Hannah Montana: 2010

Hannah Montana Vs. The Jonas Brothers: Disney Channel's Box Office Battle Royale!

Posted by Grady Smith on Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Last week, The Walt Disney Company released trailers for two of their highly anticipated spring features. Highly anticipated, that is, if you are a 8-14 year-old girl. Disney has long been in the business of grooming (programming?) an army of massively marketable pop star sensations, but their two biggest success stories come from Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana and The Jonas Brothers. For the last year, it seems like everything that these kids touch turns into gold, and Disney is wisely striking while the iron is hot, before the tweens move onto the next pop star on the production line.

After the incredible success of 2008's Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3-D, which grossed an amazing $65 million, Disney is giving the Jonas Brothers pretty much the exact same treatment, and on February 27, Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience will debut. It's fascinating how quickly The Jonas Brothers have taken over the tween set, considering just one year ago they were the opening act of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus...Tour 3-D. I'd be willing to bet that Disney plans on giving Demi Lovato (who opens for The Jonas Brothers in this film) her own 3D movie in the near future. Here's the trailer:

Then in April, Miley Cyrus will return to the big screen, but this time, it's not exactly a concert movie. Giving the wildly popular television show the film treatment, Disney will open Hannah Montana The Movie on April 1o, 2009. Disney successfully did this once before in 2003 with the Hilary Duff vehicle, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which earned a solid $42 million, but served mostly as a merchandising platform and star-showcase for Miss Duff, who went on to sell millions of records and start a girls fashion line. Hannah Montana The Movie will tell the deep story of the fictional pop star having to move from Hollywood back to her home in Tennessee. The trailer for the film is below. (Watch for the hilarious moment at the end of the trailer, when some random, deep-voiced cowboy encourages you to see the film! )

Here's what I want to know: Which of these films will earn more? I'm going to give the edge to Hannah Montana The Movie, mostly because Miley Cyrus has established herself as a family fixture for longer than the JoBros, and parents will be more willing to sit through an actual scripted movie, rather than just a concert film. But will either of them be able to outgross Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best Of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3-D? Hmm. This is tough, but I actually don't think so. Best Of Both Worlds benefited from hefty $15 tickets across the country, and unless Disney pulls a similar stunt this time around, I think the $65 million total will be tough to match. Plus, I think Miley may have already hit her peak last year. I want to hear from you all though! Which film do you think will earn the most? Comment away!

Also, Tyra Banks managed to capture a role, and Taylor Swift is pimping herself out to Disney! You see her in both trailers! She's trying to play both sides of the fence here, but Taylor, you've got to choose: Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus- you can't have it both ways! And why has Disney decided to drop the hyphen in 3D?

By Betty