Disney’s Descendants: The Rise Of Red Sets Major Streaming Record Since Hocus Pocus 2

Descendants: The Rise of Red sets a Disney+ streaming record during its impressive debut on the platform. The live-action musical fantasy film is the fourth installment of Disney’s Descendants movie franchise, and a follow-up to the franchise’s 2021 TV special Descendants: The Royal Wedding. Starring Kylie Cantrall and Malia Baker, the Disney+ movie was directed by Jennifer Phang, from a screenplay by Dan Frey and Ru Sommer, and follows the daughter of the Queen of Hearts and the daughter of Cinderella, as they team up to save Auradon.

Per TheWrap, the movie made its streaming debut on Disney+ on July 12, 2024, and performed incredibly well, racking up more than 33 million viewing hours over its first 12 weeks of release. This easily makes it Disney+’s most-watched live-action original movie since Hocus Pocus 2. During its opening week of streaming, the film ranked fifth on the Nielsen charts for most-watched movies for the week of July 8-14, clocking up 386 million viewing minutes. It stayed in fifth place during its second week, posting 424 million viewing minutes, before dropping to sixth in its third week with 260 million viewing minutes.

What Descendants: The Rise of Red’s Performance Means For The Future Of The Franchise

Almost A Decade After The Franchise Debuted, Viewer Engagement Is Higher Than Ever

After three months on Disney+, Descendants: The Rise of Red has caught up with viewership with Pixar’s billion-dollar smash-hit sequel Inside Out 2, which earned 30.5 million views in its opening five days and seems to continue its popularity. The film became Disney+’s most-watched live-action original movie since Hocus Pocus 2‘s impressive opening weekend streaming record back in 2022, and logged a staggering 6.7 million viewers in just its opening three days on the platform, eclipsing Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert movie, with gained 4.6 million viewers in its first weekend.

It seems that viewer interest in the Descendants franchise is showing no signs of waning, and the successful performance of the movie is sure to lead to another sequel in the franchise. In addition to the movie’s streaming success, the Descendants: Rise of Red soundtrack also performed well, clocking up more than 25 million streams, and the titular hashtag on TikTok amassed more than 90 million views in seven days. Assuming the creative team behind the movie is open to a return, it feels likely Disney would consider a sequel promptly to capitalize on viewer engagement.

Our Thought On The Possibility Of Descendants 5

It Seems Likely It Will Only Be A Matter Of Time Before Another Sequel Is Developed

Descendants 5 is yet to be confirmed, but the success of The Rise of Red and the performance of the franchise across multiple platforms makes it likely the film will happen. I would expect that if the movie is produced it will be a sequel, and the story will explore the fallout from the consequences of the time travel plot from Descendants: The Rise of Red. I also believe the movie may feature the return of iconic Disney villains who didn’t get enough screen time in the previous installment, but a lot will depend on the creative direction and the availability of cast members.

Source: TheWrap

Descendants: The Rise of Red is a Disney+ original film directed by Jennifer Phang. The film is a spin-off of the core Descendants franchise and follows the daughters of the Queen of Hearts and Cinderella – Red and Chloe. When Red’s mother attempts to take over the realm, Red and Chloe must put aside their differences and travel back in time to stop her mother from becoming a villain.

Director

Jennifer Phang

Studio(s)

Disney Channel

Distributor(s)

Disney+

Writers

Dan Frey
, Russell Sommer

Cast

Kylie Cantrall
, Malia Baker
, Dara Renee
, China Anne McClain
, Rita Ora
, Brandy Norwood
, Paolo Montalban
, Melanie Paxson
, Joshua Colley

Main Genre

Adventure

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