Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner name of Disney Channel Premiere Films; since then, the films are currently released under the Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) banner.[1]
Most of these films were subsequently released on VHS, DVD, or, more recently, Blu-ray. However, many more entries in the Disney Channel film library were never released in any home video format. Originally, the films were released on DVD months after their Disney Channel premieres, but beginning with Princess Protection Program in 2009, DVDs for DCOMs have been released one week after their television premieres. Also, although DCOMs have been produced in widescreen HD format since mid-2005, the 2009 release of Princess Protection Program became the first DCOM to appear in widescreen DVD viewing format.
The highest-rated premiere for the banner/brand came in August 2007, when High School Musical 2 set a record for basic cable with 17.2 million viewers. The second highest-rated premiere is held by Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, which premiered with 11.4 million viewers. Other major DCOM franchises include Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls, Twitches, Halloweentown, the Teen Beach films, the Zenon and Zombies trilogies, and the Descendants series.
During the Memorial Day holiday weekend of 2016, Disney Channel began to air many older DCOMs in a specialized marathon programming block in celebration of its 100th film, Adventures in Babysitting. Disney Channel broadcast all previous 99 Disney Channel Original Movies that came before it, beginning with the 51 most popular films airing over the four-day weekend, beginning May 27, 2016[2] and continuing throughout the following month until the June 24 premiere of the aforementioned 100th Disney Channel Original Movie.[3]
Year | Film | Premiere date | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Tiger Town | October 9, 1983 | [4] |
1984 | Gone Are the Dayes | May 6, 1984 | |
Love Leads the Way | October 7, 1984 | ||
1985 | Lots of Luck | February 3, 1985 | |
The Undergrads | May 5, 1985 | ||
The Blue Yonder | November 17, 1985 | ||
1986 | The Parent Trap II | July 26, 1986 | |
Spot Marks the X | October 18, 1986 | ||
Down the Long Hills | November 15, 1986 | ||
1987 | Strange Companions | February 28, 1987 | [Note 1] |
Anne of Avonlea: The Continuing Story of Anne of Green Gables | May 19, 1987 | ||
Not Quite Human | June 19, 1987 | ||
The Christmas Visitor | December 5, 1987 | ||
1988 | Save the Dog | March 19, 1988 | |
Night Train to Kathmandu | June 5, 1988 | ||
Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss | August 6, 1988 | ||
A Friendship in Vienna | August 27, 1988 | ||
Good Old Boy | November 11, 1988 | ||
Goodbye, Miss 4th of July | December 3, 1988 | ||
1989 | Not Quite Human II | September 23, 1989 | |
1990 | Lantern Hill | January 27, 1990 | |
Chips, the War Dog | March 24, 1990 | ||
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme | May 19, 1990 | ||
Back Home | June 7, 1990 | ||
The Little Kidnappers | August 17, 1990 | ||
Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn | October 21, 1990 | ||
1991 | Bejewelled | January 20, 1991 | |
Perfect Harmony | March 31, 1991 | ||
Mark Twain and Me | November 22, 1991 | ||
1992 | Still Not Quite Human | May 31, 1992 | |
1993 | The Ernest Green Story | January 17, 1993 | |
Spies | March 7, 1993 | [6] | |
Heidi | July 18, 1993 | ||
1994 | On Promised Land | April 17, 1994 | |
The Whipping Boy | July 31, 1994 | ||
1995 | The Old Curiosity Shop | March 19, 1995 | |
The Four Diamonds | August 12, 1995 | ||
1996 | The Little Riders | March 24, 1996 | |
Nightjohn | June 1, 1996 | ||
Susie Q | mid-1996 | [1] | |
Wish Upon a Star | November 12, 1996 | [1] | |
1997 | The Paper Brigade | February 25, 1997 | [1] |
Northern Lights | August 23, 1997 | [Note 2] |
Year | Film | Premiere date | Ratings (millions) |
Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Under Wraps | October 25, 1997 | N/A | [11] |
1998 | You Lucky Dog | June 27, 1998 | N/A | |
Brink! | August 29, 1998 | N/A | ||
Halloweentown | October 17, 1998 | 3.4 | [11][12] | |
1999 | Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century | January 23, 1999 | N/A | [11] |
Can of Worms | April 10, 1999 | N/A | ||
