Disney’s success in 2024 has been monumental when it comes to animated films, and I can’t help but feel like they may finally revisit one of their best films after a decade has already pᴀssed by. Disney has always had a presence in the animation space. Evidently, that is where they started, and while the initial growth was slow and steady, recent decades have seen the company advance from being a notable presence, to pretty much dominating the market.
With entire franchises like the MCU, Star Wars, and plenty of other IPs under their belt, there are plenty of projects to keep the Disney cash flowing. But 2024 in particular saw their animated features racking up some impressive figures. And with both of the biggest hits, it was a sequel to a property that Disney launched years earlier.
Disney’s Animated Movies Had A Great 2024
Earning More Than $2.5 Billion Combined
Moana 2 earned just shy of a billion dollars (via Box Office Mojo), and Inside Out 2 earned a whopping $1.7 billion (via Box Office Mojo). But what’s interesting about both of these releases is the fact that the original movies earned between half and two thirds of the total figure that the sequels managed to pull in. And, on top of that, both of the original movies were released nearly 10 years earlier, which helps to highlight the fact that these IPs have grown in popularity since they were released.
|
Movie тιтle |
Box Office Total (Box Office Mojo) |
|---|---|
|
Moana (2016) |
$643,332,476 |
|
Moana 2 (2024) |
$992,125,307 |
|
Inside Out (2015) |
$859,976,254 |
|
Inside Out 2 (2024) |
$1,698,863,816 |
Applying the same logic to other Disney animated films, especially with the Disney+ platform making these earlier releases so accessible, it makes sense why Disney is retreading their greatest hits in order to attract more loyal fans. It also helps because the people who watched the original films likely shared the pᴀssion for these stories with younger viewers when the sequel is released, which means Disney ultimately has more people returning, and new fans growing up with these franchises.
Big Hero 6 Really Deserves A Sequel (Still)
It’s Been More Than A Decade Since Big Hero 6 Came Out
But if Disney could just put some of their live-action remakes to one side for a moment, there is one movie that’s just pᴀssed the 10-year anniversary that I would love to see revisited by the studio, Big Hero 6. In 2014, this inspiring and emotional film delivered one of the most captivating and exciting stories in Disney animation, and it came on the heels of their acquisition of Marvel. Owning the rights to the Marvel Comics properties, Disney looked to some lesser known тιтles to work on outside the MCU, and thus, Big Hero 6 was born.
The film is based on Marvel Comics and follows a Japanese team of heroes, and thanks to some Disney magic, the animated style was the perfect way to take this beautiful story of loss and bravery, and make it accessible to everyone. And interestingly enough, Big Hero 6 managed to pull in a little more than Moana at the box office two years earlier (via Box Office Mojo), which means that when taking inflation into account, it actually exceeded Moana’s box office by tens of millions of dollars.
Disney’s 2024 Animation Success Proves A Big Hero 6 Sequel Could Succeed
2024 Proved What Disney Is Capable Of Doing With Animated Sequels
I understand that nothing is a guarantee, but looking at Disney’s track record for this past year, and seeing how well movies of about the same age, and in a similar bracket of earnings have done with sequels, I can’t help but think it makes sense to bring Big Hero 6 back for another round. But there is one slight issue that could cause the film to have slightly different results to Moana and Inside Out: Big Hero 6 actually already has a sort of sequel. In 2017, an animated TV series that expanded on the events of the movie was released.
Since then, the series was expanded to three seasons, and as great as that may be, it doesn’t beat getting a movie on the big screen. For characters like Baymax and Hiro Hamada, it’s worth doing the film big, because the visuals are absolutely stunning, and if 2024 proved anything, it’s that Disney can make good money from their animated theatrical sequels. Of course, it also requires the former cast and crew to return, but ᴀssuming Disney can meet their conditions, there is no reason why a Big Hero 6 sequel shouldn’t get made and expand on the incredible world that was introduced in 2014.
