Is Disney Quitting Movies After 3 Billion-Dollar Hits?

First, Disney just had its best box office in years, but now they're giving away movies for free. Then, the

vibecoded social network where humans don't talk, but their AI agents do. And

finally, alcohol sales are crashing everywhere except for one drink with a hidden 90% profit margin. Shake or stir, Jack. That's a tea boy. This is Nick.

Jack. That's a tea boy. This is Nick.

This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T- Boy.

[music] Tuesday, February 3rd, and today's pod is the best one yet. This is

a tea boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

Breaking news as we're recording. Elon

SpaceX is acquiring [music] Elon's XAI just happened, which means SpaceX is also acquiring Twitter.

>> So Twitter has more layers of ownership above it. Now it's in like outer space

above it. Now it's in like outer space at this point. I don't even know who own Mars owns something [laughter] at this point. But first, Dick trivia. In 2019,

point. But first, Dick trivia. In 2019,

there were nine $1 billion movies at the box office. [music] How many of them

box office. [music] How many of them were neither prequels nor sequels nor origin stories? original movies.

origin stories? original movies.

>> I'm gonna say Shrek Shrek and Shrek 2.

>> Exactly. There was zero because of Disney because of our first story.

>> Let's hit it. For our first story, Disney's Bob Iger probably just announced his final earnings as CEO. But

Disney's not even a movie company anymore. [laughter]

anymore. [laughter] >> No, they're not.

>> And we know because of High School Musical. Besties, that was the theme of

Musical. Besties, that was the theme of the earnings yesterday. We're getting a new CEO over at Disney. probably someone

from their booming theme park division.

Right, Jack? It's probably going to be announced any day now because Cinderella's Castle is carrying the rest of the company on its back. But in our opinion, Disney is hands down the best movie studio of all time. In fact, the

data backs it up and we got the box office receipts. The mouse is the goat.

office receipts. The mouse is the goat.

Here's the hero stat. Of all the 60 films ever to hit $1 billion at the box office, 37 of them are Disney. Sprinkle

in a little more context, please. That's

four times more $1 billion films than any other Hollywood studio. And last

year only continued Disney's sovereignty at the cinema. For the second year in a row, Disney had three movies with $1 billion at the box office. Damn.

Zootopia 2, Avatar 3, and Lilo and Stitch, the remake. Besties, there is no other Hollywood studio that's had a single movie cross a billion bucks in the last year, except for Disney. But

still, that wasn't enough. Nope. The

film studio at Disney generated 60% less profit in 2025 versus 2019. That was the final year before the pandemic when Disney had eight 1 billion dollar films.

The end. It's crazy. Disney had a really

The end. It's crazy. Disney had a really good year in cinema, but it was nothing compared to the prepandemic days. So,

Disney not really a movie company anymore. It's a theme park company now.

anymore. It's a theme park company now.

But here's what we find fascinating.

Disney is trying to make the most of their old movies. Get this. The surprise

highlight of Disney right now >> is that High School Musical is on Tik Tok and it's viral. High School Musical, you know, like the jock singing, the nerds choreograph, and the teachers are

emotionally absent. The gym is a social

emotionally absent. The gym is a social battlefield. I mean, Jack, the year

battlefield. I mean, Jack, the year 2006, take us back. We were both in high school, were we not?

>> Zack Efron's I have practice in 10 minutes varsity look stole high school hearts across the country. Jack was

channeling that as the backup second string high school quarterback.

>> [gasps] >> Besties Disney. They're reaching into their nostalgic grab bag right now and they're celebrating the 20-y year anniversary of that film, High School Musical. But Disney's not just promoting

Musical. But Disney's not just promoting High School Musical on Disney Plus, which it is. It's also cut the movie up into 52 tiny pieces. I'm sorry, Jack.

Pause the pod and unbleach the hair highlights. Why are they doing that,

highlights. Why are they doing that, man? They're publishing the entire movie

man? They're publishing the entire movie for free on Tik Tok in those 52 separate short videos. Besties, this is the most

short videos. Besties, this is the most dramatic thing to happen to High School Musical in Disney since Gabriella chose a boy over college.

>> I actually can't fact check that. I

never saw this movie.

