Back in 1994, Disney took the brave decision of bringing The Jungle Book back into the mainstream with a live-action remake. After this, we saw 101 Dalmatians and then 102 Dalmatians, but everything suddenly went quiet.
Nearly a decade later, Alice in Wonderland was brought to life. However, it was Maleficent and Cinderella that really started the trend we’re enjoying now. Since 2014, a total of nine live-action remakes have hit the big screen including Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Christopher Robin, and The Jungle Book for a second time. In 2019, it’s Aladdin and The Lion King making all the headlines.
Success for Aladdin
Just this week, Aladdin surpassed the $1 billion mark and became the fifth Disney live-action remake to do so. Although audiences were skeptical at first, it seems the success has come down to repeat business and word of mouth. The performance of the popular film has raised question marks over the scoring of some critic websites too. For example, Rotten Tomatoes only gave the film 56%; yet, reaching $1 billion in box office revenues is quite some achievement.
Spider-Man Excels Beyond Aquaman
After following in Aladdin’s footsteps and passing the $1 billion mark, Far from Home is now the second in the list of successful movies for Sony. With a budget of $160 million, it sits behind only Skyfall in terms of global success.
If we consider only the US, it has brought in $334 million which means that it has grossed more than both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man 3 from 2007. Elsewhere, its prolonged glory has pushed the movie past Aquaman too.
Toy Story 4 Continues to Shine
When the fourth instalment of Toy Story was announced, it quickly captured the imagination of a wide audience. Considering the first film was released in the 1990s, those who were children at the time now have children of their own and this has culminated in a real familial and throwback atmosphere around the movie.
Domestically, Toy Story4 has pulled in nearly $400 million. For industry experts, the fact that both this movie and Aladdin are still enjoying success so far down the line has been impressive. According to some, it signals the continuation of a new trend where fewer movies are breaking through, but those who do are seeing bigger box offices than normal.
Talking of trends, we should also mention that all three of the movies discussed here are either franchises or remakes. Was it ever really in doubt that the much-loved Spider-Man and Toy Story stories would be successful? Was it really a risk that Aladdin would cover production costs and enjoy some level of attention?
Just in case we needed any more evidence of this “assured success” theory, we can still look forward to the following in 2019!
- Frozen 2
- It: Chapter 2
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- Wonder Woman: 1984
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Joker
- Zombieland: Double Tap
- Jumanji 3
Which of these are you looking forward to most?
