The L.A. Times has an article about Disney's upcoming musical High School Musical 2. The article says the two films about a fictional high school are expected to generate $100 million in profits for Disney. Disney even has a soundtrack out for the new film. It has already made big stars out of the film's singing actors including Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens. But how long can Disney hold the interest of the fickle teenage crowd.
"That teenage audience is extremely fickle," said veteran media analyst Larry Gerbrandt. "And they also have this nasty habit of growing up. You have to be able to keep drawing in a younger audience."
Originally a low-budget sleeper, "High School Musical" became a pop-culture phenomenon, attracting 160 million viewers worldwide who tuned in to watch the interpersonal dramas at fictional East High School.
It also produced the top-selling album of 2006, a bestselling novel and a 42-date sold-out concert tour in North America and a subsequent five-country sweep through Latin America.
The movie's success also gave a broader boost to the Disney Channel. Derek Baine, an entertainment analyst with SNL Kagan, said "High School Musical" spurred a jump in revenue from sponsorships and DVD sales to $72 million last year, compared with about $15 million to $20 million annually through 2005.
Based on the popularity of the High School Musical videos on YouTube Disney should be able to hold the interest of teenagers for a little while longer. A quick search shows over 100,000 High School Musical videos on YouTube. The video are also listed under the abbreviations HSM and HSM2. Will there be an HSM3? You can count on it.
Disney also has a YouTube channel for High School Musical 2. The most popular video on it is this one for "Everyday."
The L.A. Times has an 