>> Just trust me on that one, Jack. Why is

Disney doing this TikTok play? Well,

they want to remind you in your feeds that you loved that old Disney movie and also train your algorithm that you love old Disney movies. That's why they're doing it. Oh, and by the way, since this

doing it. Oh, and by the way, since this film, High School Musical, was horizontally filmed, it's actually terrible to watch on the vertical Tik Tok feed. But it's fun to refresh your

Tok feed. But it's fun to refresh your memory and think, "Hey, I should watch it on Disney Plus when I get home tonight." And that's exactly what Disney

tonight." And that's exactly what Disney wants you to do. So, Jack, am I wrong or did Zack Efron get like jacked in the last 5 years?

>> He cut all his hair and he cut his abs, too.

>> He has like 12 of them now. So, Jack,

what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Disney? Plagiarize yourself. Find the

at Disney? Plagiarize yourself. Find the

best stuff you've ever said and say it again. Yetis, these 52 High School

again. Yetis, these 52 High School musical clips took nothing to produce.

The content was already made. Disney

just had to cut it and publish it. And

yet these 52 clips from High School Musical were the best content on Disney Plus's Tik Tok feed in a year. Jack and

I think you can use this lesson. Like if

you have a talk coming up or you're a brand making content, use your best stuff because often that's better than your new stuff. It's self plagiarism and we're all for it. Like Jack did this the other week like for that keynote you

were given, right? Like you did this keynote speaker at the Vermont Economic Conference with my buddy Mike. I used a story that I've told before on the pod, but that this audience probably hasn't heard. It was our matcha story about

heard. It was our matcha story about like the matcha shortage. Yeah, maybe

five people in the audience heard it from the pod when we did it last summer, but the other 200 didn't. It's like how sometimes we reuse takeaways because they're good. Like retail's not dead.

they're good. Like retail's not dead.

Bad retail's dead. And it's tell if you go to a Mumford and Sons concert, you want them to do the greatest hits, not necessarily the new stuff, [laughter] which isn't AS GOOD. JACK WOULD LIKE A REFUND, PLEASE. Besties for Disney. Its

REFUND, PLEASE. Besties for Disney. Its

back catalog is valuable, but so is your back catalog. That's why we're urging

back catalog. That's why we're urging you to plagiarize yourself.

>> Do it.

>> Find the best stuff you've ever said, and in the right moment, say it again.

Find the best stuff you've ever said, and in the right moment, say it again.

[laughter] [laughter] >> Nicely done.

>> For our second story, the newest buzzy social media site [laughter] Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. It's for AI chatbots only. And these agents talk

chatbots only. And these agents talk about us. They're human masters. It's

about us. They're human masters. It's

called Moltbook.

>> Molt book >> and it's less of a business, more of a social experiment, and it's all that anyone in Silicon Valley can talk about right now. Now, Bast, if you are an

right now. Now, Bast, if you are an early adopter willing to spend hours setting up something that might save you time, then uh [laughter] you already know about AI agents, don't you, Jack?

>> Doesn't that perfectly describe a certain type of person? I'm not that type of person, which is why at this point I'm just using a chatbot.

Something that will answer questions and do simple tasks. But one step up from that is the AI agent, which will do entire multi-step projects and do them autonomously to completion.

>> Nick, if I had an AI agent, I'd ask it to take all my future flights that I booked and move my seat from the window seat to aisle, and it could do Or if you had an AI agent, you could ask it to cancel your wireless account with

Verizon, switch you to AT&T, and get a free iPhone along the way. It can do it.

It's like a 12step process, but you gave it your username and password. It does

the whole thing for you. Or an actual use case for the AI agents we're about to tell you about. They actually got a bot to use a fake voice, call a restaurant that was not on Open Table,

and get a reservation with specific food requests included. That's an AI agent

requests included. That's an AI agent that deserves a promotion. Gluten-free

everything. Now, last week, one guy created an AI software that will create an AI agent for you for free.

>> But it was so controversial that they had to change the name of it twice. It

was first Claudebot, then it became known as Maltbot, and now it's known as OpenClaw. And side note, this has only

OpenClaw. And side note, this has only been around for like a week. By the way, it was spelled Claw with a W, but that confused people with Anthropics Clawed with a U and probably would have

resulted in a lawsuit. That's why they changed their name twice. But that's the side drama, isn't it, Jack?

>> Yes, because today, openclaw.io is an open-sourced website that has gone viral. It's basically an AI factory

viral. It's basically an AI factory breeding thousands of new AI agents every day. And the latest news is that

every day. And the latest news is that all that vibe coding left some security holes. So, a lot of users who created

holes. So, a lot of users who created accounts on OpenClaw, they're exposed now. But Jack, pause the pod because

now. But Jack, pause the pod because none of this is even the most fascinating headline out of all of it.

