10 Recent Movies That Reignited A Dying Franchise
3. Moana 2
In recent years, Disney Animation has found itself in something of a similar rut to that of Disney Pixar. Multiple releases have fallen under expectations both critically and commercially, really since Frozen 2 in 2019.
Again, the pandemic naturally hit hard, and in fairness Encanto did take over the world particularly with 'We Don't Talk About Bruno', but the likes of Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, and Wish were more forgettable than anything.
The same cannot be said about Moana 2. The film that was originally devised as a mini-series for Disney+ has crossed $1 billion globally, eclipsing the total of the previous four releases combined by almost $300 million (more than any of them grossed by themselves). Playing off the popularity of the first movie, the idea of connecting the world together struck a chord with audiences worldwide, who turned out to see it.
If there was any question as to why Disney keeps coming back to sequels and remakes over new, original stories, the answer lies here, and it's no surprise to see the studio doubling down on the sequel strategy with Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, and Ice Age 6 on the horizon.