Disney aims for box-office heights in 2019
WITH grosses topping US$ 5 billion for the last three years, Disney has reaffi rmed its status as one of Hollywood’s leaders. The Mickey Mouse studio scored a major hit in 2018 with “Avengers: Infi nity War,” and 2019 could prove even more fruitful. In fact, with a new “Star Wars” episode, upcoming Marvel movies, plus remakes of “Dumbo,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” in the works, Disney could be on course to smash boxoffice records.
At 95 years young, the Walt Disney Company is in rude health. Faced with the proliferation of new streaming platforms, Disney has had no choice but to reinvent itself to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Indeed, 2019 looks like a pivotal year for the fi rm, which, with a host of projects in the pipeline, appears to have all the right ingredients to outstrip its competitors once again.
Comeback classics
Disney will kick off 2019 a little early, from Dec 19, with the return of the legendary nanny, Mary Poppins, this time played by Emily Blunt. And “Mary Poppins Returns” is just the fi rst movie in a long list of presentday reinterpretations of the studio’s classics.
After “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Jungle Book” and “Alice in Wonderland,” 2019 will bring updated versions of “Dumbo” ( Mar 29), directed by Tim Burton, “Aladdin” ( May 24), starring Will Smith as the Genie and directed by Guy Ritchie, and “The Lion King” (July 19), directed by Jon Favreau and featuring the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Girl power
Superheroes — the studio’s current bread- and-butter characters — will also be back in 2019, starting with the “Avengers,” who cleaned up in 2018, grossing more than US$ 2 billion at the box- office. The fourth “Avengers” movie, “Endgame,” again helmed by the Russo brothers, is out Apr 26.
Before that, moviegoers and Marvel fans will be introduced to a new female superhero called “Captain Marvel” ( Mar 8), played by the Oscar-winning Brie Larson. Jude Law and Samuel L. Jackson also star in this new adventure, which could be Disney’s answer to Warner’s “Wonder Woman.”
Another movie-world heavyweight will return Dec 20 with a ninth, as-yet-untitled episode of “Star Wars.” After the immense success of “The Force Awakens” ( US$ 2 billion at the box- office), J. J. Abrams is back in the director’s chair for the follow-up to episode VIII, “The Last Jedi,” which proved less successful than its predecessor, grossing US$ 1.3 billion worldwide.
‘Frozen’, part two
For younger viewers — or the young at heart — June 21 sees Woody and Buzz Lightyear return for an eagerly awaited fourth “Toy Story” adventure. But moviegoers will have to wait until Nov 22 to catch “Frozen 2,” the sequel to the highest-grossing animated fi lm of all time ( US$ 1.2 billion, 2013).
In the meantime, “Artemis Fowl” lands Aug 9, based on the books of the Irish writer Eoin Colfer, and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Disney is also due to launch its Disney+ streaming platform in 2019, seemingly landing towards the end of the year.