Avengers sequel, Cinderella lead Disney’s 2015 line-up

MANILA, Philippines -  Walt Disney Studios Philippines will release nine movies in 2015, led by Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the live-action Cinderella and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first Star Wars installment since 2005.

Disney’s opening film for the new year is Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods starring Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine and Emily Blunt. In March, Cinderella will get the live-action treatment, the way Disney brought fantasy characters like Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland to the big screen. Cinderella is directed by Kenneth Branagh and features Lily James (Downton Abbey) and Cate Blanchett.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will start its box-office campaign in April. The sequel will once again feature the team-up of superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, with some additions. The team must reassemble to defeat Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. The first Avengers earned $1.5B in 2012.

The month of May will see Disney’s riveting mystery adventure Tomorrowland, in which a jaded scientist (George Clooney) and an optimistic teen embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space.

In June, Pixar will bow its original movie Inside Out, which will take audiences to the most extraordinary location of all — inside the mind, complete with anthromorphized emotions Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness.

The classic fairy tale Cinderella gets a live-action treatment

Marvel’s Ant-Man starring Paul Rudd will see action in July. Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats.

Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book will be a live-action retelling of another literary classic — and Disney animation — when it bows in October.

In November, Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur will ask the generations-old question: What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? The film promises to be an extraordinary journey of self-discovery full of thrilling adventure, hilarious characters and poignant heart.

Disney ends the year with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first of new Star Wars films through the studio’s acquisition of Lucas film.

The Force Awakens is expected to bolster the studio’s offerings through sequels and spin-offs the way Marvel launched a series of superhero franchises for the company, which benefited the rest of Disney’s divisions.

Disney Studios generated around $3.4B at the worldwide box-office in 2014 through the release of 13 movies. Its top earner was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy at $772M, followed by Maleficent with $758M and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, another hit for Marvel, at $714M.