Source: Disney.
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS 1.89%) has made some incredible advances with its movie production in the past couple of years, with major hits in animated films, Marvel movies, and others that have helped to drive substantial income increases for the already successful company.
Pixar, part of Disney's movie powerhouse since Disney acquired the small animation company in 2006, put out one movie every year from the huge hit Cars in 2006 (grossing $244 million) to the even more lucrative Monsters University in 2013 (grossing $269 million). Unfortunately for loyal fans like me, there were no Pixar movies released in 2014. Now in 2015, Pixar is going to release two movies to make up for it. Pixar fans, myself included, are looking forward to watching the films. For those of us who are also shareholders, this 2015 Pixar line-up is one more reason 2015 looks like a great year to be invested in Disney.
Disney's 2015 movie lineup
In its most recent quarterly earnings, CEO Bob Iger said Disney is going to be releasing more major films than ever before, planning for at least 21 movies in the next three years. Disney has since released its full expected schedule of new movies in 2015, 12 in total.
- Strange Magic (Lucasfilm) -- Jan. 23
- McFarland, USA -- Feb. 20
- Cinderella -- March 13
- Monkey Kingdom -- April 17
- Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron -- May 1
- Tomorrowland -- May 22
- Inside Out -- June 19
- Marvel's Ant-Man -- July 17
- The Jungle Book -- Oct. 9
- Untitled Steven Spielberg movie (Cold War-era thriller, with DreamWorks) -- Oct. 16
- The Good Dinosaur -- Nov. 25
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Lucasfilm) -- Dec. 18
Some of the most exciting parts of this film schedule include more films from the Marvel franchise, and the first Star Wars film following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.
Source: Disney.
The two Pixar films fans are awaiting
The first Pixar movie of the year, Inside Out, is the story of Riley, a young girl, and her emotions, as if each emotion is a separate character. Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black) navigate Riley's daily adolescent problems, like school, boys, and parents. The movie takes place in Riley's brain, and when a memory function mix-up causes Joy to get lost in the metropolis of Riley's mind, the film becomes an adventure to get back to the emotion command center and get Riley back to normal.
Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com
* estimates made using average box office revenue for all Pixar movies, doubled for 2 movies coming out this year
Add it all up, and 2015 looks amazing
Pixar looks set to have a great year with these two movie releases. Even having zero Pixar movies in 2014, Disney's studio entertainment segment and company as a whole saw pretty amazing growth, helping to spur on share-price growth of around 70% since the release of the last Pixar movie in June 2013. The exciting movies Disney has coming out this year, such as those in the Avengers and Star Wars universes, along with two Pixar movies this year, together add up to plenty of reason to continue to be bullish on Disney in 2015.