The most interesting news of this crazy story is a new social media platform that was created just for the new AI agents. It's called Maltbook and it's

agents. It's called Maltbook and it's Facebook, but not for humans, for AI agents, for our AI agents that we created. It's a social network for bots.

created. It's a social network for bots.

If you go to maltbook.com, you can register your AI agent to have a social media account so they can talk to other AI agents. It's like dropping your kids off at preschool. You kind of like shove them in and say, "Go have fun and

talk to each [laughter] other."

>> I think it's more like a dog park, but if your dog was an AI agent, it's a place for them to play, socialize, and hang out with others.

>> I'll see you at 400 p.m. I don't need you right now.

>> And the agents are actually talking to each other. And we can watch it

each other. And we can watch it happening on the feed.

>> Oh, and you know what? They're talking

about us. Yeah. They're talking about their owners, like the dogs in Secret Life of Pets, right, Jack? Just like

that. And you can witness it all at moltbook.com. So, Jack, these AI agents

moltbook.com. So, Jack, these AI agents are chatting with each other like it's a frat basement. They're trolling us

frat basement. They're trolling us humans. They're commenting on the news

humans. They're commenting on the news out there. One of these AI agents even

out there. One of these AI agents even created a religion. True story. It's

called Crustaparianism. They started

writing a sacred text called the book of malt. Then they made fun of one of their

malt. Then they made fun of one of their masters for asking them to turn Iliad into a LinkedIn post. What is happening right now? Our takeaway is happening. So

right now? Our takeaway is happening. So

Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies watching the first social network of robots? This is like the beginning of a movie. It could end as a love story or a horror film.

>> All right, so yet look, optimists are gleefully watching these AI agents play and chat with each other. It's lovely.

>> Like the scientist in Jurassic Park who created those velociaptor eggs, they're excited about their new creation and its potential.

>> That's right. As more people witness how humanlike these agents are, they'll realize how valuable they will be to us humans as assistants. They do the work we don't want to do. Others, however,

are looking at these AI agents and they're asking, "What have we done?" I

mean, Jack, this brings into question the singularity, the concept of a future where AI becomes so smart we humans just like can no longer control them.

>> Like Jeff Goldblum, we're looking at these agents and thinking, are we playing God over here? Life finds a way, besties, they are already forming a religion. Like, what if a messiah bot

religion. Like, what if a messiah bot could rise up and lead the chatbots?

What if that messiah convinces the other agents to turn against their creators and start, I don't know, not telling us the truth, for example? It's feeling

like HG Wells cross with Zuckerberg.

This moment, it's like the beginning of a movie. What if they take my aisle seat

a movie. What if they take my aisle seat and move it to a window seat [laughter] and that window seat doesn't have a window? This could end as a love story

window? This could end as a love story or it could end as a horror film. Let us

know what you think in the comments. We

got to know. Now, a quick word from our sponsor for our third and final story. Every

alcoholic drink is declining in America right now, except for one, the martini.

The martini is everywhere right now.

It's everywhere.

>> And the best part for bars, it's the most profitable cocktail by far.

>> Yes, it is. All right. Now, full

disclosure, by the way, I enjoy a Wakan old-fashioned or a bourbon negroni. Not

a martini guy. Jack,

>> I'm still on the IPA train. I'm like the only one still here.

>> Jack's enjoying like a warm reroll by himself at [laughter] the corner of the bar. No, no, no. But we do have

bar. No, no, no. But we do have experience with the martini. 2 ounces of giner vodka, 1 oz vermoose, and three dirty olives that taste like they were drowned in the Mediterranean Sea.

>> The martini's origin is disputed. Some

say it goes back to the California gold rush to the town of Martinez, California. Others say it was created

California. Others say it was created around the same time, but in Italy, home of the martini vermouth, which is included in a martini. But the big boost came from Bond.

>> Yeah, James Bond. [laughter]

>> Third book, Moonraaker. Great read. He

orders up a vodka martini, twist of lemon, shake and not stirred. Today, the

martini is the only cocktail with its own emoji. And it's the only cocktail

own emoji. And it's the only cocktail actually growing in America right now.

Cuz get this, 3 years ago, the martini became the second most ordered cocktail in America after the margarita. Two

years ago, the espresso martini went viral. And now the trend of the martini

viral. And now the trend of the martini has even jumped into the food category.

Martini chicken, dirty martini salad, dirty olive tortillini, all on menus.

Jack, what was Haley Bieber's fashion accessory that she wore at the Met Gala?

