Walt Disney Animation Studios Resurgence Era?

[CelestialFairyIX]

With the release of Zootopia, something has made me perk up a little bit; how long can Disney sustain this box office fire streak or as others have labeled it: Disney's Resurgence Era?  After Walt Disney's unfortunate death, Walt Disney Animation Studios went through an arduous era in which a lack of creativity and drive resulted in the brink of extinction only to be brought back by Oliver and Company/The Little Mermaid.  Anyone familiar with Disney's history knows that after Oliver and Company/The Little Mermaid, animation classics began to be churned out by the Disney factory which not only resulted in gargantuan box office successes but also critical acclaim.  This era of Disney's life would be known as the Renaissance Era and was a pinnacle point in Disney's career as an animation studio house.  As with Oliver and Company/The Little Mermaid, Bolt/The Princess and the Frog (debatable) brought a reignited interest in Disney and their products.  Soon enough, Disney began to haul out animation success after success and reached fever pitch with the phenomenon known as Frozen which not only became at one point, the fifth highest grossing film of all time unadjusted but obtained the crown as the highest grossing animated film of all time unadjusted.  Frozen was followed by Big Hero 6 which amassed over $220 million at the U.S. box office and over $650 million worldwide!  Disney released their 55th animated feature; Zootopia which opened to unanimous praise and gargantuan box office success: will become only the 10th animated feature to cross the $300 million domestic mark, became the highest grossing animated film in China and currently stands at No. 10 on the all-time charts, and could become the 4th animated feature to cross the $1 billion mark.  So, my question is, how long will Disney sustain their box office success?  Will their future releases become modest hits without any significant impact on Disney's brand, will they become box office successes, or will they become the calm before the storm?  Will Moana, Frozen 2, or Gigantic prove to be misfires?  Beginning in 2008, with the release of Bolt, Disney began their comeback into the animation world.  How long will it last?  

 

Disney Resurgence Era:

 

- Bolt, 2008, $309 million WW

- The Princess and the Frog, 2009, $267 million WW

- Tangled, 2010, $591 million WW

- Winnie the Pooh, 2011, $44.7 million WW

- Wreck-It Ralph, 2012, $471 million WW

- Frozen, 2013, $1.274 billion WW

- Big Hero 6, 2014, $657 million WW

- Zootopia, 2016, $800 million - 1 billion WW

 

~ Approx. $4.4 billion WW w/ an average gross of $550 million WW per film and 89.5% (positive) average critical reception

 

Upcoming Projects:

 

- Moana (2016)

- Frozen 2 (N/A)

- Gigantic (2018)

- Wreck-It Ralph 2 (N/A)  

 

Oscars: 

 

- 12 nominations (3 short nominations) 

- 5 wins 

Edited April 4, 2016 by CelestialFairyIX

[Arlo245]

I'm surprised no one has replied to this thread!  It seems very interesting!  Anyways with the huge success of Zootopia (could gross $1 billion WW) and likely success of Moana ($600 million is likely IMO. Break-out $900m to $1.1 billion possible), the studio seems to be continuing its resurgence or second rennaissanse era. Furthermore, Gigantic and Frozen 2 have great potential to be big. The 2010s decade will be big for WDAS in terms of of box office (aside from Winnie the Pooh sadly ). 

[lolifofo]

I agree with Arlo. We already know Zootopia is a huge hit, and upcoming movies like Moana, Gigantic, and Frozen 2 are sure to be hits as well. Disney has finally mastered the transition from 2D to 3D in addition to the creation of solid both fairytale AND non-fairytale films. As long as they keep producing creative, top-notch quality movies, I can see this revival lasting a very long time.

[CelestialFairyIX]

I read an interesting comment about the Resurgence Era beginning with Frozen...  

 

Anyways, I agree with the statement about the Resurgence Era lasting for quite some time due to the amount of creative and exceptionally talented and understanding writers, producers, directors, etc... now being apart of Disney's team.  Personally speaking, the idea of sequels always irk and cast a shadow of a doubt upon me as for the majority of sequels, their quality is degraded from the original.  However, I have faith in Lee and the producers of Wreck-it Ralph 2 and Frozen 2.  

 

~ Moana, $700 million to $1 billion WW

~ Gigantic, $600+ million WW

~ Frozen 2, $1+ billion WW 

~ Wreck-it Ralph 2, $650+ million WW