The Thirteenth Year | May 15, 1999 | N/A | ||
Smart House | June 26, 1999 | N/A | ||
Johnny Tsunami | July 24, 1999 | N/A | ||
Genius | August 21, 1999 | N/A | ||
Don't Look Under the Bed | October 9, 1999 | N/A | ||
Horse Sense | November 20, 1999 | 3.2 | [13] | |
2000 | Up, Up, and Away | January 22, 2000 | N/A | |
The Color of Friendship | February 5, 2000 | N/A | ||
Alley Cats Strike | March 18, 2000 | N/A | ||
Rip Girls | April 22, 2000 | N/A | ||
Miracle in Lane 2 | May 13, 2000 | N/A | ||
Stepsister from Planet Weird | June 17, 2000 | N/A | ||
Ready to Run | July 14, 2000 | N/A | ||
Quints | August 18, 2000 | N/A | ||
The Other Me | September 8, 2000 | N/A | ||
Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire | October 13, 2000 | N/A | ||
Phantom of the Megaplex | November 10, 2000 | N/A | ||
The Ultimate Christmas Present | December 1, 2000 | N/A | ||
2001 | Zenon: The Zequel | January 12, 2001 | 3.7 | [14] |
Motocrossed | February 16, 2001 | 3.5 | [14] | |
The Luck of the Irish | March 9, 2001 | 5.2 | [15] | |
Hounded | April 13, 2001 | N/A | ||
Jett Jackson: The Movie | June 8, 2001 | N/A | ||
The Jennie Project | July 13, 2001 | N/A | ||
Jumping Ship | August 17, 2001 | N/A | ||
The Poof Point | September 14, 2001 | N/A | ||
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge | October 12, 2001 | 6.1 | [12] | |
'Twas the Night | December 7, 2001 | N/A | ||
2002 | Double Teamed | January 18, 2002 | N/A | |
Cadet Kelly | March 8, 2002 | 7.8 | [16] | |
Tru Confessions | April 5, 2002 | N/A | ||
Get a Clue | June 28, 2002 | 3.2 | [17] | |
Gotta Kick It Up! | July 26, 2002 | N/A | ||
A Ring of Endless Light | August 23, 2002 | N/A | ||
The Scream Team | October 4, 2002 | N/A | ||
2003 | You Wish! | January 10, 2003 | N/A | |
Right on Track | March 21, 2003 | N/A | ||
The Even Stevens Movie | June 13, 2003 | 5.1 | [18] | |
Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off | July 18, 2003 | 3.7 | [19] | |
The Cheetah Girls | August 15, 2003 | 6.5 | [20][21] | |
Full-Court Miracle | November 21, 2003 | N/A | ||
2004 | Pixel Perfect | January 16, 2004 | 3.9 | [22] |
Going to the Mat | March 19, 2004 | 3.9 | [23] | |
Zenon: Z3 | June 11, 2004 | 4.1 | [24] | |
Stuck in the Suburbs | July 16, 2004 | 3.7 | [25] | |
Tiger Cruise | August 6, 2004 | 3.8 | [26][27] | |
Halloweentown High | October 8, 2004 | 6.1 | [12][28][29] | |
2005 | Now You See It... | January 14, 2005 | N/A | |
Buffalo Dreams | March 11, 2005 | N/A | ||
Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama | April 8, 2005 | 4.5 | [30] | |
Go Figure | June 10, 2005 | N/A | ||
Life Is Ruff | July 15, 2005 | 4.3 | [31] | |
The Proud Family Movie | August 19, 2005 | 4.8 | [32] | |
Twitches | October 14, 2005 | 7.0 | [33] | |
2006 | High School Musical | January 20, 2006 | 7.7 | [34][35] |
Cow Belles | March 24, 2006 | 5.8 | [36] | |
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior | June 16, 2006 | 5.7 | [36] | |
Read It and Weep | July 21, 2006 | 5.6 | [36] | |
The Cheetah Girls 2 | August 25, 2006 | 7.8 | [37][20][21] | |
Return to Halloweentown | October 20, 2006 | 7.5 | [12][38] | |
2007 | Jump In! | January 12, 2007 | 8.2 | [36][39][40] |
Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board | June 8, 2007 | N/A | ||
High School Musical 2 | August 17, 2007 | 17.2 | [41][42] | |
Twitches Too | October 12, 2007 | 6.9 | [43] | |
2008 | Minutemen | January 25, 2008 | 6.5 | [44] |
Camp Rock | June 20, 2008 | 8.9 | [45][46][47][48][49] | |
The Cheetah Girls: One World | August 22, 2008 | 6.2 | [50] | |
2009 | Dadnapped | February 16, 2009 | 4.6 | [51] |
Hatching Pete | April 24, 2009 | 4.1 | [52] | |
Princess Protection Program | June 26, 2009 | 8.5 | [53] | |
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | August 28, 2009 | 11.4 | [54][55] | |
2010 | Starstruck | February 14, 2010 | 6.0 | [56] |
Den Brother | August 13, 2010 | 3.7 | [57] | |
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | September 3, 2010 | 7.9 | [58] | |
Avalon High | November 12, 2010 | 3.8 | [59] | |
2011 | The Suite Life Movie | March 25, 2011 | 5.2 | [60][61] |
Lemonade Mouth | April 15, 2011 | 5.7 | [62][63] | |
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure[Note 1] | May 22, 2011 | 4.9 | [66][67] | |
