A dark 'unbundling' force looms large at Disney

New York

ALL anyone can talk about is Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the more than half-billion-dollar haul that the Walt Disney Co pulled in over the weekend.

The press has been breathless and Wall Street analysts are mostly giddy about Disney's prospects.

But last Friday, just as the entertainment giant was beginning to count its record box office take, Richard Greenfield, a longtime media analyst at BTIG Research, urged his clients to sell their Disney stock. He became the only analyst to have a "sell" rating on the company.

To Mr Greenfield, Star Wars is a sideshow, masking what he believes are deeper financial and strategic challenges at Disney. Th…