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Reflecting positive streaming trends at other media conglomerates, Disney leadership said in a Q4 and full year earnings call that the direct to consumer business saw profitability improve at the end of fiscal 2024 as subscribers and the company’s overall financial metrics exceeded expectations.

The company’s streaming business showed improved profitability of $321m compared to a $387m loss a year ago, and revenues climbed 15% to $5.8bn.

Disney+ Core subscribers, excluding Disney+ Hotstar in India, increased by 4% and 4.4million over last quarter to reach 122.7m, of which 66.7m come from international markets and 56m from North America. Disney+ Core subscribers...

Just a year ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger was in the midst of an ongoing apology tour for the studio after string of tepid box office returns. At a conference last November, he acknowledged that things had a taken a downturn and promised, as he had been doing regularly, that Disney will be stressing quality over quantity after The Marvels, the latest Indiana Jones and a handful of other films disappointed.

“I’ve been very public about it saying, and I would say right now, my number one priority is to help the studio turn around creatively,” he said.

Now he has something to crow about.

The company’s fiscal fourth quarter that ended in September was one of the best ever in the studio’s history. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 and Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine became the top films of the year so far, setting box office records.

In 2016, Jared Bush was part of the production team for two major releases from Walt Disney Animation: Zootopia and Moana.

With the first, Bush was co-director and co-writer of the animated film set in a city of animals, following a sly fox and a rookie bunny cop who must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

With the second, one of the biggest successes of the Modern Era of the century-old studio, he was the screenwriter for this musical story that continues to break streaming records to this day, following a young girl on a mission to save her people.

In Moana: A Sea of Adventures, we follow Moana’s journey as she meets the powerful demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the ocean on an incredible and deeply musical adventure.

Years later, Bush took on the direction and screenplay for Encanto,...

D23 Brazil started with Disney presenting (either announcing the release date or showing a trailer) ‘Ice Age 6,’ ‘Tron: Ares,’ ‘Moana 2,’ ‘Zootopia 2,’ ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ and ‘Snow White.’

We knew that ‘Snow White’ is scheduled to be released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on March 21, 2025, and that Rachel Zegler will play Snow White while Gal Gadot will take on the Evil Queen role.

But Disney went one step further at the D23 Brazil presentation and gave the lucky few a first look at the movie. Here are a few posts showing the newly released trailer (I’ve included a few links in case some of them get taken down):

Veja o trailer completo do live action ‘Branca De Neve’ da Disney, estrelado por Rachel Zegler e Gal Gadot, com roteiro de Erin Cressilda e Greta Gerwig.

O filme chega aos cinemas em 20 março de 2025. pic.

Thousands of fans brought enthusiasm and support to Arena D23 by Bradesco/Visa at D23 Brazil – A Disney Experience as Disney Live Action, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed new details, shared exclusive footage and new trailers, and surprised the crowd with special appearances from global talent and local voices.

The D23 fan event, taking place through Nov. 10 at The Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil, features extensive programming with diverse panels and presentations, offerings on the show floor, and the D23 Brazil Store Mercado Libre.

Hosted by Otaviano Costa and Carol Moreira, the event welcomed studio leaders, including Jared Bush, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer, and Jonas Rivera, executive vice president of film production at Pixar, plus Mufasa: The Lion King director Barry Jenkins.

D23 Brazil fans were delighted with the announcement that Ice Age 6 is officially in production. Manny, Diego, Ellie, Sid, Scrat,...

Colombian superstar Shakira is returning to the animal world of “Zootopia” next year.

The news was announced on Friday at the D23 Brazil expo during Pixar’s panel. Shakira filmed a surprise video for fans and revealed that she will be back as the singing character Gazelle in next year’s sequel “Zootopia 2.”

“I’m here to announce some big news. Are you ready? Gazelle is returning to ‘Zootopia 2,'” she said in the video, which included footage from the first “Zootopia” of Gazelle performing with her tiger backup dancers. “That’s right. Gazelle is back and she’s got a new look, a new song and, of course, new dance moves. Just wait until you see what she and her tiger dancers have been working on. I know you’re going to love it. That’s all I can share for now, but I look forward to...

