After the difficult news he had to deliver about layoffs and losses, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced several big news items for fans during the company’s earnings call for the year-end 2022 quarter on Wednesday, Feb. 8. For animated film lovers, Iger announced that two new sequels to massive franchises — “Toy Story” and “Frozen” — were in development. A sequel to animated comedy “Zootopia” was also announced.
The “Toy Story” franchise consists of four theatrical chapters and one spin-off: 2022’s “Lightyear.” Although the latter film underperformed, “Toy Story 3” and “Toy Story 4” both made more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Meanwhile, the first “Frozen” movie debuted in 2013 and was a smash hit, and the sequel “Frozen II” made more than $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office in 2019. Beyond the films, the franchise also spun off into a Disney on Ice show, a Broadway musical, numerous short films, television specials and books.
Iger also announced that Pandora is coming to the West Coast via an “Avatar“ sxperience that will be coming to Disneyland in Anaheim.
Currently, Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando features “Pandora — The World of Avatar,” an area dedicated to James Cameron’s creations that features two rides: “Avatar Flight of Passage” and “Na’vi River Journey.”
On Feb. 5, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the second “Avatar” film, overtook “Titanic” to become the third biggest international movies in box office history. Cameron is planning to release three more films in the “Avatar” saga over the coming years.