I mean… there’s no good television."

A user noted:

"Not surprised when you raise the prices every 2 minutes."

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Why are people dipping?

Disney knew this was coming because you don’t jack up prices and expect people to just nod politely.

Recent price hikes and promotional offers lured in users like a Disney princess lures woodland creatures, and you’ve got yourself a subscriber exodus.

The quarter before (June to September 2024), Disney+ was celebrating a 4.4 million subscriber gain.

But despite losing subscribers, Disney is still making bank. The streaming business flexed profitability for the third quarter in a row.

Net income jumped from $1.9 billion to $2.6 billion, earnings per share soared by 35% to $1.40, and revenue climbed to $24.69 billion—up 5% from last year.

CEO Bob Iger reassured everyone that things were totally fine, thanks to Disney’s “creative and financial strengths.”

Also, shoutout to Moana 2, which helped line Disney’s pockets with a hefty box office haul.

“Overall, this quarter proved to be a strong start to the fiscal year, and we remain confident in our strategy for continued growth,” Iger said.

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Winners and losers

ESPN+ also lost 700,000 subscribers, meaning sports fans weren’t exactly lining up to stick around.

On the flip side, HULU was thriving. It pulled in 1.6 million new subscribers, bringing its total to 53.6 million.

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What’s next for Disney+?

Don’t expect a miraculous subscriber comeback anytime soon. Disney already warned that there will be a “modest decline” in subscribers throughout 2025 as they play around with pricing and promotions.

Instead of chasing sheer numbers, they’re focusing on profitability. They want to make money off fewer people, and they’ll tinker with the formula until they get it right.

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But people are still watching

Let’s not act like Disney+ is completely flopping. It’s still a streaming giant. The numbers tell an interesting story:

Ratatouille, The Lion King, and Alien: Romulus are pulling in the eyeballs.

An animated rat chef will still be running the show in 2025.

Even with the subscriber drop, Disney+ reported about 157 million monthly active users on its ad-supported content.