Three-time Grammy and 14-time Latin Grammy winner Shakira is coming back as the voice of Gazelle in Disney’s Zootopia 2. The news was just announced at D23 Brazil.

Shakira also sang one of the 2016’s movie’s signature tunes, “Try Everything,” which went triple platinum.

The Colombian singer said in a video: “I’m here to announce some big news. Are you ready? Gazelle is returning to Zootopia 2. That’s right. Gazelle is back and she’s got a new look, a new song and, of course, new dance moves. Just wait until you see what she and her tiger dancers have been working on. I know you’re going to love it. That’s all I can share for now, but I look forward to seeing you all on my tour next year and I’ll see you at the movies next November.”

Zootopia 2 is hitting...

Disney launched its first D23 Brazil down in South America today, bringing its long-running blend of fan expo and massive rolling press conference to a brand new market. Disney is savvy enough to know they've got to bring at least a few tidbits of news to these things to keep fans/press engaged,...

Headgum, the premier comedy podcast network behind shows such as Doughboys, The Lamorning After, Gayotic with Muna, Seek Treatment with Cat & Pat, and Newcomers with Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer, announces that Handsome, the hit podcast from comedians Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin has joined its expanding podcast network, right as the podcast has achieved 20 million listens in just over one year.

Ad sales for Handsome are managed through Gumball, the Headgum-owned marketplace for advertisers to buy host-read ads directly from podcasters. The team will also start to record video episodes from Headgum’s LA flagship studio semi-regularly in the coming months. This new acquisition comes on the heels of Headgum signing Emmy winner Lamorne Morris’ podcast The Lamorning After to the network in October 2024 for distribution, ad sales through Gumball, and video production.

Every episode of Handsome features real-life friends Notaro, Feimster, and Martin attempting to answer a...

Fortune Feimster is back with another Netflix special, “Crushing It,” set to debut on the streamer on Dec. 3.

In the stand-up special, which follows her 2020 hour “Sweet & Salty” and 2022’s “Good Fortune,” Feimster “shares hilarious stories from her life, including her ‘romantic’ honeymoon with her wife and her reflections on no longer being her mom’s surrogate husband,” per Netflix. The special will be packed with Feimster’s take on navigating “relationships, personal growth and the hilarities of everyday life.”

“Fortune Feimster: Crushing It” is directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa, who has helmed specials from Michael Che, Taylor Tomlinson and Phoebe Robinson. He executive produces alongside Feimster, Jax Smith, Judi Marmel, Adam Ginivisian and John Bravakis.

Feimster came up as a writer and panelist on E’s “Chelsea Lately” before appearing in series such as “The Mindy Project,” “Champions” and “Kenan.” She has also landed guest roles on “Claws,” “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens...

In the future, everyone will get their own “John Wick”-esque action comedy. The next person to get one is Ke Huy Quan, and the movie is “Love Hurts,” in which Quan plays a former hitman who comes out of retirement for one last mission. On Tuesday, Universal released a trailer for the film, which opens in theaters early next year. It features Quan’s impressive stunt work scored by the ironically easy-listening tones of Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.”

In his first lead role since winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his career-restoring performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Quan stars as Marvin Gable, a mild-mannered real estate agent with a secret past as an assassin that he’s trying to put behind him. Marvin is forced out of hiding when his former partner, Rose (Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose...

The film industry has seen remarkable growth in 2024, with several movies breaking box office records and achieving incredible profitability. This year has been particularly noteworthy for sequels and franchise films that have captivated audiences worldwide, leading to record-breaking box office performances. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the ten most profitable movies of 2024, examining their financial success and what contributed to their popularity.

From animated adventures to superhero epics, the diversity of films this year highlights the evolving tastes of moviegoers. Let’s dive into the details of these cinematic triumphs, showcasing not only their impressive box office numbers but also the creative minds and narratives behind them. These rankings are based on stats from Box Office Mojo.

