Since its launch on April 18, 1983, American cable and satellite pay television channel Disney Channel airs and/or releases/distributes of original first-run television films under the banner names of Disney Channel Premiere Films until October 1997, Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) until March 2023, and Disney Original Movie thereafter. [1]
Most of these films were subsequently released on home video formats such as VHS, DVD, or more recently, Blu-ray, while others were not. Beginning with Princess Protection Program in 2009, releases of DCOMs on DVD months following their television premieres got reduced to a week after television premieres. The 2009 television film also became the first DCOM to appear in high-definition widescreen, although DCOMs have been produced in such a format since the release of Go Figure on June 10, 2005.
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. DCOMs include sequels-turned-franchises such as Under Wraps , Halloweentown , Zenon , Twitches , The Cheetah Girls , High School Musical, Camp Rock , Teen Beach , Descendants and Zombies .
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 , starting off with the 51 most popular films airing over the four-day weekend from May 27, 2016 [2] and concluding on June 24, 2016 with the premiere of the aforementioned 100th Disney Channel Original Movie. [3]
From April 5 to May 24, 2021, Disney Channel hosted an eight-week event called "DCOM & Dessert", where a Disney Channel Original Movie would air every Monday night at 7:00 PM. Zombies 2 stars Ariel Martin and Chandler Kinney hosted this event and had their own baking segments where they would make interactive dessert recipes that families could make at home. [4]
Year | Film | Premiere date | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Tiger Town | October 9, 1983 | [5] |
1984 | Gone Are the Dayes | May 1984 | [6] |
Love Leads the Way | October 7, 1984 | ||
1985 | Black Arrow | January 6, 1985 | [7] |
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 | |
The 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 2 | 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 | [9] | |
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 | October 3, 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 | [14] |
1998 | You Lucky Dog | June 27, 1998 | N/A | |
Brink! | August 29, 1998 | N/A | ||
Halloweentown | October 17, 1998 | 3.4 | [14] [15] | |
1999 | Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century | January 23, 1999 | N/A | [14] |
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 | [16] | |
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 | [17] |
Motocrossed | February 16, 2001 | 3.5 | [17] | |
The Luck of the Irish | March 9, 2001 | 5.2 | [18] | |
Hounded | April 13, 2001 | 3.6 | [19] | |
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 | [15] | |
'Twas the Night | December 7, 2001 | N/A | ||
2002 | Double Teamed | January 18, 2002 | 5.0 | [20] |
Cadet Kelly | March 8, 2002 | 7.8 | [21] | |
Tru Confessions | April 5, 2002 | N/A | ||
Get a Clue | June 28, 2002 | 3.2 | [22] | |
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 | [23] | |
Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off | July 18, 2003 | 3.7 | [24] | |
The Cheetah Girls | August 15, 2003 | 6.5 | [25] [26] | |
Full-Court Miracle | November 21, 2003 | 4.4 | [27] | |
2004 | Pixel Perfect | January 16, 2004 | 3.9 | [28] |
Going to the Mat | March 19, 2004 | 3.9 | [29] | |
Zenon: Z3 | June 11, 2004 | 4.1 | [30] | |
Stuck in the Suburbs | July 16, 2004 | 3.7 | [31] | |
Tiger Cruise | August 6, 2004 | 3.8 | [32] [33] | |
Halloweentown High | October 8, 2004 | 6.1 | [15] [34] [35] | |
2005 | Now You See It... | January 14, 2005 | 4.3 | [36] |
Buffalo Dreams | March 11, 2005 | N/A | ||
Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama | April 8, 2005 | 4.4 | [37] | |
Go Figure | June 10, 2005 | 3.5 | [38] | |
Life Is Ruff | July 15, 2005 | 4.3 | [39] | |
The Proud Family Movie | August 19, 2005 | 4.8 | [40] | |
Twitches | October 14, 2005 | 7.0 | [41] | |
2006 | High School Musical | January 20, 2006 | 7.7 | [42] [43] |
Cow Belles | March 24, 2006 | 5.8 | [44] | |
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior | June 16, 2006 | 5.7 | [44] | |
Read It and Weep | July 21, 2006 | 5.6 | [44] | |
The Cheetah Girls 2 | August 25, 2006 | 7.8 | [45] [25] [26] | |
Return to Halloweentown | October 20, 2006 | 7.5 | [15] [46] | |
2007 | Jump In! | January 12, 2007 | 8.2 | [44] [47] [48] |
Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board | June 8, 2007 | 1.8 | [49] | |
High School Musical 2 | August 17, 2007 | 17.2 | [50] [51] | |
Twitches Too | October 12, 2007 | 6.9 | [52] | |
