For those who missed last week, the first trailer for season 3 of The Mandalorian was aired. This season is highly anticipated for fans of the show who want to know…WHAT’S NEXT for Mando and Grogu.
It seems so hard to believe, but 2022 is now in the rearview mirror and the excitement and potential of 2023 are laid before our feet. I don’t know about you, but my 2023 definitely involves a lot of Disney! Trips to Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, or any other Disney theme park are always memorable, but they are expensive. However, there’s another way to get your Disney fix that’s much cheaper. That’s right, we are talking about Disney movies!
2023 is going to be a big year for Disney films. Let’s take a look at some of the most anticipated Disney movies of the year!
The Little Mermaid
Release Date: May 26
Disney’s new live-action remake of one of its most classic tales may be THE most anticipated Disney movie of the year. The Little Mermaid live-action film will stick heavily to the original animated movie, but there will be unique additions. In the new movie, Prince Eric will have more character development, and his mother will be introduced. Disney Legend Alan Menken and Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda will also write new music.
The Little Mermaid will star Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Awkwafina as Scuttle, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian.
Peter Pan & Wendy
Release Date: March 10 (Disney+)
What makes this Disney movie great is that you can watch the premiere from the comfort of your own couch!
It’s been a while since Disney has given us a fresh, new look at the boy who never wanted to grow up. But, come this March, we will no longer be able to say that. At this time, we don’t know much about the story that Disney will tell with Peter Pan & Wendy. However, it will most likely be close to the original story that most of us know and love. Select Guests who attended Disney’s D23 Expo this past September were given an exclusive trailer, which featured the Lost Boys, a look at Peter Pan, with a closeout on the villainous Captain Hook.
Peter Pan & Wendy will star Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Ever Anderson as Wendy, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, Jim Gaffigan as Smee, and Jude Law as Captain Hook.
The Haunted Mansion
Release Date: August 11
Okay, I’ll admit it. I am most excited to see this movie, not only because of the phenomenal casting, but also to see if Disney can come back from the 2003 disaster version that starred Eddie Murphy. This new live-action remake will take place in New Orleans, where the spirits definitely love to come out to socialize. The Haunted Mansion will tell the story of a single mom, Gabbie, who moves into the old Southern mansion with her son. As you may have guessed, the mansion is haunted and Gabbie hires a priest, a historian, a tour guide, and a psychic to help her expel the spirits.
The Haunted Mansion will star Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, Chase Dillon as Gabbie’s son, Owen Wilson as Kent the priest, Danny DeVito as the historian, Tiffany Haddish as Harriet, and LaKeith Stanfield as Ben Matthias. There will also be some classic attraction characters thrown into the mix — Jamie Lee Curtis will play Madame Leota, and Jared Leto will play the Hatbox Ghost.
Elemental
Release Date: June 16
Much like Inside Out, Elemental will take viewers on a journey they have not been on before. This movie will tell the story of a land where the elements — Earth, Air, Fire, and Water — live together. As with many places, those who are alike tend to stick together, and one element group doesn’t really interact with the other elements. However, fiery Ember and go-with-the-flow Wade will soon realize that they have more in common than they ever would have imagined.
At this time, we don’t have much to share on casting news. All Disney has shared is that Wade will be voiced by Mamoudou Athie as Wade and Leah Lewis as Ember.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Release Date: June 30
This will most likely be the last time we see legendary actor Harrison Ford don his iconic fedora and take on the role of famed archaeologist Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones. Dial of Destiny will see Indy and his goddaughter, Helena, go up against Nazis once again, but this time during the height of the space race. However, this time, the U.S. government has hired former Nazis to help them beat the Soviet Union into space, as well as be the first country to land on the moon.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will star Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena, Mads Mikkelsen as Jürgen Voller, Antonio Banderas as Renaldo, Toby Jones as Basil, and Johnathan Rhys-Davies as Sallah. Shia LaBoeuf will not return as Mutt Williams, but audiences will learn what happened to Indy’s son.
Wish
Release Date: November 22
This movie is the most recent announcement from Walt Disney Animation. Disney has not given us too many details on what story Wish will tell, but director Chris Buck has said that the film will be “Blending this beautiful, timeless watercolor style with 3D animation, ‘Wish’ has a look and feel all its own, unlike anything Disney Animation has created.” What we do know is that viewers will learn how the iconic wishing star came into existence.
As with Disney movies of the past, Wish will have a selfless hero, a ruthless villain, and a talking goat. Okay, so maybe it won’t be just like the Disney movies we have seen before. Not much casting information has been released, but we do know that Alan Tudyk will voice Valentino and Ariana DeBose will voice Asha.
Of course, if you are a Marvel fan, there will also be several movies released for you to love, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3, and The Marvels.
The Walt Disney Company has acquired a significant streaming company for $900M to boost its own streaming platform, Disney+.
Amid a series of changes across The Walt Disney Company, including different price increases for Disney Parks’ admission and experiences, fluctuating pricing for Disney’s Genie+ system, and most recently, the return of Disney’s CEO Robert Iger, the company has paid $900M to buy a significant streaming tech company to boost Disney+, the company’s streaming platform.
The Walt Disney Company reportedly paid $900M to Major League Baseball for the remaining 15% stake in BAMTech, a streaming video tech company that powers Disney+. This jaw-dropping financial movement comes just days before Disney+ is set to launch its ad-supported subscription tier and ahead of planned corporate restructuring under reinstated CEO Bob Iger.
