Disney Goes All-In on Popular Movie Brands

The signature event of the 2024 D23 Expo is undoubtedly the Disney Experiences panel.

However, another panel has grown nearly as popular. At the Honda Center, D23 hosted the Disney Entertainment Showcase.

All these events typically delight fans, but there was added emphasis this time due to Disney’s recent hot streak.

The company has released the two biggest films of 2024, thereby restoring the faith of movie buffs.

Now, Disney has announced its upcoming film slate, with sequels we all want.

Yes, Disney has gone all-in on intellectual property by announcing a slew of new movies starring familiar characters.

Bob Iger Makes a Triumphant Return

For the first time in five years, Bob Iger appeared at the Disney Entertainment Showcase, which speaks to the significance of this year’s event.

The people at the sold-out event stood and gave Iger a standing ovation, which tells a story about how much Disney’s film fortunes have recently changed.

I’m dubious that Iger would have received the same reception after last summer’s film lineup.

Even Iger was taken aback by the glowing reaction, stating, “Wow. That was more than a warm welcome!”

Iger added that he’d really missed this event, and it showed throughout the announcements.

Disney did exactly what it promised, leaning heavily on established brands for new content.

While some people gripe about how Hollywood is out of ideas, the numbers tell a different story.

We’re in August. At this point in 2024, the most successful original story at the box office is IF.

That Ryan Reynolds movie is currently only twelfth in domestic box office.

Yes, everything in the top ten (and eleventh) is a sequel or prequel.

No matter what people say, they vote with their wallets, generally choosing the familiar over the unknown.

Iger knows this and is taking full advantage. I suspect he has something of a chip on his shoulder, too.

As a reminder, when Iger announced his retirement from Disney, his final job was managing creative.

So, all of Disney’s recent film struggles can be traced directly back to Iger’s desk.

He’s understandably irritable about this and wants to redeem his legacy.

So, Iger and Disney revealed bombshell after bombshell sequel during the Disney Entertainment Showcase.

However, that didn’t stop Iger and his team from revealing some entirely new stories, either. The best companies mix the two.

A Few Thoughts about the Reveals

MickeyBlog has been all over this story already. Here’s Justin Hermes and Kristin Sabol covering.

They both did exceptional work, so I won’t waste your time repeating what they said.

Instead, I want to discuss this from the perspective of someone who has been covering the box office since the 1990s.

Throughout the decades, I’ve watched Disney Entertainment thrive and evolve. The latter typically leads to the former.

For all the media headlines about 2023, it was far from the worst setback Disney has faced during the 21^st century.

I’ve lived through the Mars Needs Moms and John Carter eras, and while I’ll die on the hill that the latter is a good movie, people didn’t watch.

That’s the thing about Disney during Iger’s tenure. When the entertainment division makes mistakes, it learns.

For example, it recently made one, and it’s making another right now that I’m about to explain.

Despite my opinions, none of it matters because Disney just had a $5+ billion night.

In fact, I can demonstrate this mathematically.

So, let’s go over the highlights, starting with the mistake Disney is correcting.

Meega Nala Kweesta

I shouldn’t have to tell you how popular Stitch is. The MickeyBlog archive contains 550+ merchandise reveals.

As a movie, Lilo & Stitch only earned $273 million, but Stitch the character has earned billions in ancillary revenue.

I mean, how many Disney characters have their own days like Stitch does on 6/26?

Disney had previously announced a live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, one that was scheduled to debut on Disney+.

That would have been equivalent to throwing away money. Fans want to watch a new Stitch movie, as Justin mentioned.

You can hear the crowd pop when Stitch appears onscreen at D23.

The demand for this film is outrageously high, and Disney is right to release it in theaters.

The Lilo & Stitch reboot could feasibly follow the Inside Out to Inside Out 2 path of making several hundred million more.

Let’s be (ridiculously) cautious and estimate that the film earns $500 million.

That’s money Disney never expected from a straight-to-streaming title.