1. Inside Out 2

A still from Inside Out 2 | Walt Disney Pictures

Inside Out 2, the long-awaited sequel to Pixar’s beloved 2015 film, has emerged as the highest-grossing film of...

Expect the summer of 2025 to be a big one, with Disney announcing two huge live-action projects are coming that year!

Disney movies have been having their share of problems in the last year. There have been too many high-profile duds like Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Wish. Even the MCU has faltered with The Marvels an outright bomb amid behind-the-scenes turmoil.

It’s not helped by the 2023 Hollywood strikes halting productions, and Disney has been forced to rearrange its slate. However, the success of Inside Out 2 has restored confidence in the company. They’ll be keeping that up with Moana 2 coming out at Thanksgiving and Mufasa for Christmas.

Disney had already rearranged their slate as Snow White, intended for this fall, will now premiere on March 21, 2025. Meanwhile, Pixar’s Elio, which was supposed to come this past June, was pushed an entire year to June 13.

Now,...

Disney has added two high-profile titles to its Summer 2025 slate. The live-action “Lilo & Stitch” movie will arrive in theaters on May 23, while the comedy sequel “Freakier Friday” will open on Aug. 8.

Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, “Lilo & Stitch” is a live-action adaptation of the 2002 animated film of the same name, with Stitch rendered using CGI. Chris Sanders, who co-directed and voiced Stitch in the animated film, returns to voice the character this time around with a cast that includes Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere and Courtney B. Vance.

“Freakier Friday” is the sequel to the 2003 comedy remake “Freaky Friday,” which starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as a mother-daughter duo who swapped bodies. The new film is directed by Nisha Ganatra and brings back Mark Harmon and Chad Michael Murray from the original, with Julia Butters (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) as Lohan’s daughter.

It is that time of the year when we once again find ourselves on the precipice of another year of new film releases. This is when we look forward eagerly to the films scheduled for release in the coming year. There is probably likely something coming out at some point during the year that should be of interest to everyone (at least that’s what most studios are hoping). As always, there will be the usual sequels and big blockbusters set as tent-pole releases, as well as a plethora of additional titles in multiple genres to choose from. We hope you find this list of the upcoming films of 2025 and their release dates useful and that it helps you plan what you’re going to look forward to throughout the years.

The list below gathers all of the titles we know that are coming in 2025 by their current release date.

The third installment in the top-earning “Paw Patrol” film series has added Jennifer Hudson and comedian Fortune Feimster to the force.

Oscar winner Hudson and Feimster will lend their voices in addition to Mckenna Grace, who returns in the lead role of Skye. The franchise is produced by Spin Master Entertainment in association with Nickelodeon Movies. Paramount Pictures released the first two with combined worldwide box office grosses of over $345 million.

“Jennifer and Fortune are both exceptional talents, each bringing with them a global audience of devoted fans. Their addition to the ‘Paw Patrol 3’ cast, along with the return of Mckenna, whose work in the film’s predecessor was instrumental to its success… will undoubtedly make this film a puptastic adventure for preschoolers and their families around the world,” said Jennifer Dodge, Spin Master Entertainment president.

Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation, said the cast’s “energy and creativity are infectious,...

Jennifer Lee, the co-director of the original “Frozen,” has stepped down as Disney Animation’s chief creative officer after six years and will exclusively return to filmmaking to direct the next two “Frozen” sequels. Lee will be succeeded in the role by filmmaker Jared Bush, co-writer and co-director of “Encanto” and the Oscar-winning “Zootopia,” and co-writer of “Moana,” Disney announced on Thursday.

Lee is currently writing and directing “Frozen 3,” which is set for release on November 24, 2027, and is also writing “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith (“Frozen 2” animator). He currently serves as co-writer of “Moana 2” (November 27) and writer and director of “Zootopia 2”. He’s also writing the live-action “Moana” movie.