MLB developed BAMTech as an in-house advanced media business before later spinning out as an independent company in 2015. The Walt Disney Company initially acquired a 33% stake in 2016 and then upped its position to 75% upon announcing its Disney+ plans in 2017, gaining majority ownership of BAMTech. The Walt Disney Company subsequently bought out a 10% stake from the National Hockey League and now has acquired the remaining 15%, formerly owned by MLB, to gain full ownership of the company.
Considering all the financial movements involved in BAMTech’s transition, The Walt Disney Company paid $3.48B to gain full ownership over the streaming tech company, per Forbes.
BAMTech, which was officially renamed “Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution” when Disney gained majority ownership of the company, states the following regarding the company:
Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED) brings together the Company’s best-in-class product, technology, and commercialization teams into one global organization. DMED is responsible for the P&L management and all distribution, network and engineering operations, sales, advertising, data, and certain key technology functions worldwide for the Company’s content engines. DMED also manages operations of the Company’s streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ Hotstar; and domestic broadcast and cable television networks.
As stated above, this recent acquisition comes in preparation for the launch of the ad-based subscription tier to Disney+, which will bring a series of changes to the platform, Hulu and ESPN+, Disney’s sister platforms. You can click here to read more about the changes coming to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
In an unexpected turn of events, Disney Channel is set to cease all its broadcasts, effective this month.
The Walt Disney Company is undoubtedly one of the most important entertainment companies worldwide. The multi-million-dollar corporation owns Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios, in addition to Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Studios, making it easy to see why The Walt Disney Company is one of the most influential creators of entertainment content, from movies to documentaries, series, tv shows, and animation. In fact, Disney+ was changed forever by fans just months ago.
While Disney+ is slowly becoming Disney’s most important content output, with dozens of new series, shorts, movies, specials, documentaries, and so much more being released every month, many of us grew up watching the Disney Channel on TV. With shows like The Proud Family (2001-2005), Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004), The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-2008), Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015), Hannah Montana (2006-2011), That’s So Raven (2003-2007), Even Stevens (2000-2003), Kim Possible (2002-2007), and so many more, Disney Channel was undoubtedly an essential part of millions of fans’ childhoods.
Unfortunately, it has recently been reported that Disney Channel will cease all broadcasts in Russia starting on December 14, 2022. Per the report, Disney Channel will be replaced by a new children’s channel called “Solntse,” which means “sun” in Russian. The reason for this cease of operations was not stated in the report. The cancellation of the Disney Channel comes as The Walt Disney Company revealed eye-watering news about Disney+.
Earlier this year, The Walt Disney Company halted all Russian releases, condemning the “unprovoked invasion” of Ukraine, which perhaps played a role in the development of this decision. This halt included content and product licensing, but it was reported that some channels would take time to pause their operations due to contractual nuances.
Disney Channel was first approved to broadcast in Russia in 2010 and aired Disney shows, animations, and films.
Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s streaming platform, is also currently unavailable in Russia, meaning Disney fans in this country will significantly struggle if they want to enjoy content released by the company.
It has been a rough time lately for Disney animation. In the past, Disney’s animated features were almost always a guaranteed success, from hits like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella to more modern tales like Frozen and Encanto. However, the animation studio has been struggling more and more; in the past year, most of its films have underperformed. These include films from Pixar as well, like Turning Red, Lightyear, and the live-action/animated film Pinocchio.
Unfortunately, Disney’s newest animated film, Strange World, is faring even worse than its recent predecessors. Strange World premiered in theaters on November 23, but tanked at the box office over Thanksgiving weekend.
Now, according to a new report from Variety, Strange World is projected to lose at least $100 million at the box office during a time when Disney films have typically performed well.
“Normally this time of year, a Disney family film is the big draw,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst. “It shows we’re still recovering and adapting to the constraints of the pandemic.”
Unless its business rebounds dramatically in the next few weeks (and that seems unlikely given the film’s moderate reviews, lackluster audience reception and minimal buzz), sources estimate that “Strange World” will lose at least $100 million in its theatrical run. Even with proper attention on Disney+ and home entertainment platforms, box office experts suggest it’ll be difficult to get the big-budget film into the black. Since “Strange World” cost $180 million to produce and tens of millions more in global marketing and distribution fees, the film needs to gross roughly $360 million to break even, sources say.
Not only has Strange World not performed well monetarily, but it also received the lowest audience scores a Disney movie has ever received from CinemaScore. Even Disney flops like Chicken Little and The Good Dinosaur received low As. Strange World, on the other hand, only gained a B audience score.
However, it’s always encouraged that fans watch a film regardless of ratings so that they can make their own judgment. Here’s more on Strange World.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ original action-packed adventure “Strange World” introduces a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. The voice cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal as Searcher Clade, a family man who finds himself out of his element on an unpredictable mission; Dennis Quaid as Searcher’s larger-than-life explorer father, Jaeger; Jaboukie Young-White as Searcher’s 16-year-old son, Ethan, who longs for adventure; Gabrielle Union as Meridian Clade, an accomplished pilot and Searcher’s partner in all things; and Lucy Liu as Callisto Mal, Avalonia’s fearless leader who spearheads the exploration into the strange world.
Even though it seems unlikely that Disney will break even with its new movie, there is still some hope for Strange World. That hope lies in Disney’s streaming platform, Disney+. Movie theaters are still struggling since the pandemic, and many people will wait for a movie to be available to stream. At this time, no Disney+ premiere date has been announced for Strange World.
Disney films have been averaging about 45 days in the theater before they head to Disney+, so it is possible Strange World will be streaming early in the new year.
