5 Dates for Disney Stock Investors to Circle in December

It's been a challenging year for Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) investors. Shares of the media stock bellwether have declined 6% through the first 11 months of 2025. Mixed results at the multiplex and the market's chilly reception to its latest financial update have tugged on the shares since they peaked with a 13% year-to-date gain early in the summer season.

A lot can happen in the home stretch. Disney has a lot going on this month, even if recent history hasn't been kind: Disney stock has declined in December each of the past three years. Can new streaming releases, creative collaborations, and what should be this year's biggest theatrical premiere deliver a happily ever after finish to 2025? Let's look at key dates to watch for Disney investors this month.

Image source: Disney.

Dec. 8

Disney's massive empire of intellectual properties and distribution platforms is at its best when they work together. You will see it again next week, when Funday Football returns with a tribute to its Monsters, Inc. franchise.

During next week's Monday Night Football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers, Disney will offer an alternate telecast -- or altcast, for short -- alongside the actual game that will be broadcast on its ABC and majority-owned ESPN networks. Monsters Funday Football is an animated real-time altcast featuring Monsters, Inc. characters as avatars on the field in a virtual scare-factory setting from the franchise. The animated players move in sync with the live action. Billy Crystal and John Goodman will be once again voicing Mike Wazowski and Sulley, respectively.

The altcast will air on Disney+ as well as other networks, including Disney Channel, ESPN 2, and Disney XD. If gametime is too late for young fans of Monsters, Inc., a replay will be available for later viewing.

This isn't Disney's first altcast rodeo. The Simpsons took over the annual NFL tie-in last year and Toy Story kicked things off in 2023. So why Monsters, Inc.? It's been a dozen years since the last film in the franchise hit theaters, but the Monsters at Work series that rolled out a couple of years ago has just been renewed for a third season. Meanwhile, Disney World in Florida is currently constructing Monstropolis, an entire land dedicated to the franchise, which is expected to open in 2028.

There's always a method to the altcast.

Dec. 11

Disneyland in California has developed special themed events throughout the year, closing parks early ahead of transforming them into a themed late-night event. That's a smart way to milk more money out of an operating day at its theme park, serving two distinct sets of guests.

The first Disneyland After Dark event of the year will be its Sweethearts' Nite, running for nine nights through January and February. Despite its Valentine's Day bent, Disney markets the nocturnal experiences for friends and families beyond the obvious couples. It also has a couple of nights in March centered on the resort's recent 70th anniversary. Tickets will go on sale for both of the events on Dec. 11, or two days earlier for holders of the resort's Magic Key annual passes.

Dec. 12

Swifties have already circled this date on their calendars. Disney+ will begin streaming the first two episodes of Taylor Swift: The End of an Era on Dec. 12. The six-part docuseries -- with two episodes hitting the platform weekly -- offers backstage access to the inner workings of the singers' record-setting The Eras Tour. Disney+ secured the air rights the financially successful concert film from that tour two years ago, but now it's back with new behind-the-scenes footage from the tour as a documentary, keeping fans of the recording star close. I suppose Swifties can say Disney+ won't shake them off anytime soon.

Dec. 19

A lot of major movies have been released this year. Disney's Lilo & Stitch and China's Ne Zha 2 have each topped $1 billion in ticket sales, and The Minecraft Movie is currently this year's highest-grossing film for domestic audiences. But all of those 2025 records are likely to be topped after Avatar: Fire and Ash opens later this month, the first two films in James Cameron's franchise accounting for two of the three highest-grossing films of all time. Disney can use the blockbuster. It has just one of the country's five biggest theatrical releases in 2025, and that's atypical for the largest of the big six media companies.

Dec. 26

Disney wasn't the movie studio behind Together and The Life of Chuck, two films that garnered critical praise earlier this year but failed to attract multiplex audiences. The two Neon-distributed films will make Hulu their streaming service home later this month. The Life of Chuck, based on a Stephen King novella but not horror fare, will begin streaming on the Disney-owned platform on Dec. 26. Together, a romantic movie that actually is horror fare, hits Hulu five days later.

Rick Munarriz has positions in Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.