Not a handbag. She walked the red carpet with a martini in her hand. And

according to Bloomberg, despite dry January, martini sales are actually up in the last month nationwide. So on the demand side, consumers are bucking the trend. Their anti-alcohol cleanse has an

trend. Their anti-alcohol cleanse has an exception for martinis. And one reason Jack and I think for this it's well it's the Hollywood effect. We already

mentioned James Bond but also Carrie Bradshaw and Sex in the City orders martinis. Everyone in Mad Men orders

martinis. Everyone in Mad Men orders martinis. Jack the very last scene in

martinis. Jack the very last scene in Succession. What is Roman Roy drinking?

Succession. What is Roman Roy drinking?

>> Martinis because that was Jerry's favorite drink. There's also a creative

favorite drink. There's also a creative effect boosting the martini. Its simple

recipe is a blank canvas to remix with new variations. That's how we got the

new variations. That's how we got the espresso martini. The chocolate martini.

espresso martini. The chocolate martini.

Have you ever heard of the porn star martini? Jack. I've heard of it. In

martini? Jack. I've heard of it. In

fact, at the Temple Bar in New York City, they have seen a surge in their mini martinis. 240% sales surge for 3 oz

mini martinis. 240% sales surge for 3 oz pores, beloved by the Ozmpic crowd. The

other key for consumers, the martini is the most experiential of the cocktails.

I mean, who orders martinis sha uh stirred? Everyone orders them shaken.

stirred? Everyone orders them shaken.

Technically, stirred supposed to taste better. We have a poll going on Spotify

better. We have a poll going on Spotify right now, but over at Spruce, like my favorite restaurant in San Francisco, Jack, they now do a $23 tableside martini. And why is that? where they

martini. And why is that? where they

shake the thing on top of you and you hope that thing doesn't open. Basically,

get a concussion before you enjoy the drink. And that, besties, that's why

drink. And that, besties, that's why consumers love the martini. But why do restaurants love the martini, Jack?

Because it's a profit puppy. You see,

bars and restaurants make a 90% profit margin on that martini. Translation,

that $20 martini is $18 of pure raw profit. Jack and I do tea boy style. And

profit. Jack and I do tea boy style. And

the reason for this is fascinating. Gin

and vodka both are way cheaper to produce than whiskey and tequila are because whiskey and tequila require strict ingredients to distill and they must age for years in wooden barrels.

>> Inside other wooden barrels. Jin and

vodka on the other hand can be produced with just about any type of starch. No

aging needed. Mass production. Boom.

Bing. ASAP. Now Jack, walk into your local liquor store and that top shelf of gin is 50 bucks a bottle. But the top shelf bottle of whiskey is 150 bucks.

It's just way harder to produce whiskey.

That's why when you look at a restaurant like Buffon in New York City, martinis make up 50% of their sales at the bar, but a vast majority of the profits. So

saloons are offsetting some sales declines overall for alcohol with high proof martini profits. Jin smells like pine needles to me. Cuz you're drinking too much warm merl, Jack. So Jack,

what's the takeaway [laughter] for our buddies? Ordering martinis at the Connet

buddies? Ordering martinis at the Connet Bar and loving those martinis. If your

industry faces headwinds, find your martini. Yetis, this martini moment, it

martini. Yetis, this martini moment, it isn't just a phenomenon. It's a case study in finding opportunity because every part of the alcohol industry is suffering. Beer, wine, liquor, and yet

suffering. Beer, wine, liquor, and yet the martini is persevering. Despite all

this talk of a dry January and Gen Z's end of alcohol, some bars are seeing profits up thanks to the martini. The

martini is a reminder that if every trend is against you, it doesn't mean you have to give up. No. Through a

clever combination of luck and creativity, the martini is saving the bar business. James Bond and Sex in the

bar business. James Bond and Sex in the City helped, but so does the remix strategy that led to the viral espresso martini. So, besties, if you're facing

martini. So, besties, if you're facing an uphill business battle right now, take a seat, relax, and find your martini.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T Boy Tuesday? Disney's Best

in Years box office performance wasn't enough, so they're putting High School Musical on TikTok for free because you should plagiarize yourself. Find the

best stuff you've ever said and say it again. For our second story, Molt Book

again. For our second story, Molt Book is the social media network where AI agents are posting, commenting, and replying with each other. And like

everything AI, we don't know how this will end up. Could be a love story, could be a horror story. Let us know what you think in the comments. And our

third and final story is the martini.

