Last Friday, Disney released the latest instalment in the popular Descendants franchise on Disney+, called “Descendants: The Rise Of Red”.

The film tells the story of what happens when former Villian Kid Uma, who is now the Headmaster of Auradon Prep, extends an invite to the school to another VK – Red, the rebellious daughter of the tyrannical Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts has long held a grudge against Auradon, especially against Cinderella, and seizes the opportunity to seek revenge when she drops her daughter off at school. When the Queen of Hearts incites a coup against Auradon, Red must team up with Cinderella’s perfectionist daughter, Chloe, as they travel back in time to try to undo the traumatic event that set the young Queen of Hearts down her villainous path.

Disney has revealed that the new original movie has pulled in 6.7 million views globally within the first three days and is now Disney Branded Television’s most-viewed film premiere ever on the streamer.   Over the weekend, it quickly became the top title on the trending row within Disney+.

By comparison, the last “Descendants” movie, which was released on the Disney Channel in the summer of 2019 (just months before the launch of Disney+), was watched by 8 million viewers.  This shows a general decrease in viewership since the Disney+ release has a larger audience due to being a global release.

This movie has certainly caught the attention of viewers, as the “Descendants: The Rise of Red” trailer previously generated 86 million views in 10 days, which was also a record for Disney Branded Television.

The new movie will also air on the Disney Channel on August 9th, 2024, and it will be very unlikely to match the viewership of previous instalments due to the majority of kids’ viewership now taking place online.

Unfortunately, while Disney does now release data on some of its biggest hits, they often mix around how many days the views have been counted over.  Sometimes, it’s three days, and other times, it’s over four or five, making it a little difficult to do a like-for-like comparison.

Other recent Disney+ viewership data was that the first episode of “The Acolyte” was viewed 4.8 million times on its first day, while the season 2 premiere of “Loki” last October was viewed 10 million times in the first three days. Plus, the new “Descendants” film also managed to outdo Taylor Swift’s recent Eras Tour special, which pulled in 4.6M views over its first three days.

“Descendants: The Rise of Red” is executive produced by Suzanne Todd and Gary Marsh. The film is directed by Jennifer Phang, with a script from Dan Frey and Russell Sommer. The movie is choreographed by Ashley Wallen (“The Greatest Showman”) with a score by Torin Borrowdale (“Searching”). The production design is by Mark Hofeling, with Declan Quinn serving as the director of photography. Katie Ennis is the editor. Co-executive producers include Mahita P. Simpson and Jennifer Phang, and Wendy S. Williams is the producer. Costume design is by Julia Caston and Emilio Sosa.

Roger’s Take:  It’s great to see a Disney Original Movie pulling in big viewership numbers for Disney+. These titles used to be known as Disney Channel Original Movies, aka DCOMs, and have always tended to have lower budgets and appeal to younger audiences.  Making them directly for Disney+ makes total sense, as they probably wouldn’t pull in much at the box office, but they are fun films for kids and families to watch at home.

Did you check out “Descendants: The Rise Of Red’ over the weekend?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

View all posts