What Went Right With Disney Films in 2024
In professional sports, there’s a phrase first used about the 1991 Atlanta Braves. It’s “from worst to first.”
In the early 1990s, that was a relatively foreign concept, but it’s become relatively standard in sports, especially those with salary caps.



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A bad team makes a few savvy moves and voila! They experience a reversal of fortune, going from the bottom to the top.
That same thought process applies to Disney’s movie releases in 2023 and 2024.


Image: The Healthy Mouse
After a savage 2023 featuring several high-profile disappointments, Disney suddenly turned things around.
So, what went right with Disney films in 2024?
The Not-Disney Films


Photo: What’s on Disney+
Disney started the year slowly, releasing only one major title during the first four months.
The title in question, The First Omen, reflected Disney’s odd situation in the aftermath of the Fox acquisition.


Photo: What’s on Disney+
Disney’s decision-makers believe firmly in the idea of monetizing established intellectual properties and brands.
As a horror film, The Omen was one of the first blockbusters of its kind in 1976.


Photo: Playbuzz.com
This title and The Exorcist reestablished horror for a new generation of fans.
Disney wanted to make another Omen movie, but…it’s not very Disney, is it?


Photo: Also 20th Century Studios
The company faced similar concerns with two other titles, Alien: Romulus and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
The marketing for these films proved challenging, as Disney chose to hide its involvement.


Photo: 20th Century Studios
The company’s goal was to reinvigorate the franchises to open the possibility of future sequels and/or television series.
As you might imagine, some of the projects proved more successful than others.


The3 First Omen
The First Omen wasn’t very good, receiving an atrocious Cinemascore of a C, which may sound average but is actually a pure failure.
So, Disney eventually decided not to waste its time on this project, choosing to pick the fights it could win.


Photo: 20th Century Studios
Instead, the Planet of the Apes and Alien movies gained more of Disney’s marketing push. The results proved successful.
Overall, the three films grossed more than $800 million against combined budgets of $270 million.


Photo: 20th Century Fox
Generally, a film needs to earn at least 2.5 times its budget to be profitable.
Ergo, Disney’s three franchise revivals proved successful, with Alien: Romulus being the most profitable.


Photo: 20th Century Fox
Not coincidentally, Alien: Earth will debut on Hulu later this year.
Sequels for this title and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes are a strong possibility as well.
Joy Overcomes Anxiety


Image: Pixar
Still, these three performances fall in line with Disney’s 2023. The films earned money, but they required a bit of explanation.
A true blockbuster is one where people just know the film has done massive business. These titles are prevalent in the zeitgeist.


Photo: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
Disney’s problem from 2020-2023 was that it really only had a handful of those, and they were mainly titles.
Then, there was the one staggering achievement, Avatar: The Way of Water.
Fans remember billion-dollar blockbusters like that fondly and want to watch and rewatch them.
During the summer, Disney suddenly found itself with two such titles after what seemed like forever since the last one.


Image: Pixar
Avatar 2 had actually performed well into 2023, but the perception remained that Disney lacked recent blockbusters.
Everything changed with the release of Inside Out 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the well-liked Inside Out.


This Inside Out concept art features Shame standing next to Anxiety. Photo: Reddit
Disney and Pixar had high hopes for this project. Still, as recently as that week, Pixar executives sounded nervous.
One of them indicated that a bad performance could lead to a fundamental reevaluation of Pixar’s business model.


Photo: skillastics.com
That’s a delicate way of saying that heads would roll. Well, those heads are fine…and apparently have lots of Emotions in them.
Inside Out 2 excelled beyond anybody’s reasonable expectations, eventually earning $1.7 billion against a $200 million project.


Image: Pixar
I’ll always be a bit conflicted about this one, as Pixar had performed layoffs earlier in the year.
Had the company simply waited a few months, everyone’s job would have been. Inside Out 2 was that sort of rainmaker.


