‘Wish’ Is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 3rd Most Watched Debut on Disney+

After a movie underwhelms at the worldwide box office, its streaming debut could mean the title finds new life. This could be the destiny of Wish, the latest musical from Walt Disney Animation Studios. After only being able to earn $254 million during its theatrical run, Asha’s (Ariana DeBose) journey had a successful streaming debut on Disney+, where it scored 13.2 million views over the first five days it was available on the platform’s catalog. Now that the empowering narrative directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn is available to watch at home, families can enjoy it more comfortably without heading out to the multiplex.

This isn’t the first time that a movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios underperformed at the box office, only to reach its intended audience after hitting Disney+. Encanto introduced the Madrigal family to the world, but the ticket sales for that musical were rounded out at $256 million a couple of years ago. Nevertheless, when the story featuring songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda was made available for streaming, it earned millions of views, becoming one of the most popular releases from the studio in recent years. Wish‘s debut on the streaming platform only came in behind Encanto and Frozen II.

The plot of Wish follows Asha, a young woman who dreams of becoming King Magnifico’s (Chris Pine) apprentice in order to help make her family’s wishes come true. The monarch has the ability to grant wishes, but instead keeps a person’s dream in a crystal orb, making them forget what their biggest aspiration was in the first place. But after being selected as King Magnifico’s magical apprentice, Asha realizes that the person she used to look up to is actually a villain taking happiness away from the people he’s supposed to protect.

The Magical Music of ‘Wish’

Walt Disney Animation Studios is known for the beautiful ballads and powerful melodies they use to accompany some of their biggest films. Wish is no exception, with the studio recruiting Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice to take care of the music that was heard throughout Asha’s quest to take King Magnifico down. While the successful duo was busy with the songs coming from the characters of the movie, Dave Metzger wrote the orchestral score heard in Wish. Thanks to the team’s efforts, songs such as “This Wish” and “This Is The Thanks I Get?!” joined a legacy of musical numbers that have entertained different generations over the years.

Wish is now available to stream on Disney+.

Wish

Wish follows a young girl named Asha who wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her.

Release Date

November 22, 2023

Director

Chris Buck , Fawn Veerasunthorn

Runtime

92 minutes

Production Company

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

WATCH on Disney+