Disney films come in several forms based upon the business entity that created it. Obviously, Disney owns many franchises including Marvel, Lucasfilm, the Muppets, Pixar, etc. These are of course in addition to all of Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney animation studios, Touchstone, and other Disney companies. Each year seems a little different in what the film slate represents, but in general I believe Disney is at its strongest with a mix of the following.
Each year should encompass at least
- 1 Tentpole film. This is a large blockbuster film, typically made by Walt Disney Pictures. Budgets for this one should be at least $100,000,000 and should be released somewhere between May-July each year. Examples of these include Pirates of the Caribbean, Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful, etc.- 1 Walt Disney Animation studios film. These are the classic Disney cartoons today. The revenue is not always ideal, but the tradition continues and quality remains high. These are respectable films. Examples include Frozen, Wreck it Ralph, Tangled, Princess and the Frog, etc.
- 2 or 3 Small live action films. These are the economical movies that Eisner called the "Singles and doubles" strategy. These will not make lots of revenue, but they can be made for fairly cheap and they tell a compelling story that is family friendly. These are low risk, medium reward. Examples include Million Dollar Arm, Alexander the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, McFarland USA, etc.- 1 Lucasfilm movie per year. I am going to limit this to be Star Wars related. The current line up has a switching off between the Skywalker storyline versus anthology films. Disney has a large library of books it can draw from for its anthology films that there are a lot of options here, including character origin stories or side stories.
- 1-2 Pixar movies per year. Pixar is the ultra quality animated films that seek to entertain. These films come in two forms, original films and sequels. If Disney makes two films per year then one should always be original whereas the other can be a sequel. However, if only one film occurs per year then it should be original.
- 2-3 Marvel movies per year. Marvel movies are the best action movies of the year and should continue at a growing frenetic pace. The MCU can continue to grow and should be thought of in that way. There are still many smaller characters that Marvel can introduce and compelling comic storylines they can utilize. If Disney can negotiate with Fox and Sony, then Disney can utilize the restricted characters.
- 1 Live action remake. These are a more recent phenomenon and have included Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and Jungle Book. There are about 15 planned remakes currently. I applaud the drive to make these, they will bring in substantial revenue if done well, but these must be distinct and separate from the tentpole film as stated above.1- Disneynature film. These documentaries don't make a lot of money, but they can be made economically and play an important role in film.
Additional- I believe a Muppet movie could be supported every 3 years, Indiana Jones every 3 years,
Winnie the Pooh every 5 or so, etc. Thoughts?
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