Why are being weird about Wicked and Beetlejuice? I'm not even talking about quality, though I know which I'd rather watch. I never brought that up. I was talking about Beetlejuice being something people grew up with and like.
My point is nostalgia sells, especially in our current environment. The #1 reason BJ 2 and Wicked made money, is because of their history. These aren't fresh new products that sold because people were excited by new concepts. It's because it was a sequel to a movie that has grown in popularity since it's release and the most popular musical of the century, outside of maybe Hamilton.
It's the same with Inside Out 2 and Moana 2. Now, Moana 2 might not beat Deadpool (I think it will with the holidays and the natural long legs of kids movies) but if the answer to the question is what are the three biggest movies of 2024 is three sequels to beloved franchises, then that's my point. People are flocking to the familiar. The only two movies in the last 2 years in the top 10 that isn't a sequel or tied to an existing IP was Oppenheimer and a film from China .
Look at the Disney slate for the next three years. It's insanity. And I think what happened post-COVID, especially with stuff like Lightyear, that what we are inline for is a bunch of stuff that looks just like what came before. Not similar, the same. Iger know it works. Even when the movies aren't good, it works.