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | August 5, 2011 | 7.6 | [68] | |
Geek Charming | November 11, 2011 | 4.9 | [69] | |
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! | December 2, 2011 | 6.9 | [70] | |
2012 | Frenemies | January 13, 2012 | 4.2 | [71] |
Radio Rebel | February 17, 2012 | 4.3 | [72] | |
Let It Shine | June 15, 2012 | 5.7 | [73][74] | |
Girl vs. Monster | October 12, 2012 | 4.9 | [75][76] | |
2013 | Teen Beach Movie | July 19, 2013 | 8.4 | [77][78] |
2014 | Cloud 9 | January 17, 2014 | 5.0 | [79][80] |
Zapped | June 27, 2014 | 5.7 | [81] | |
How to Build a Better Boy | August 15, 2014 | 4.6 | [82] | |
2015 | Bad Hair Day | February 13, 2015 | 4.0 | [83][84] |
Teen Beach 2 | June 26, 2015 | 5.8 | [85] | |
Descendants | July 31, 2015 | 6.6 | [86] | |
Invisible Sister | October 9, 2015 | 4.0 | [87] | |
2016 | Adventures in Babysitting | June 24, 2016 | 3.4 | [88] |
The Swap | October 7, 2016 | 2.6 | [89] | |
2017 | Tangled: Before Ever After[Note 2] | March 10, 2017 | 2.9 | [91] |
Descendants 2 | July 21, 2017 | 5.3 | [92] | |
2018 | Zombies | February 16, 2018 | 2.6 | [93][94] |
Freaky Friday | August 10, 2018 | 1.6 | [95] | |
2019 | Kim Possible | February 15, 2019 | 1.2 | [96][97] |
Descendants 3 | August 2, 2019 | 4.6 | [98][99] | |
2020 | Zombies 2 | February 14, 2020 | 2.5 | [100] |
Upside-Down Magic | July 31, 2020 | 1.3 | [101][102][103] | |
2021 | Spin | August 13, 2021 | 0.5 | [104][105] |
Under Wraps | October 1, 2021 | 0.4 | [106][107][108][109] | |
Christmas... Again?! | December 3, 2021 | 0.5 | [110][111][108][112] | |
2022 | Zombies 3[Note 3] | August 12, 2022 | 0.3 | [115][116][113][117] |
Under Wraps 2 | September 25, 2022 | 0.3 | [118][119][120] |
Year | Film | Projected premiere |
---|---|---|
2023 | Prom Pact | March 30, 2023[121] |
TBA | From the Desk of Zoe Washington | TBA[122] |
Big City Greens: The Movie | TBA[123][124][125] | |
The Naughty Nine | TBA[118] | |
The Slumber Party | TBA[126] |
The following films were not originally premiered under the "Disney Channel Original Movie" label, though they were sometimes later promoted as such:
No. | Movie | Ratings (millions) |
Year | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | High School Musical 2 | 17.2 | 2007 | [41][42] |
2 | Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | 11.4 | 2009 | [54][55] |
3 | Camp Rock | 8.9 | 2008 | [16] |
Descendants 2 | 8.9 | 2017 | [20][21][37] | |
4 | Princess Protection Program | 8.5 | 2009 | [53] |
5 | Teen Beach Movie | 8.4 | 2013 | [77][78] |
6 | Jump In! | 8.2 | 2007 | [36][39] |
7 | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | 7.9 | 2010 | [58] |
8 | Cadet Kelly | 7.8 | 2002 | [16] |
The Cheetah Girls 2 | 7.8 | 2006 | [20][21][37] | |
9 | High School Musical | 7.7 | 2006 | [34][35] |
10 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | 7.6 | 2011 | [68] |
While Descendants 2, which aired in July 2017, only drew 5.3 million viewers on the Disney Channel, it was simultaneously aired on the ABC broadcast network (where it drew an average of 2.4 million viewers) and four other cable channels (Disney XD, Freeform, Lifetime, and Lifetime Movies) as well, and drew a combined viewership of 8.9 million across all six television networks.[92]
Year | Movie | Ratings (millions) |
Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge | 6.1 | [12] |
2002 | Cadet Kelly | 7.8 | [16] |
2003 | The Cheetah Girls | 6.5 | [20][21] |
2004 | Halloweentown High | 6.1 | [28][29] |
2005 | Twitches | 7.0 | [33] |
2006 | The Cheetah Girls 2 | 7.8 | [20][21][37] |
2007 | High School Musical 2 | 17.2 | [41][42][48][132][133][134] |
2008 | Camp Rock | 8.9 | [45][46][47][48][49] |
2009 | Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | 11.4 | [54][55] |
2010 | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | 7.9 | [58][135][136][137][138][139] |
2011 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | 7.6 | [68] |
2012 | Let It Shine | 5.7 | [73][74] |
2013 | Teen Beach Movie | 8.4 | [77] |
2014 | Zapped | 5.7 | [81] |
2015 | Descendants | 6.6 | [86] |
2016 | Adventures in Babysitting | 3.4 | [88] |
2017 | Descendants 2 | 5.3 | [92] |
2018 | Zombies | 2.6 | [93] |
2019 | Descendants 3 | 4.6 | [99] |
2020 | Zombies 2 | 2.5 | [100] |
2021 | Spin | 0.5 | [105] |
2022 | Zombies 3 | 0.3 | [117] |