Disney in 2024 seems to provide very clear lessons for any film production house, their long year is something that could not go un-noticed or at the very least unappreciated by both critics and cinema lovers alike. A string of commercially viable successes showcases not just that audiences crave established narratives but that new adaptations, continuations or reboots ( if made well) all provide some guarantee for the modern cinema. What seems clear through a basic surface value approach is that familiarity remains king but beneath all that exists many other moving parts that made Disney into such important part of a very modern cultural sphere and it’s always a productive endeavor to understand the root aspects of its most successful and less-than-perfect components and, therefore, this will be a critical breakdown over why and how they succeeded so well. Today we’ll examine what all this recent Disney domination might mean for their, and even other competing studio formats from the lens of analyzing their successful 2024 box-office, and how it was mostly tied to many sequels.
The Reign of Sequels: Analyzing Disney's 2024 Box Office Performance
Disney's 2024 has demonstrated a reliance on established IPs with a very high financial returns and if one tries to pin point a reason it simply lies on what worked and what did not; for example: “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and "Moana 2", all follow well-known narratives which guarantee a large audience draw from very early stages in planning and marketing. There's a sense of expectation, from many groups within society about wanting more ( and of the same) even when production and artistic values may vastly differ greatly to prior iterations those properties come attached with previously build-up cultural importance; they also tend to make most studios feel they need far less complex original ideas so their budgets seem to rely more in ‘recognition and branding’ over ‘new production elements’. In essence; familiarity sells well and in recent times very often does better for them ( as this year proves).
All those key releases showcase not only monetary gains and high box-office revenue, they tend to further enforce the concept that sequels are safe bets as 'originality can often come with unpredictable financial losses’. “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" ,and to some degree, "Alien: Romulus”, even as those can be qualified as ‘less successful than others within the studio's 2024 output” they nonetheless offer more than satisfactory financial numbers making the choice for sequels something far easier, almost always. As most productions seem unable or unwilling to make as much of an impact without relying on the same existing properties that created prior success.
But beneath the large-scale financial win for those particular IPs we also recognize several more important aspects that deserve more attention. Firstly Disney's creative process of using sequels allowed it to recapture a loyal audience often left somewhat disappointed during 2023 cycles which ( if taken under consideration by other productions) means this approach can allow a brand to regain confidence after years with mostly minor underperforming studio released content. And what’s also unique to recognize that most of their high performing products were animated ones, also a clear change from most live-action trends which tends to show an important aspect regarding long run audience expectation or trends and those ‘choices of viewing’ appear rather than fully randomized, a key point that might alter how production studios approach all forms of media in the upcoming years.
Beyond the Numbers: Analyzing Key Themes and Cultural Impact
Looking through all that ‘surface' financial gains ( which do remain quite spectacular this time around) there's one underlying fact that must come up as crucial points regarding all 2024 production: nostalgia and familiarity work remarkably well in large scale as sequels provided more than just monetary success, but have become main pillars to explore previously made narratives and re-engage existing viewers from earlier productions. If “Inside Out 2” managed to put a very specific type of story arc into center focus from very human centered problems ( regarding maturation, psychological concepts about emotional control over time ), “Deadpool & Wolverine” offered an entirely different appeal to different type of audience ( pushing for more R-Rated type films to a normally younger demographic ) those results suggest studios might need to shift marketing into targeting various specific and distinct demographic markets instead of all being too generic.
With “Moana 2” and "Mufasa's" ( that did very well internationally) positive results Disney tapped onto animated musical power to both retain older customers as well as capture a younger newer base for an extended format production line and while "Mufasa” has started out somewhat slower domestically, what is apparent by now with the results, it has proven another winning format which can only add further confidence. The biggest achievement here isn't simply box-office numbers ( albeit impressive) but that their production choices tapped into different viewing communities and markets; different tastes all under the umbrella brand, Disney.
This also pushes studios to now think about long term product building ( such as prequels or future direct continuations with sequels ) when approaching projects which will greatly impact movie industry and many decisions being undertaken over upcoming story production ideas which has always existed before now gets much greater financial value now to those making such choices; with their 'success formulas' that proved that audiences will ( often blindly ) invest time to revisit previously set narrative elements and this formula has shown results above most original titles in the current year with most production houses and companies not managing even similar performance results.
Critiquing the Formula: Are Sequels the Only Way Forward?
But that’s not to imply all areas for productions are set, or that the focus can ONLY be placed upon sequels as also many potential flaws were clearly presented during production and post production results. Whilst they did achieve incredibly higher revenues many studio movies outside the top main properties underperformed heavily and despite all that wealth creation, and success stories these are not indicators that sequels alone must be taken as standard by other studio houses.
The under performance from many properties does show a very direct message over risk taking and the concept of 'mid range budgets’ that in some degree the ‘new streaming media giants’ ( and older long standing corporations) need to fully understand as big financial swings can come even when properties seem quite secure or reliable as well, this means financial decisions, need more than nostalgia alone ( which was mostly absent during 2023 cycles where that element didn't create revenue ); new approaches for budget and marketing with far better audience connection is perhaps needed so that companies might no longer focus on a smaller range of established hits or franchises but also invest and allow creativity to explore newer horizons . There needs to be a greater value in the long term by taking the ‘hard to do’ rather than always going the most predictable easy paths forward which seem set now on existing IP formulas and not necessarily in what ‘creative’ potential an original storyline may or may not deliver ( for all kinds of projects: low, medium and high productions).
Conclusion: A Year of Reassurance, but Caution Is Needed
In conclusion, Disney's 2024 performance reveals a strong reliance on sequels that paid off handsomely while showing how it reconnected back with its viewers but even with all those high markers of commercial and audience appeal and success there is now, a far greater value being discussed regarding quality vs profitability that smaller and mid range studios ( as well as independent content creators) should also reflect upon .
It’s also an ongoing process and while sequels provided a seemingly safe pathway for success, in this period it is also the perfect moment for companies to evaluate ( and fully understand ) all variables and not fall too much in love or into overconfidence; a smart move now should push for more creative experimentation, and less reliance on solely using pre-existing IPs which only adds a greater chance to capture an even wider and diverse viewership while creating new markets at the same time rather than being constantly limited to a select few franchises at any given moment during every production and viewing cycle; as we can clearly see this year with those examples all over media releases from different sources. Sequels remain popular but studios still have many unexplored avenues still wide open to be explored.