Disney is preparing for a major box office revival, and CEO Bob Iger wants audiences to be ready. “Get your popcorn ready,” Iger said during a Wednesday morning call with media analysts, as he outlined the studio’s jam-packed theatrical release slate.
Disney: Bob Iger On The Next 18 Months
“I have a lot of confidence in our upcoming slate,” Iger said, before diving into a long list of the films he believes will define Disney’s next chapter on the big screen.
Among the most anticipated is the live-action adaptation of “Lilo & Stitch”, which Iger has already seen multiple times. “I can endorse it wholeheartedly,” he said, adding that audience interest is surging: “Tracking is enormous.” Early projections support that claim, with sources citing a potential $120 million domestic debut over four days—making it one of the most impressive openings for Disney’s live-action reimaginings. Estimates from the National Research Group place its range between $110 million and $130 million.
Other Upcoming Disney Films
But “Lilo & Stitch” is just the beginning.
Iger also gave shout-outs to Pixar’s “Elio” (coming in June), Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (set for July), and several 2025 heavy-hitters: “Tron: Ares”, “Zootopia 2”, and James Cameron’s “Avatar 3: Fire and Ash”. “That’s quite a lineup,” Iger said, before teasing even more for the year after.
Disney’s 2026 Lineup
The 2026 schedule, he noted, includes a new Avengers installment, a Mandalorian film, another Toy Story, and a live-action “Moana”. “It’s as strong as any slate that I’ve seen in a long time,” Iger said, comparing it to Disney’s landmark year in 2019—a year when the company released six billion-dollar films, including Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King. “2019 I think was our best year—the strongest I’ve seen since then.”
Disney’s Banner 2019
In 2019, Disney delivered one of the most dominant box office performances in cinematic history, releasing six billion-dollar films including “Avengers: Endgame”, “The Lion King”, “Frozen 2”, and “Toy Story 4”, and capturing nearly 40% of the U.S. market share. That unprecedented success helped define Bob Iger’s legacy as CEO and set a benchmark for what a studio slate could achieve. Now, as Iger returns to the helm, he’s setting his sights on 2025 as a potential echo of that golden year.
Iger, who returned to lead Disney after a brief exit, also addressed recent shifts in creative strategy, particularly around Marvel. He acknowledged the studio had overextended itself trying to feed the streaming machine. “We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” he said.
“But we’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much,” Iger continued. “By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality. And I think the first and best example is Thunderbolts. I feel very good about that.”
As Disney recalibrates its strategy and doubles down on theatrical excellence, Iger seems confident that the magic is far from over. After all, as he made clear: “That’s quite a lineup.” Disney’s upcoming slate represents more than just a collection of blockbusters—it’s a major theatrical moment aimed at reigniting long-term audience engagement with moviegoing itself. And we are here for it!
