By Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway
ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) -Walt Disney, which reclaimed the top of the summer box office with Pixar animation’s “Inside Out 2” and Marvel’s raunchy “Deadpool & Wolverine,” opened its D23 fan convention Friday with a live performance from the anticipated animated film “Moana 2.”
Dwayne Johnson, a featured star who was joined by Auli’i Cravahlo and Hawaiian dancers, told the 12,000 attendees that in reprising his role as Maui, he would once again be singing, “in keys that don’t exist.”
The film reaches theaters on Nov. 27.
Director James Cameron took the stage, along with “Avatar” stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington, to show off art from the next sequel, and announce its title, “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Pixar’s chief creative officer, Pete Docter, announced a new “Inside Out” series based on main character Riley’s dreams, “Dream Productions,” that takes place between the first two movies and will premiere in 2025.
Docter also announced a new installment of one of Pixar’s biggest titles “The Incredibles,” which is centered on a quirky superhero family and is getting a third film that will be directed by Brad Bird.
Disney said a slate of recorded live-Broadway musicals that will be arriving on Disney+, including the hit movie “Frozen.” “We’re really happy to announce that the hit musical (Frozen), which was filmed on stage, will premiere on Disney plus in 2025,” said Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation’s chief creative officer.
Lee said the company is also developing a Broadway musical based on the film “The Greatest Showman.”
D23 shared an early look at the upcoming Disney+ series “Skeleton Crew,” which is a coming of age science fiction “Star Wars” series created by Jon Watts and Christopher Ford.
Director Jon Favreau offered an early look at “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a big-screen adaptation of the Disney+ series due out in 2026.
The company touted the strength of its movies during an investor call this week, marking a return to form after losing its place as the highest-grossing Hollywood studio in 2023.
“It’s never too late to have that big Hollywood comeback,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “And they’ve certainly had that.”
“Inside Out 2” is the highest grossing animated film of all time, with a global box office tally of $1.6 billion, surpassing the record set by Disney’s “Frozen II.” A month later, “Deadpool & Wolverine” had the best domestic opening for an R-rated film and has brought in more than $850 million in global ticket sales.
“There is of course variability in the film business,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft in a note to investors. “But if Disney has found its box office magic once again, additional growth may be ahead, as a strong theatrical slate continues.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger extolled the film studio’s theatrical lineup over the next two years, which includes the animated sequel “Moana 2,” a live-action version of “Disney’s Snow White,” a rebooting of the Marvel superhero franchise “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and James Cameron’s third “Avatar” movie.
“When you think about not only the potential of those in the box office, but the potential of those to drive global streaming value, there’s a reason to be bullish about where we’re headed,” Iger said on the investor call.
The release of “Inside Out 2” helped generate more than 100 million views of the original film on Disney+, the company said.
Investors and fans are hoping for more details on Friday about future plans for the Marvel superhero studio. The company had to choose a new villain for future films after actor Jonathan Majors was convicted of assaulting and harassing a former girlfriend. It also was forced to delay some titles because of strikes by Hollywood writers and actors last year.
At last month’s Comic-Con pop culture convention, Disney revealed that “Iron Man” actor Robert Downey Jr. will play the “Fantastic Four” villain, Doctor Doom.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Danielle Broadway in Anaheim, Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Josie Kao, Miral Fahmy and Shri Navaratnam and)
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