Bush will report to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, while Oscar-winning producer Clark Spencer continues as president, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“Jared Bush is an incredible filmmaker and a talented executive who’s been a prominent creative force...

Director-writer Jared Bush is replacing Jennifer Lee as chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios as Lee returns to filmmaking full time at the company and stewards the Frozen franchise, Disney announced Thursday. Bush will report to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, effective immediately.

Lee, who had been in the top gig for six years, will direct and write Frozen 3. She’s also set to write and executive produce Frozen 4.

Her departure as Cco isn’t a complete surprise. During her tenure, the storied animation studio suffered major misses, including 2022’s Strange World and last year’s Wish. But she wasn’t without her wins: Encanto won an Oscar and was a major commercial success after finding its groove. And the company’s upcoming slate includes the highly anticipated sequel Moana 2, out in theaters Nov. 27.

Both Bush and Lee are responsible for billion-dollar films for the studio (Bush with Zootopia,...

As Disney readies the sequels to its uber-grossing $1.75 billion Frozen franchise, Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee is segueing from her position to direct and write Frozen 3 and executive produce Frozen 4 with Marc Smith. Effective immediately, Oscar-winning Encanto filmmaker Jared Bush has been named Cco of Walt Disney Animation Studios, reporting to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman.

Lee has served as Cco for the division since 2018. Thirty-year Disney veteran and Oscar-winning producer Clark Spencer continues as President, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“Jared Bush is an incredible filmmaker and a talented executive who’s been a prominent creative force at Disney Animation for the past decade, and I am thrilled that he’ll be taking the reins of this storied studio,” Bergman said. “I also want to thank Jennifer Lee for her passionate leadership of the studio over the past several years – she’s made an indelible...

Disney Animation chief creative officer and Oscar winner Jennifer Lee is reshifting her focus back to filmmaking, stepping out of her role as the studio’s Cco to focus fully on writing and directing “Frozen 3” and “Frozen 4.” Jared Bush, who won an Academy Award for “Encanto” and is one of the writers and executive producers for “Moana 2,” has been named the studio’s Cco.

Lee is writing and directing “Frozen 3” and writing (and exec producing) “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith — the sequels to Disney Animation’s 2013 “Snow Queen”-inspired cultural hit “Frozen,” for which she served as writer/director. The movie made $1.3 billion worldwide and earned two Oscars, for best animated feature and for earworm song “Let It Go.”

Longtime Disney creative Bush won an Oscar for 2021’s “Encanto,” for which he was a writer and director. Earlier, Bush was an executive producer of “Raya and the Last Dragon,...

Walt Disney Animation Studios leadership is getting redrawn.

Jennifer Lee, the company’s chief creative officer and the director of “Frozen” and “Frozen II,” is stepping down and returning to filmmaking full time. Taking her place effectively immediately is Jared Bush, who is currently writing and directing “Zootopia 2” for the studio. He is reporting to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman

As Cco, Bush will oversee the creative output of the animation studio, including its films, series and associated projects. On “Zootopia 2,” TheWrap can exclusively reveal that Byron Howard is also directing the sequel alongside Bush — they both serve as full directors on the film.

Lee will be directing and writing on “Frozen 3” and writing “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith. She will also serve as executive producer on “Frozen 4.”

Clark Spencer continues as President, Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“I am so grateful to Bob and Alan for supporting my...

After moving “Wicked — Part 1” from Thanksgiving weekend to the weekend prior this November, Universal is doing the same for “Wicked — Part 2,” moving the release five days up to Nov. 21, 2025.

In doing so, Universal is giving Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the “Wizard of Oz” Broadway musical some small but much needed distance from two Disney sequels set for Thanksgiving releases: “Moana 2” in 2024 and “Zootopia 2” in 2025.

This November, “Wicked — Part One” will be released against Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” a film that will be primarily driven by male audiences, especially older ones. “Wicked,” led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will look to win widespread word of mouth from female audiences and families, two demographics that will be heavily courted by “Moana 2.”

