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Disney may see larger release windows for its upcoming animated films. This follows two underperformances in 2022 by Lightyear and Strange World.
Disney movies will now have to wait a bit longer to hit Disney+. Disney has a number of animated films coming up in 2023, including Elemental and Wish. These films are set for release on June 16 and November 22, respectively.
Disney releases plans to keep their big animated films in theaters for longer runs, according to THR. This decision comes as a part of broader plans by Disney to rework their financial priorities in both Marvel films and TV and their Pixar and other animated films. According to the report, Disney may extend the theatrical release windows for Elemental and Wish, compared to what films like Strange World and Lightyear got in 2022. The hope is that this will push families to the theaters instead of waiting for the films to hit Disney+, as they grew accustomed to during the pandemic.
These Plans Are Part of Disney’s Larger Strategy
Disney’s reshaping of its release strategy is almost certainly linked back to its poor theatrical performance in 2022. The Toy Story-spinoff Lightyear underperformed at the box office despite the hype, and Strange World was notoriously a huge box office flop for Disney. Strange World came out on Disney+ just one month after the film’s November 23, 2022 theatrical release, taking the pressure off theatrical viewing for those looking to see it. Pixar’s Turning Red went a step further, by going straight to Disney+ in 2022, not even giving the film the chance at a theatrical run.
The change of theatrical release windows arrives in conjunction with another major Disney announcement of late. Earlier this month, Disney announced not one, but three major sequels for the company: Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, and Zootopia 2. With these sequels, Disney will seek to expand on the multi-billion dollar franchises, as the predecessors (save Lightyear) to all three series have been immensely successful.
With all these announcements and changes throughout the company, Disney is surely hoping to majorly curb their revenue for the few years to come. While their Marvel branch works on the rollout of multiple major films each year, the studio is also clearly dedicated to its animated film. The success of this endeavor remains to be seen, as Elemental awaits a June 16 release date.
Source: THR
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