It’s no secret that the Walt Disney Company has been struggling regarding its profits and quality in recent years, resulting in the multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate fighting to return to its former glory — a feat the company has yet to accomplish. The higher-ups at Disney are undoubtedly terrified about what the future holds for them, which is why they are changing their plans. The company had an investors call in February 2024, which revealed a handful of significant announcements concerning Disney’s release strategy for the next couple of years.
Disney’s investors call also featured the company’s statistics, showing why they are evidently spooked about their recent performance and what it means for the future. Disney+ has been steadily losing subscribers despite the streaming service’s efforts to increase profits. It raised its prices in 2023, resulting in a loss of over one million subscribers in the year’s final quarter, per Variety. Additionally, several 2023 Disney movies (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion, Wish, The Marvels, etc.) bombed at the box office. Consequently, the conglomerate’s plans for 2024 and beyond reflect how desperate it is.
2023 Was Not A Great Year For Disney
To put it frankly — 2023 was one of the Walt Disney Company’s worst years in recent memory. 2022 ended on a high note with the $2.3 billion success that was Avatar: The Way of Water. But the mass media and entertainment conglomerate quickly fell hard from its temporary period of glory. Like many other companies, Disney struggled to turn significant profits in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Movie theaters began shutting down, and Disney’s solution was to release new titles on its streaming service. However, that strategy backfired.
Once theaters started opening back up and movies began returning to theatrical releases, many knew if they waited a few months, the films would be available to watch on Disney+. Box office numbers started decreasing, and for the first time since 2014, Disney didn’t produce a $1 billion movie in 2023. Then, the company began raising its Disney+ prices, resulting in many canceling their subscriptions because Disney didn’t provide enough of an incentive for them to pay $13.99 a month for the streaming service. As mentioned above, Disney+ lost 1.3 million subscribers in 2023’s last quarter alone.
Additionally, the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes (and Disney’s and other entertainment companies’ elongated refusal to meet the demands of writers and actors) didn’t help Disney. Numerous productions, like Deadpool 3, had to pause filming because of the strikes, resulting in Disney pushing back release dates, even for projects that had completed production before the strikes. All in all, 2023 was a horrific year for Disney.
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Disney’s Release Strategy For The Next Few Years Is Playing It Safe
Because 2023 was such a horrid year for the Walt Disney Company, the company’s plans for its upcoming titles reflect its desperate approach to revitalize the company. During the investors call, Disney revealed specific dates and generic release windows for future films, like Moana 2, Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, and Toy Story 5. As one could tell, many of the entertainment conglomerate’s upcoming movies have something in common — they are all sequels of animated films that previously performed well at the box office. Disney’s upcoming 2024 release slate looks very similar.
Film | Premiere Date |
|---|---|
The First Omen | April 5, 2024 |
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes | May 10, 2024 |
Young Woman and the Sea | May 31, 2024 |
Inside Out 2 | June 14, 2024 |
Deadpool 3 | July 26, 2024 |
Alien: Romulus | August 16, 2024 |
The Amateur | November 8, 2024 |
Moana 2 | November 27, 2024 |
Mufasa: The Lion King | December 20, 2024 |
All but two 2024 titles are sequels or belong to a franchise, proving that Disney is relying on its popular properties moving forward. Zootopia 2 premieres on November 26, 2025, and Toy Story 5, The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Frozen 3 debut in 2026. Disney’s other upcoming projects include Marvel movies (like Captain America: Brave New World, Avengers 5, etc.), more Star Wars and Avatar films, and live-action remakes of Disney animated classics. The company is undoubtedly leaning on sequels, franchises, and remakes to get them through the next few years.
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. – literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as Fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.
- Release Date
- June 14, 2024
- Director
- Kelsey Mann
- Cast
- Amy Poehler , Tony Hale , Maya Hawke , Liza Lapira , Lewis Black , Phyllis Smith , Diane Lane
- Writers
- Meg LeFauve
- Studio(s)
- Disney
- prequel(s)
- Inside Out
Disney’s New Teamup Shows They’re Worried About The Future Of Streaming
Of course, Disney has other avenues it is pursuing in its back pocket for the coming years. According to Yahoo Sports, the multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate is teaming up with Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to develop and launch a new sports streaming service. The platform will combine each company’s sports programming, including ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT, and make them available under one roof. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. have all been struggling in recent years, so they are joining forces and attempting to make a comeback.
The joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. proves that they are concerned about the longevity of streaming. Many consumers are growing tired of having to pay for multiple services, resulting in canceled subscriptions and entertainment companies coming together like Disney is doing with Fox and Warner Bros. Perhaps this is a sign of what the future of media looks like, and Disney is just one of the conglomerates pursuing this new avenue and hoping it will increase profits.
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How Disney Can Rebound From Its Disastrous 2023 & Set Itself Up For The Future
Given that 2023 was a new low for Disney, Bob Iger and other higher-ups had to pivot their strategy to ensure the next few years show signs of hope instead of more doom. Only time will tell if it will work, but the most promising corner of Disney is probably Marvel Studios. The Marvel Cinematic Universe used to churn out $1 billion movies easily, but that all changed following Avengers: Endgame. Instead of focusing on creating a new, thoughtful plotline that could weave throughout all the projects and culminate in one big movie, Marvel favored quantity over quality, and the poor results speak for themselves.
However, Disney recently revealed that Marvel is going back to the drawing board regarding its upcoming releases. The studio plans to reduce its number of movies and focus on franchises and sequels. Marvel’s new strategy is a good sign because it shows how the studio has finally realized that more isn’t better and that the time and effort put into each project will reflect itself in their performances, something that Disney should apply to all its properties.