Should critical and audience reception be strong, “Wicked” could use the pre-Thanksgiving weekend to build up strong momentum into the holiday corridor, giving theaters multiple...

Universal Pictures has tinkered with the Thanksgiving 2025 release date for Wicked: Part Two.

The second of the Wicked movies, based on the wildly popular Broadway musical, will move from Nov. 26, 2025 to Nov. 21, 2025, a Friday. That gives more time for word of mouth for the film to build and also distances the Universal tentpole from Disney’s Zootopia 2 as it’s set to hit theaters on Nov. 26, 2025.

Moving the sequel up by five days also follows Universal shifting the release date for Wicked Part Two from Dec. 25, 2025 to Nov. 26, 2025, a Wednesday. Universal and the filmmakers had also moved up Wicked: Part One from Dec. 25, 2024 to Nov. 27, 2024 in a bid for the film franchise to become a Thanksgiving tradition for cinema-goers.

The Wicked movies, based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, are adapted for the screen by the stage production’s book writer Winnie Holzman and by Academy Award winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

Universal Pictures’s Wicked: Part Two is going a few days earlier on Nov. 21, 2025 instead of the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, 2025.

The move is similar to what Universal did this year, getting Wicked: Part One off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving which has Disney’s Moana 2.

Wicked: Part One is now going Nov. 22, the same day as Paramount’s Gladiator 2. Exhibition, and the industry’s hope, is that some sort of Barbenheimer box office halo will take place again with both men and women passionately storming to see both films. That would be quite the movie-date night with men dressed up as gladiators, and women in pink fairy dresses and pointy hat witch get-up.

In the case of Wicked: Part Two, it was dated on the same day as Disney’s Zootopia 2.

The Jon M. Chu-directed feature take of the hit Broadway musical, which is also produced by Marc Platt,...

“Wicked 2” has changed its release date, bumping up five days to open Nov. 21, 2025.

The sequel was previously slated for Nov. 26, 2025, which would have put it up against Disney’s “Zootopia 2.”

In July, the first “Wicked” underwent a very similar schedule change, moving from Nov. 27 to Nov. 22 (after an initially planned Christmas opening). That shift put the movie musical ahead of Disney’s “Moana 2,” but “Wicked” now shares a release date with “Gladiator II.”

Universal’s two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in the film as Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good), who form an unlikely friendship that is torn apart by external forces. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University headmaster Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq and Bowen Yang as Pfannee.

The movies are directed by Jon M. Chu,...

Content is king! And even in 2024, when VFX and large-scale productions are thriving, this statement still holds, and the overpowering box-office success of Inside Out 2 proves it. The movie has catapulted itself into the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time and surpassed some giant titles.

A still featuring the characters from Inside Out 2 | Walt Disney Pictures

It is refreshing to see that audiences worldwide are connecting with a movie with such emotional themes. In an era where only large-scale action and adventure movies were thriving, Inside Out 2 has accomplished something extraordinary, and it might just complete another big feat.

Inside Out 2 Surpasses The Avengers and The Lion King A still featuring the characters from Inside Out 2 | Walt Disney Pictures

The original Inside Out was loved by the audience, but no one predicted that Inside Out 2 would reach such great heights and leap over two...

Similar to Marvel Studios, it's been a tough few years for Pixar. The studio's movies were sent straight to Disney+ during the pandemic and a couple of box office flops have tarnished the brand to a point where they're now in the process of rebuilding their reputation.

In a new Bloomberg report (via Toonado.com), more is revealed about how the studio is finally pivoting away from streaming to focus its efforts on theatrical titles. However, we're still getting at least one more TV show: Dream Productions is "set in the Inside Out universe of Riley's dreams" and expected to premiere in 2025.

The hope is that Inside Out 2 will be a hit and it won't be the last sequel we see from Pixar in the coming years. According to the report, "every hit of yesterday is being considered for a reboot, with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles regarded as...