Image: Pixar
The Pixar title entered the top ten all-time in box office and is the top animated movie ever.
In a matter of days, fittingly, Pixar’s Anxiety was replaced with Joy.
The Deadpool Gamble


Photo: Marvel
With the benefit of hindsight, this statement sounds stupid, but Disney was understandably hesitant about making a Deadpool film.
Yes, the first two films had earned about $1.56 billion against modest production costs of $168 million. That’s a jaw-dropping profit.


Photo: Washington Post
The problem is that Deadpool swears and slays and sexes. This character seemingly lives to commit the Seven Deadly Sins each day.
There’s nothing Disney about Deadpool, or so it would seem. However, something funny happened along the way.


Image Credit: Cinemablend
During the pandemic, Disney delayed Free Guy multiple times, which should have frustrated its cast.
Actors loudly complained about the treatment of their movies throughout the pandemic.


Image Credit: ABC News
However, star Ryan Reynolds did the opposite. He was the ultimate team player, providing funny viral videos for each delay.
In the process, Reynolds built trust within Disney’s C-suite and earned a line of credit. He exchanged that credit for Deadpool 3.


Photo: People
Then, Reynolds persuaded his real-life buddy, Hugh Jackman, to return as Wolverine, and the rest is box office history.
After not having a billion-dollar movie in nearly five years, Disney’s MCU suddenly dominated the summer.
The film earned $1.34 billion against a cost of $200 million. So, it nearly made as much as the first two (wildly successful) films combined.
After starving for a hit for 18 months, Disney suddenly released two of the top 20 films of all time in a matter of six weeks.


Photo: IMDB
Hollywood’s funny like that. Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine have combined for more than $3 billion in box office.
But they are not Disney’s only two blockbusters of the year.
A Strong Ending
In February 2024, Disney suddenly announced that Moana 2 would debut in theaters in November.
Disney had previously produced the Moana follow-up as a Disney+ series.


MOANA 2 – © 2024 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The story proved so compelling that Disney gambled fans would watch it in theaters.
That gamble proved wise, as Moana 2 has become Disney’s third inarguable blockbuster of 2024.


Photo: Disney
Moana 2 started its theatrical campaign by shattering the Thanksgiving Week box office record.
The film beat a longstanding record by $100 million. Moana 2 accomplished this despite stiff competition from another hit, Wicked.

Disney
The two titles dominated late November and early December box office and both maintained momentum through the holiday season.
This sustained success has elevated Moana 2 to a position where it’s likely to become the third-best box office hit of 2024 this week.


Photo: Disney
Soon afterward, Moana 2 will cross the magical $1 billion barrier, giving Disney all three billion-dollar releases of 2024.
That statement alone exemplifies Disney’s triumphant comeback this year.
Never Doubt Disney


Photo: Disney
The final notable Disney title of the year is Mufasa: The Lion King, which critics prematurely judged.
Disney officials always recognized it was a stretch to create a sequel for such a popular character.



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Even worse, for all its box office accolades, the 2019 remake of The Lion King didn’t leave much of an impression on fans.
Too much had happened since then to make a prequel a safe bet.


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Disney took the risk by producing a $200 million prequel. But the idea appeared questionable in the weeks leading up to the film’s release.
Then, Mufasa: The Lion King suffered through a glacially slow opening weekend, earning only $122 million worldwide.


Photo: Wikimedia
Projections had called for a $200 million debut, which raised questions. Even worse, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 excelled.
So, Disney critics jumped on the fact that Sonic had beaten a Lion King film.


Photo: Disney
The story hadn’t reached its final chapter yet, though.
Despite everything we know about the character, Sonic slowed. He may have lost all his rings, too.


Photo: Disney
Once Christmas Week started, Mufasa fans showed up in droves. Overnight, the story changed.
Mufasa outperformed Sonic for the full week and has earned enough money that it has a clear path to profitability.


Photo: Disney
That’s Disney’s 2024 box office campaign in a nutshell. Even when Disney looks like it’s in trouble, it has found ways to win.
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