Disney is rolling out Taylor Swift and Moana as part of a campaign to revitalize its entertainment lineup.
The company said Wednesday it had reached a deal with Swift to stream her hit concert film “Eras Tour” for the first time. “The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)” will feature five additional performed songs, including fan favorite “Cardigan,” and will arrive exclusively on Disney+ on March 15.
The film “The Eras Tour” has sold more than $260 million in tickets in theaters around the world. In a statement, Robert A. Iger, CEO of Disney, called it “electrifying” and “a true phenomenon.”
Separately, Disney said it would release a sequel to “Moana” on the big screen in theaters on Nov. 27. The first “Moana” was released in 2016 and grossed $687 million against a production budget of approximately $150 million. But streaming is where the characters have really taken off. “Moana” was last year’s No. 1 streaming movie on any service, according to Nielsen, with 11.6 billion minutes of viewing. Nielsen said streaming customers have watched nearly 80 billion minutes of “Moana” over the past four years.
Auli’i Cravalho (Polynesian princess Moana) and Dwayne Johnson (tattooed demigod Maui) are expected to reprise their vocal roles in “Moana 2.” The sequel is a musical directed by Dave Derrick Jr., whose credits include “Raya and the Last Dragon” and “Encanto.” The plot of “Moana 2” involves an unexpected call from Moana’s ancestors, prompting her to travel “to the distant seas of Oceania and dangerous, long-lost waters.”
Disney struggled at the box office last year. His animated film “Wish,” the superhero sequel “The Marvels” and the ultra-expensive “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” were box office flops, raising concerns about the vitality of several Disney studios. Pixar’s “Elemental” had a disastrous debut, but ultimately managed to generate a decent $496 million worldwide.
The generally poor performance, in stark contrast to previous years when Disney released movie after movie that grossed $1 billion, has contributed to attacks on the company by activist investors. Trian Fund Management, for example, is waging a proxy battle for several board seats. Disney is trying to fight back against such attempts.
“Moana 2,” initially conceived as a Disney+ animated series, joins a theatrical lineup for the year that Walt Disney Studios believes will mark a dramatic shift. Other planned releases include “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” “Deadpool 3,” “Inside Out 2” and “Mufasa,” a spin-off of “The Lion King.”
