- During its biennial fan event, D23, Disney announced a variety of upcoming film projects.
- Several projects include prequels and sequels to established intellectual properties such as “Toy Story 5” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
- The company is revisiting beloved franchises after some recent films, like “Wish,” didn’t perform as expected at the box office.
In light of a series of theatrical disappointments, Disney aims to regain its magic by leaning into its cherished franchises.
This weekend, enthusiastic crowds filled the Honda Center in Anaheim, California for D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience. This biannual convention has evolved into a must-attend celebration for fans passionate about Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, 20th Century Studios and the broader Disney universe.
On Friday, CEO
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The landscape has shifted significantly since then.
For many years, Disney maintained its position as a leading entertainment giant known for delivering hit films consistently—“Frozen” amassed $1.3 billion globally upon release in 2013; its sequel even surpassed that with $1.4 billion. Additional powerhouses like “Avatar” collectively earned over $5 billion across just two films while Marvel’s last chapter of “Avengers” raked in $2.7 billion worldwide.
However, following Iger’s retirement in 2021 came an observable decline at the box office for Walt Disney Studios.
Pockets of success emerged with films such as “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which pulled over $845 million worldwide; yet other titles like “The Marvels” and “Wish” underperformed drastically with earnings that fell short—$206 million and $254 million respectively.
This downward trend prompted shifts within leadership when executives enticed Iger back from retirement to navigate company strategy starting in late 2022.
Iger candidly acknowledged during a recent earnings call that setbacks caused by COVID-19 hampered their ambitious project agenda moving forward:"And I’ve always believed there’s risk associated with focusing too much on quantity over quality… We lost sight of our direction," he articulated clearly.
Iger then proposed rediscovering past successes by returning to prequels and sequels for upcoming productions.
"I’m genuinely hopeful about our upcoming slate—it will blend highly anticipated follow-ups alongside original stories,” he noted confidently.