Disney has green-lit sequels to Frozen, Toy Story, andZootopia.
The announcement was made by CEO Bob Iger during the company’s Q1 earnings call on Wednesday. “Today I’m so pleased to announce that we have sequels in the works from our animation studios to some of our most popular franchises, Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia,” Iger said, as reported by Deadline. “We’ll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we’re leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises.”
The decision to move forward with Frozen, Toy Story, and Zootopia sequels comes as the box office performances of Disney’s animated films have been underwhelming since the height of the pandemic. Strange World earned just $73.6 million worldwide, while Lightyear didn’t quite reach infinity and beyond in terms of ticket sales with a disappointing $226 million. Even though Encanto won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars last year, its global sum of $256 million still fell well short of its predecessors.
The most recent installments of these returning animated movie franchises—Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, and Zootopia—each eclipsed the $1 billion mark at the box office. Disney is clearly looking to wring out every last bit of these three properties.
According to CNN Business, Iger also revealed that Disney plans on slashing 7,000 jobs in an effort to shave off $5.5 billion in costs. The cut represents 3 percent of the company’s workforce. He also informed shareholders that the board will be asked to reinstate dividend payments, which were suspended during the pandemic, by the end of the calendar year.
