Walt Disney, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, may be looking at new titles to kick-start start its next century in the entertainment business. One of the company’s producers is pointing at Encanto as a possible new on-going franchise for the House of Mouse.
In a recent interview with The Direct, producer Yvett Merino teased that Disney is looking for ways to “expand across the company.” The producer hinted at the possibility that Encanto may be one of the next franchises for Disney. Though nothing is certain, it is interesting to see that the company is considering an expansion for the animated film.
“There’s different—we’re working closely with our friends in publishing and consumer products to make sure—there’s always different ideas and needs and wants for, for it to stay alive out there,” Merino said in an interview with The Direct. “But I don’t have anything official to say, but I love the ‘Encanto’ world and can’t wait to see it expand across the company.”
While Merino didn’t directly confirm a sequel or spin-off for Encanto, she did add that Disney plans to keep the world of Encanto alive. This could take shape in a number of other ways, including merchandise, park attractions or other products.
“I think we will continue to work on what that actually means,” Merino shared. “But we are so blown away by the reaction and how Encanto kind of connected with so many people. We continue to look at different ways that we can keep the world alive. I know they teased a little bit of destination D23 about something Encanto coming, possibly to one of the parks. And we love that…”
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Encanto was released in theaters in 2021. The animated film didn’t really find commercial success during its theatrical run, earning just $256 million against an estimated budget of $150 million. However, the film was lauded as a cultural phenomenon and was praised for its music, animation, voice acting, and overall depth.
The movie did find success when it was released on Disney+, topping Nielsen’s weekly streaming charts, and is estimated to have been the most-watched film of 2022 with over 27.4 billion minutes. Encanto is estimated to have been viewed from start to finish over 269 million times since its release on home media.
Encanto also won numerous accolades, including the Best Animated Feature at the 94th Academy Awards. The movie also won three Grammy Awards including Best Song for We Don’t Talk About Bruno. Against its box office gross, this would relatively put it into cult success territory, though we’re reluctant to call any Disney production “cult”.
It will be interesting to see what other films would be expanded by Disney into media franchises. Hopefully, we will get more animated feature films from the company as it has been Disney’s strong suit – and foundation. Disney is also working on live-action remakes for its franchises including Moana with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui.
