Disney Announces Sequels Are in the Works for 3 Beloved Franchises
Disney is working on sequels for “Toy Story,” “Frozen” and “Zootopia,” three huge hits as the entertainment powerhouse attempts to find its footing under newly returned CEO Bob Iger.
The Walt Disney Co. is undergoing a “strategic transformation,” Iger said on Wednesday.
That includes 7,000 job cuts announced this week and a renewed focus on core brands and franchises.
Disney plans to cut 7,000 jobs.
I guess Disney found out the meaning of go woke go broke.
— Julio Gonzalez – juliogonzalez.com (@TaxReformExpert) February 9, 2023
Disney decided to go woke and ended up losing billions of dollars in profits and were forced to lay off 7,000 employees.
Go Woke. Go Broke.
— Michael Seifert (@realmichaelseif) February 9, 2023
Iger, who returned as CEO in November following a challenging two-year tenure by his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, announced the plans for the new movies during Disney’s first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Disney owns LucasFilm (and its “Star Wars” franchise), Marvel and Pixar. Its latest Marvel movie, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” opens on Feb. 17.
The Burbank, California, company said it wants to make sure that executives in charge of content creation have a prominent say in what movies, TV shows or other content to produce, as well as the marketing and distribution of those products.
“Toy Story” is a long-time movie franchise for Disney. The original film, which was the first computer-animated feature film and the debut feature release from Pixar Animation Studios, came out in 1995.
It received a Special Achievement Academy Award in 1996, as there was no Best-Animated Feature category at the time.
The most recent sequel, “Toy Story 4” released in 2019 and won two animated film Oscars in 2020, becoming the first franchise to accomplish that.
Predecessor “Toy Story 3” won the Best-Animated Feature Academy Award in 2011.
A prequel film, called “Lightyear,” was in theaters last year but box office receipts were disappointing.
The original “Frozen” film released in 2013 and won the Academy Award for best animated feature film in 2014. The sequel, “Frozen II,” was in theaters in 2019.
Disney made about $13 billion in worldwide box office in 2019, helped by a strong slate of movies that included “Toy Story 4,” “Frozen II,” “Avengers: Endgame” and others.
Unlike “Toy Story” and “Frozen,” “Zootopia” has yet to have a sequel. The original movie came out in 2016 and won an Academy Award for Best-Animated Feature in 2017.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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