By settling on a theatrical release, Disney has given fans what we want and should reap the rewards during the summer of 2025.

The Current Mistake Disney Should Fix

Let’s start by admiring the new trailer for Win or Lose:

Now, I’d encourage you to watch it again while ignoring the dialogue. Please simply watch the visuals.

Folks, Pixar has never released a full-length television series before now. Win or Lose is the first…and allegedly the second to last.

A few months ago, Pixar announced layoffs to prepare for the studio’s decision not to create any more Disney+ programs.

Like, what? How do you release a trailer that gorgeous and say that’s it?

We are getting the previously confirmed Inside Out spinoff, Dream Productions, which will be set before Inside Out 2.

That’s it, though. Pixar laid off the workers whose jobs were to create exclusive Disney+ programming. What an overreaction.

At the time, Disney and Pixar were in a panic after the nightmarish results of Lightyear and the sluggish start of Elemental.

Disney decided that Pixar needed to focus exclusively on theatrical releases to secure the brand.

Now that Inside Out 2 is officially a top ten all-time blockbuster, I think Pixar can wave the Mission Accomplished flag.

So, I would argue that Disney should be greenlighting more Pixar content to capitalize on the momentum.

We’ll see how long Disney takes to undo its previous overreaction.

Fans clearly want more Pixar. So, please give it (back) to us, Disney.

Disney by the Numbers

The overriding point about D23 is what it represents. At its core, this is a fan group.

As an event, the D23 Expo exists to provide fan service.

The Disney Entertainment Showcase delivered precisely that…and in a big way.

Just as importantly, Disney set up its businesses for years to come.

On the one hand, we had Disney+ programming like Win Or Lose, Dream Productions, and Skeleton Crew.

I’m not focusing on those titles as much today, but Skeleton Crew deserves a mention.

Some genius at Disney thought, “What if we combined Star Wars with The Goonies?” And everyone wants that.

I’d honestly expected more Star Wars than we got, but that’s a nitpick.

Disney was on the clock and wanted to make a big impression. So, Disney Entertainment announced:

• Frozen III
• Hoppers
• The Incredibles 3
• Toy Story 5
• Zootopia II

Those are just the titles Disney hadn’t confirmed yet. So, I’m not including stuff like Avatar: Fire and Ash or Disney’s Snow White.

When I say that Disney had a $5 billion day, here’s what I mean.

The first two Frozen films averaged $1.37 billion.

Even if we exclude Frozen IV, which Disney didn’t technically announce, that’s how much we can expect from Frozen III.

The Incredibles 2 was, until recently, THE most successful Pixar film ever, earning $1.24 billion.

Meanwhile, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 both topped $1 billion. I’d consider that the minimum for the next film.

As for Zootopia, it’s likely to follow the Inside Out 2 path of dramatically surpassing the original. I consider it a lock for $1 billion, too.

That’s more than $4.6 billion just from the sequels. Hopper needs only to earn $400 million to give those five films $5 billion.

Final Thoughts

That’s how the Disney Flywheel will work from now on.

Disney will heavily rely on its most established brands. Then, it’ll sneak in a few stories like Hopper, Monster Trucks, and Elio.

The new titles will always have an eye on merchandising. Hopper sells cute animal toys for kids.

As for Monster Trucks, well, Cars has already made more than $10 billion in revenue for Disney.

Now, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will introduce a similar kind of merchandising angle with an entirely new franchise.

Remember when Disney signed his company to a first-look deal? Iger had deals like this in mind.

Currently, The Rock is working with Disney on Moana 2, the live-action remake of Moana, and now this.

So, he’s already bringing in billions as well, with another established brand, which is…The Rock himself.

Some will argue that Disney is playing it safe here, and they’d probably be right. But Disney is also playing it smart.

The numbers don’t lie. For all the discourse on the subject, movie-goers are much more likely to watch sequels.

Disney just spent an hour announcing all the ones that fans want the most.

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