Following A Minecraft Movie‘s smash success, Disney urgently wants to see pitches catering to a particularly overlooked audience group. The Jason Momoa-Jack Black movie concluded its theatrical run in July with over $955 million worldwide at the box office, making it a significant hit for Warner Bros.
A Minecraft Movie is the 10th highest-grossing movie of all time for the studio and the top-grossing movie released this year. The adaptation drew in many fans of the Minecraft game, consisting mainly of Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Analysis of the opening weekend has indicated a strong concentration among the 18-24 and 13-17 demographics.
Variety reported that leadership at Walt Disney Studios has been urgently searching for original IPs and ideas that will attract young men (aged 13-28) in light of the struggle of its strongest brands, Marvel and Star Wars, which have captivated the attention of men of all ages for over two decades. Specifically, the studio is reportedly looking for pitches for global adventures and treasure hunts.
What This Means For Disney’s Upcoming Movies
David Greenbaum, who replaced Sean Bailey in 2024 as the head of Disney’s live-action film business, is overseeing the task. The report also claims that movies to attract Gen Z men are part of an overall strategy across all labels. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown during their formative years, the group is heavily game-focused.
A few other movies in recent years have performed exceedingly well among Gen Z. Inside Out 2 resonated strongly with the group and grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. The Rise of Gru in 2022 started a popular #GentleMinions trend on TikTok, having attracted a large audience of teenagers and young adults.
Our Take On Disney’s New Content Strategy
The primary audience for the Marvel franchise, which has grossed over $34 billion to date, and the Star Wars franchise, which has earned over $10 billion, traditionally skews male. However, Star Wars hasn’t had a movie since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, while the MCU is losing audience film by film.
Venturing into original content and video game-focused projects (like A Minecraft Movie) to attract Gen Z viewers could be a valid strategy to secure the brand’s future. On the other hand, this also means Disney can no longer rely on a test-and-true format and may have to take more risks in the coming years.
