Studio Entertainment

As part of the Studios’ overall strategy, 2007 will see an increased focus on outstanding family films under the Disney banner. Leading the way will be Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, followed by Underdog, which will combine liveaction adventures with a CG canine hero in an all-new take on the popular ‘70s cartoon series. Holiday moviegoers will be Enchanted with the classic Disney animated/live-action fairy tale that reveals what happens to a Disney princess who comes to life in the real world. Starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and Susan Sarandon, the motion picture features new songs by Oscar®-winners Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Also in production for a holiday 2007 release is National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets, which follows the further adventures of archeologist Ben Gates, again played by Academy Award®-winner Nicolas Cage.

In 2007, Touchstone Pictures takes a ride on the wild side with the comedy Wild Hogs. John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy star as four frustrated middle-aged suburbanites seeking to shake up their lives by hitting the open road as would-be renegade bikers. Popular comedy star Steve Carell teams up with rising young comic Dane Cook for more laughs in Touchstone Pictures’ Dan in Real Life, the story of a strict single father of teenage daughters who turns out to be the one in need of a chaperone when he falls for his brother’s new girlfriend.

Miramax Films’ strategic move to return to its roots as a top provider of quality independent and modestly budgeted films from outstanding filmmakers paid off with Tsotsi, winning the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Additionally, by leveraging existing franchises, the fourth film in the Scary Movie series scared up a worldwide gross of $177 million. The fall release of The Queen, with its tour-de-force performance by Helen Mirren, won kudos at festivals around the world. Miramax’s slate of award-worthy films came on strong toward year’s end with Venus, starring Peter O’Toole, and Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and Entering. In 2007, Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a turn-of-the-century Texas prospector in a drama about the early years of the oil industry, There Will Be Blood. Also coming from Miramax are Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway and Dame Maggie Smith, The Hoax starring Richard Gere and Alfred Molina, and the directorial debut of Ben Affleck with Gone, Baby, Gone.

In addition to Pirates 2, Cars and Narnia, Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment scored big in 2006 with the release of High School Musical, which became the top-selling TV movie on DVD of all time. The division also got a big boost from the Platinum Editions of Lady and the Tramp and The Little Mermaid, as well as the Disney Video Premiere of Bambi II. The Studios’ commitment to new technology was evident with its adoption of Blu-ray Discs and the landmark announcement that Disney, Pixar, Touchstone and Miramax films would be available through Apple’s iTunes Store, where an impressive 125,000 movies were downloaded in just the first week.