Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty aren’t the only ones looking for a prince.
Leadership at Walt Disney Studios has been pressing Hollywood creatives in recent months, multiple sources tell Variety, for movies that will bring young men back to the brand in a meaningful way. “Young men” is defined here by sources as ages 13-28, aka Gen Z.
First, duh. Every film studio is looking for better ways to convert young audiences into habitual moviegoers. Numerous studies show that Gen Z men in particular are a lonely, gaming-obsessed group who were hampered in their formative years by COVID-19 lockdowns — not the easiest segment to grasp. But what’s surprising producers, writers and other partners in the larger industry is that Disney has been calling for original concepts to lure the demo back to the movies.
This is the same Disney whose multibillion-dollar content engines, Marvel and Lucasfilm, have sated men of all ages over almost two decades since the company acquired them. The sources say Disney has been seeking new IP and pitches such as splashy global adventures and treasure hunts, as well as seasonal fare like films for the Halloween corridor. The calls come as the Star Wars machine struggles to produce any film project and the superhero genre sheds audiences by the minute.
While two insiders say the mandate to recruit young males goes as high as the C-suite, the task primarily has fallen on David Greenbaum, the former Searchlight Pictures co-head brought on in 2024 to run Disney’s live-action film business. That label has been sorely lacking in guy-leaning fare, like the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, for nearly 10 years. (Studio insiders say the property is in active development, though not in its last reported iteration involving Margot Robbie). To say nothing of the lackluster attempt to reboot and hand off “Indiana Jones” in 2023, which earned $383 million worldwide on a $300 million budget before marketing costs. A Disney source says that movies for Gen Z men are part of an overall strategy across all labels, but no more urgent than any other quadrant.
Greenbaum recently hired Daria Cercek, the savvy former Paramount Pictures co-chief, to assist in this effort. Greenbaum is beloved by talent but has largely existed in the prestige indie sphere, while Cercek shepherded films from franchises like “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “A Quiet Place” and “Smile.” Some think the push for this demographic is simply Greenbaum trying to put his stamp on live action. Yet numerous power players who spoke with Variety see something ominous in the tea leaves.
When the execution is correct, Disney’s sweet spot at the movies has been millennials. That generation rabidly consumed classic vault titles like “The Lion King,” “101 Dalmatians” and “Lilo & Stitch” as kids. Now, they bring their children in droves to see live-action reboots. (This year’s billion-dollar grosser “Lilo & Stitch” over-indexed with men and boys, Disney previously said.) Gen Z is a different story.
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Built-in interest is not nearly as guaranteed for such an audience, which propelled Warner Bros.’ “A Minecraft Movie” to nearly a billion-dollar haul. That was a game Gen Z played as very small kids. Not to mention the euphoric viral moments it created for young men filming key moments inside multiplexes and sharing them on platforms like Tik- Tok. (See also Universal Pictures’ “Gentleminions” trend in 2022, when Gen Z bros packed theaters in suits and ties for “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”)
As it stands, Disney is in line with Sony Pictures and Paramount in its market share for Gen Z (10% of ticket buyers in 2024). That’s two points above Universal and two points below Warners. But Disney is not leaving the job of courting Gen Z entirely up to the film group. Concurrent to Greenbaum’s hire, the corporation bought a $1.5 billion equity stake in gaming juggernaut “Fortnite,” which will incorporate Disney’s iconic stable of characters. Two sources say Disney does not, however, enjoy movie rights to “Fortnite” itself, which would seem a no-brainer in luring Gen Z to theaters.
Yes, Disney was the un-refuted king of the box office last year. It will win again this year, with two films potentially crossing the $1 billion mark (“Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Zootopia 2”). Four movies from four Disney labels have grossed more than $1 billion in the past 16 months (no other studio has had one in that time frame). So it’s staggering to rival studios and dealmakers that Disney is looking to blaze new trails after years of being the envy of the town, having counted for so long on sure things from the worlds of Iron Man and the Jedi.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed as much on a quarterly earnings call this month, saying his film group won’t favor existing IP over original material. The priority, Iger said, “is to put out great movies.”
Walt Disney Studios declined to provide comment for this story.
Much has been written about the narrowing audience for superhero movies. The performance of Marvel’s latest release, “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” which aimed to launch yet another superhero franchise led by Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby, failed to meet expectations. That’s despite good reviews, a promising opening weekend and the full attention of Marvel czar Kevin Feige. “Star Wars” has not produced a film in seven years (a big-screen adaptation of Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” is coming next year).
One top film executive at a Disney rival says every studio should be looking for originals, as sequels and reboots continue to exhaust the culture — even if they’re packing in moviegoers in the short term.
“I never thought I’d say it,” the exec muses about the Magic Kingdom’s boy troubles despite its gem box of iconic IP, “but it looks like Disney is going to have to start trying.”
From Variety US