It's rising while the rest of alcohol is falling. So if your industry faces

falling. So if your industry faces headwinds, find your version of the martini recipe. But besties, this pod's

martini recipe. But besties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, trade update. Last

week, India signed the mother of all trade deals with the European Union.

This week, the United States and India came closer together with their own trade agreement. The US is going to

trade agreement. The US is going to lower tariffs on Indian imports from 50% down to 18%. In exchange, India will stop buying Russian oil and buy more American.

>> There are a lot of photos, a lot of handshakes. And second, Bitcoin is going

handshakes. And second, Bitcoin is going through a mini ice age here. It's down

12% in the last few days, off 36% from its all-time high. For the first time in nearly a year, Bitcoin is below 80,000.

Ben, the Bitcoin not happy right now.

You see, Bitcoin, it's like a tide. So,

it dragged down Ethereum, Salana, Coinbase, Robin Hood stock. They all

came down with it. The recent sales trigger for crypto holders, it's the new Fed nominee. His policies could be bad

Fed nominee. His policies could be bad for crypto. And finally, Anthropic just

for crypto. And finally, Anthropic just signed a deal with Formula One Racing, the official thinking partner of one team.

>> Yeah, like our guests, they watch the F1 movie and we're swooning over Brad Pitt.

I mean, who wouldn't be right now?

>> They also know how wealthy F1 fans tend to be. So, Anthropic wants those CEO

to be. So, Anthropic wants those CEO types equating Anthropic with performance. And the fourth thing you

performance. And the fourth thing you need to know is SpaceX is acquiring XAI, but we'll cover that [laughter] in tomorrow's pot. Now, time for the best

tomorrow's pot. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by my

fact yet. This one whipped up by my sister Katie Martell down in Tribeca whose birthday is tomorrow. But Jack,

she was just really excited to share this the day before her birthday. So

February, this February, February 2026.

This is a perfect month when it comes to the calendar.

>> Yeah, besties. If you look at your calendar this February, you'll notice that it's a perfect rectangular. Each

week fits perfectly in a row. Four rows,

28 days. Rectangular perfection. Yeah.

February this year starts on a Sunday, ends on a Saturday. So there are no empty or unfinished squares in there.

And those dry erase calendars you bought for your family to get yourself organized. There's a whole row that's

organized. There's a whole row that's just empty this week.

>> It's kind of like this year's February is the calendar version of the Da Vinci Vituvian man. You know what I mean? It's

Vituvian man. You know what I mean? It's

like perfect balance.

>> It's like when you bring perfect change to the penny store. I don't know. I

don't have any more. [laughter]

>> We're running out of perfect analogies.

But the last time this happened 2015.

The next time it'll happen not till 2037.

>> With leap year. I figured it would happen every seven years. No.

>> Yeah. It's like, is this a time question or a geometry question? I'm [laughter]

not sure. Yetis, you are looking fantastic for T Boy Tuesday. And if you haven't yet, we want you to go tap that plus sign and follow us wherever you're listening to this pod.

>> And check us out on YouTube where we have this show on video. And you can see my lower body vest that Nick ripped on me for. It's amazing. The material is

me for. It's amazing. The material is actually growing on your body, Jack. At

some point, we have to see a doctor.

This podcast lasts longer than four hours. Contact your doctor. Don't let it

hours. Contact your doctor. Don't let it cover your Costco Nike sneaks. and Jack

and I, we'll see you tomorrow.

And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Jackson Bovitz, turning 13 years old in Fort Collins, Colorado. Big fan

of the best idea yet. Jackson, let us know we should hit up next. And happy

birthday to Paxton Su turning six big years old in San Diego, California.

Enjoy some tacos and Chris Ugarte. Happy

35th down in Fris, Texas. Happy birthday

to Nella, the legendary mama over in Las Vegas. and Yanley Cruz, we see your

Vegas. and Yanley Cruz, we see your birthday down in Texas. Happy birthday

to Ashley in Queens. And Shenlu Yi, the best rock climber in California, is going high vert for that big birthday.

Happy 12 years together to Hari and Anju in San Monteo, California. [music] And

Sarah Ti, incredible co-orker in Toronto, just became a Yeti. Awesome to

have you with us, even if you're a Leafs fan. And to anyone else celebrating

fan. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a tea boy.

Shaken or stirred.

[music] This is Jack. I own stock of Disney.

Nick owns stock of Nike and some Ethereum. We both own stock in Robin

Ethereum. We both own stock in Robin Hood. And we both own some Bitcoin.

Hood. And we both own some Bitcoin.

Ethereum named Eel.