Disney hopes for box office rebound based on sequels, prequels and fairy dust

when disney CEO Bob Iger took to the podium at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday night and the crowd erupted. About 12,000 Disney fans stood and cheered, and the 73-year-old executive grinned as he tried to calm them down.

“I was going to say good evening and thank you for the warm welcome, but this was more than just a warm welcome,” Iger told those gathered at the biannual D23 expo for Disney’s first showcase.

It was the first expo event for Disney’s biggest fan in five years for Iger, who briefly stepped down as CEO for nearly two years before returning to the helm in November 2022.

His absence coincides with a downturn in Disney’s theater business, which like other studios has been affected by the pandemic shutdown and twin strikes in Hollywood. However, the company’s post-pandemic box office has also been hurt by executives’ decisions to ramp up content production to bolster its fledgling streaming service, Disney+. Iger himself has repeatedly admitted that Disney sacrificed quality for quantity, which was his goal to get back on track.

On Friday, he opened a three-hour presentation that exploded — sometimes literally, given Disney’s penchant for using pyrotechnics — detailing a slew of theatrical films, TV series and stage productions coming in the coming years.

As the company seeks to rebuild its reputation and recapture its box office mojo, it relies heavily on existing, beloved franchises. And when it does venture into new territory, it taps proven talent both in front of and behind the camera.

Entering the D23 era, Disney has achieved two major box office successes with two major film series.

Its latest Pixar film, “Inside Out,” is now the highest-grossing animated film of all time, with global box office sales exceeding $1.5 billion. Its first R-rated Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, “Deadpool and Wolverine,” broke the weekend opening record for an R-rated movie and is expected to break the $1 billion mark as early as this weekend.

To kick off Friday’s entertainment, Auli’i Cravajo and Dwayne Johnson performed songs from the upcoming “Moana 2” alongside Polynesian dancers and drummers. The much-anticipated sequel to 2016’s “Moana” will be released during the Thanksgiving holiday and is expected to become Disney’s third $1 billion movie in 2024, box office analysts say.

While the first film grossed just under $700 million worldwide, audience enthusiasm for more Moana content is expected to drive high box office numbers in November. After all, it’s the most-streamed movie of 2023.

Sequels and prequels are a Disney theme as well as a Hollywood theme. While Iger has warned investors in the past that the company will be more selective about which past stories it continues to explore, its entertainment showcase has added plenty of new content to the hit series.

This is especially evident in its two animation studios. Of the seven theatrical productions Disney promoted at Friday’s press conference, five are from existing franchises – “Moana 2,” “Toy Story 5,” “Zootopia 2,” “Frozen” 3″ and “The Incredibles 3”.

It’s no surprise that Disney is back on track with these movies. The “Toy Story” movies have grossed $3.2 billion at the global box office, the two “Frozen” movies have grossed more than $2.7 billion worldwide, and the two “Incredibles” movies have grossed $1.8 billion worldwide. “Zootopia” grossed $1 billion at the global box office during its 2016 release.

Fans got a peek at two Disney originals – Elio and Hoppers – which have two very different tones. One tells the story of a young boy who is mistaken for the leader of Earth and heads to outer space, while the other tells the story of a little girl who “jumps” into the body of a robotic beaver in order to go undercover in the animal world.

Of course, there’s some star power behind these titles. “Elio” is directed by Adrian Molina, who co-wrote 2017’s “Coco,” and will feature the voice of Zoe Saldana (“Avatar,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”) actor. “Hoppers” stars Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) and Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live”) as the voice actors.

It’s clear that Disney’s strategy across all studios is to give audiences a slate of familiar favorites along with a handful of new entrants.

Lucasfilm’s first feature-length Star Wars film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker” will be released in 2026 and will be titled “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” The film will tell the story of the beloved duo from The Mandalorian. Footage from Friday’s panel showed Mando and Grogu battling Stormtroopers and AT-ATs on an icy planet.

Lucasfilm is also preparing to release Andor Season 2, which takes place before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and follows reluctant hero Cassian Andor as he journeys through a world suffocated by the Galactic Empire .

Among these popular stories was “The Skeleton Crew,” which was billed as an adventure series similar to “The Goonies.” The show stars Jude Law and four children who accidentally launch themselves into space and become lost among the stars.

There are two more Star Wars feature films on the calendar – dated for December 2026 and December 2027 – but it’s unclear who will direct either film or what storylines Disney will revolve around. Since the release of “A New Hope” in 1977, “Star Wars” remains one of the highest-grossing film franchises worldwide, grossing more than $10 billion.

Disney’s other sequels set to hit the big screen in the next few years include the third Avatar movie, Avatar: Fire and Ashes, the Freaky Friday sequel Freaky Friday and the third Tron movie, Tron: Fire and Ashes. Ash”. The live-action remake of “Snow White” will be released in March, and the live-action “Lilo and Stitch” movie will be released later in 2025.

Marvel Studios is undergoing a shakeup. The studio is balancing stories centered around existing characters while experimenting with introducing new heroes and villains.

Marvel’s follow-up after Avengers: Endgame was always going to be difficult, but few could have foreseen the beloved studio’s dramatic fall from grace. After Thanos failed, Disney released 10 TV series (some with multiple seasons) and a dozen theatrical movies. To an audience that once embraced all things Marvel, the plethora of content felt like homework, and to make matters worse, much of what was released wasn’t well-received.

The low point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe came with 2023’s “Marvel,” which had the lowest domestic opening in the franchise’s history ($46.1 million) and the lowest global box office (less than $200 million).

Going forward, it appears the studio will limit the number of series it produces for Disney+ and focus on the big screen. A few weeks ago, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige wowed audiences at San Diego Comic-Con by unveiling the new title and announcing that Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., would be returning as Doctor Doom. Shared by D23 crowd.

In addition to Captain America: Brave New World, Days of Thunder, Fantastic Four: The First Step, Blade, Avengers: Endgame (formerly known as Avengers: Endgame) and The Avengers “Alliance: Secret Wars,” Marvel will bring three TV series to Disney+ over the next few years.

“Agatha Always” will premiere in September and will center on Agatha Harkness, the villain from 2021’s “WandaVision” as she searches to regain her power along with a group of other witches. Kathryn Hahn reprises her role as the eponymous Agatha, alongside a cast that includes Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone.

Ironheart will be released alongside the Daredevil Rebirth reboot in 2025, starring Riri Williams, who appeared in 2022’s Black Panther: Waganda Forever. It’s worth noting that the entire main cast of the Daredevil show stars in Netflix’s Daredevil show.

D23 audiences cheered the news of Marvel’s shortlist, showing that interest in the superhero genre has not waned. That enthusiasm, combined with the studio’s new strategy, could get the Marvel Cinematic Universe back on track.

Of course, given the recent performance of Deadpool and Wolverine , Ryan Reynolds might want to get some credit. In a pre-recorded clip shown on Friday, Reynolds thanked Disney and Marvel for letting the film be teased in the studio.

“This is my way of showing love,” he said. “And, of course, Save the Studio.”

Since the first MCU movie was released in 2008, the series has grossed more than $30 billion at the box office. The MCU is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time and one of the most consistent drivers of box office revenue in film history.

“Nothing pleases us more than making you happy, exciting you, surprising you, filling your heart with joy and wonder,” Iger said Friday. “We know that when we do that, we Doing our job right.”