Disney+ is preparing to launch its largest slate of new originals to date for the growth markets of the Asia-Pacific region, the Walt Disney Co. said Monday.
The lineup, which includes more than 20 new series and films, will roll out across the second half of 2023, with the bulk of the programming coming from Korea and Japan. Highlights include a new documentary about Korean supergroup BTS, several Korean crime thrillers and much-anticipated Japanese anime titles like Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc and PHOENIX: EDEN17.
Coming at a time of “rationalized” content spending across the industry, Disney’s continued commitment to localized originals for Asia-Pacific underscores the growing popularity of Korean drama and Japanese anime throughout the world, as well as the continued importance of the region as a long-term driver of revenue growth.
Disney tends not to release much data on the viewership of its international originals. But it provided some indicators Monday of how content released in Asia has been resonating since it was unveiled at the company’s flagship Asia Pacific’s 2022 Content Showcase last fall.
In its premiere week in February, season two of Korean crime-action series Big Bet, starring legendary actor Choi Minsik (Old Boy), replaced season one as the most-watched locally produced original series on Disney+ in Korea. Korean drama series Dr. Romantic ranked first in the majority of APAC markets in its first month based on hours watched, and live-action Japanese thriller Gannibal and anime Tokyo Revengers secured spots in the top five most-watched titles in Japan during their first week of launch.
“With the success of our initial wave of APAC originals, we will continue to build on this momentum by delivering exceptional storytelling through the second half of 2023 and beyond,” said Carol Choi, Disney’s executive vp original content strategy in APAC. “Thrillers, crime-action and fantasy, centered on strong storylines from Korea and Japan, are resonating with audiences, and we look forward to continued collaboration with leading content creators and storytellers from this region.”
Some of the Korea titles set to sunrise on Disney+ in the second half of the year include Moving, a supernatural drama series adapted from Kangfull’s hit webtoon of the same name; BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star, an expansive BTS doc that follows Disney’s earlier collaborations with the K-pop supergroup, BTS: Permission to Dance and In the Soop: Friendcation; and Soundtrack #2, a second season of the popular musical romance series, this time starring Keum Saerok and Steve Sanghyun Noh.
From Japan there will be the slick live-action and anime hybrid series Dragons of Wonderhatch; returning hit anime series Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc, part of Disney’s collaboration with Japanese publishing house Kodansha; and a special presentation of an ice-show performance by Japanese Olympic ice-skater Yuzuru Hanyu; among several additional titles.
Source: Hollywood
