NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 22:00 ET — Market closed
- Walt Disney shares fell 0.8% on Friday to close at $113.56.
- Investors headed into the final trading days of 2025 with Fed minutes due Tuesday and light holiday liquidity.
- Holiday box office strength led by “Avatar: Fire and Ash” kept Disney’s studio results in focus.
Walt Disney Co shares slid 0.8% on Friday, easing to $113.56 as U.S. stocks finished little changed in thin post-Christmas trading.
The move matters now because the market is in the final, low-liquidity stretch of the year, when portfolio rebalancing can amplify swings even without fresh company news. Reuters reported light trading volumes and few catalysts driving conviction in Friday’s session.
For Disney investors, the late-December window also coincides with the holiday quarter, when consumer spending, theme-park demand and blockbuster releases can shape sentiment about the company’s near-term earnings power.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.04% on Friday, while the S&P 500 lost 0.03% and the Nasdaq fell 0.09%, Reuters reported.
“We’re just simply catching our breath today after the holiday,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, in comments carried by Reuters.
Disney’s film business stayed in the spotlight over the weekend, after “Avatar: Fire and Ash” topped the domestic box office for a second weekend, earning an estimated $64 million, Barron’s reported. The outlet said the film has taken in about $760.4 million globally since its Dec. 19 release. 1
“Zootopia 2” also continued its strong run, reaching about $1.4 billion worldwide, Entertainment Weekly reported. 2
Strong box office results can bolster investor confidence in Disney’s studio slate and merchandising pipeline, even as markets stay focused on streaming competition and ad trends across the media sector.
One pressure point for subscription platforms is viewer engagement as consumers shift time toward free, ad-supported services, Business Insider reported, citing growth in U.S. TV watch time for free platforms compared with paid streamers including Netflix and Disney+. 3
Macro drivers are also front and center. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 9–10 meeting are due on Tuesday, Dec. 30, and investors are watching for clues on the 2026 rate path, Reuters reported.
The Fed cut rates by a total of 75 basis points over its last three meetings of 2025 to a 3.50%–3.75% range, Reuters reported, and markets have been sensitive to any signals about whether cuts continue.
Before the next session, traders will watch for year-end positioning and the “Santa Claus rally,” a seasonal period covering the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year, which can be distorted by holiday-thinned volumes, Reuters reported.
Disney’s chart action will also be in focus after the stock traded between $113.28 and $114.71 on Friday and finished near the bottom of that range.
Investors will also keep an eye on any weekend box office updates and headlines that could move sentiment into Monday’s final week-of-year trading, with the Fed minutes and year-end volatility risks on the near-term calendar.