2008 | Minutemen | January 25, 2008 | 6.5 | [53] |
Camp Rock | June 20, 2008 | 8.9 | [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] | |
The Cheetah Girls: One World | August 22, 2008 | 6.2 | [59] | |
2009 | Dadnapped | February 16, 2009 | 4.6 | [60] |
Hatching Pete | April 24, 2009 | 4.1 | [61] | |
Princess Protection Program | June 26, 2009 | 8.5 | [62] | |
Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | August 28, 2009 | 11.4 | [63] [64] | |
2010 | Starstruck | February 14, 2010 | 6.0 | [65] |
Den Brother | August 13, 2010 | 3.7 | [66] | |
Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | September 3, 2010 | 7.9 | [67] | |
Avalon High | November 12, 2010 | 3.8 | [68] | |
2011 | The Suite Life Movie | March 25, 2011 | 5.2 | [69] [70] |
Lemonade Mouth | April 15, 2011 | 5.7 | [71] [72] | |
Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure [Note 1] | May 22, 2011 | 4.9 | [75] [76] | |
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | August 5, 2011 | 7.6 | [77] | |
Geek Charming | November 11, 2011 | 4.9 | [78] | |
Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas! | December 2, 2011 | 6.9 | [79] | |
2012 | Frenemies | January 13, 2012 | 4.2 | [80] |
Radio Rebel | February 17, 2012 | 4.3 | [81] | |
Let It Shine | June 15, 2012 | 5.7 | [82] [83] | |
Girl vs. Monster | October 12, 2012 | 4.9 | [84] [85] | |
2013 | Teen Beach Movie | July 19, 2013 | 8.4 | [86] [87] |
2014 | Cloud 9 | January 17, 2014 | 5.0 | [88] [89] |
Zapped | June 27, 2014 | 5.7 | [90] | |
How to Build a Better Boy | August 15, 2014 | 4.6 | [91] | |
2015 | Bad Hair Day | February 13, 2015 | 4.0 | [92] [93] |
Teen Beach 2 | June 26, 2015 | 5.8 | [94] | |
Descendants | July 31, 2015 | 6.6 | [95] | |
Invisible Sister | October 9, 2015 | 4.0 | [96] | |
2016 | Adventures in Babysitting | June 24, 2016 | 3.4 | [97] |
The Swap | October 7, 2016 | 2.6 | [98] | |
2017 | Tangled: Before Ever After [Note 2] | March 10, 2017 | 2.9 | [100] |
Descendants 2 | July 21, 2017 | 5.8 | [101] [102] | |
2018 | Zombies | February 16, 2018 | 2.6 | [103] [104] |
Freaky Friday | August 10, 2018 | 1.6 | [105] | |
2019 | Kim Possible | February 15, 2019 | 1.2 | [106] [107] |
Descendants 3 | August 2, 2019 | 4.6 | [108] [109] | |
2020 | Zombies 2 | February 14, 2020 | 2.5 | [110] |
Upside-Down Magic | July 31, 2020 | 1.3 | [111] [112] [113] | |
2021 | Spin | August 13, 2021 | 0.5 | [114] [115] |
Under Wraps | October 1, 2021 | 0.4 | [116] [117] [118] [119] | |
Christmas...Again?! | December 3, 2021 | 0.5 | [120] [121] [118] [122] | |
2022 | Zombies 3 [Note 3] | August 12, 2022 | 0.3 | [125] [126] [123] [127] [128] |
Under Wraps 2 | September 25, 2022 | 0.3 | [129] [130] [131] |
Year | Film | Premiere date | Ratings (millions) | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Prom Pact [Note 1] | March 30, 2023 | 0.2 | [133] [135] |
The Slumber Party | July 27, 2023 | N/A | [136] [137] [138] | |
The Naughty Nine | November 22, 2023 | 0.3 | [129] [139] [140] | |
2024 | Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation | June 6, 2024 | 0.2 | [141] [142] [143] [144] [145] [146] |
Descendants: The Rise of Red [Note 2] | August 9, 2024 | N/A | [147] [148] | |
Year | Film | Projected premiere |
---|---|---|
2025 | Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires | 2025 [149] [150] [151] [152] |
The following films did not originally premiere under the "Disney Channel Original Movie" label, though they were sometimes later promoted as such:
The following were produced by Disney Channel, but premiered on Disney+ without being labeled as Disney Channel Original Movies:
The following films are based on Disney Channel shows or Disney Channel Original Movies, but were released theatrically. However, some of them later premiered on Disney Channel:
No. | Movie | Ratings (millions) | Year | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | High School Musical 2 | 17.2 | 2007 | [50] [51] |
2 | Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | 11.4 | 2009 | [63] [64] |
3 | Camp Rock | 8.9 | 2008 | [21] |
Descendants 2 [Note 1] | 8.9 | 2017 | [25] [26] [45] | |
4 | Princess Protection Program | 8.5 | 2009 | [62] |
5 | Teen Beach Movie | 8.4 | 2013 | [86] [87] |
6 | Jump In! | 8.2 | 2007 | [44] [47] |
7 | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | 7.9 | 2010 | [67] |
8 | Cadet Kelly | 7.8 | 2002 | [21] |
The Cheetah Girls 2 | 7.8 | 2006 | [25] [26] [45] | |
9 | High School Musical | 7.7 | 2006 | [42] [43] |
10 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | 7.6 | 2011 | [77] |
Year | Movie | Ratings (millions) | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge | 6.1 | [15] |
2002 | Cadet Kelly | 7.8 | [21] |
2003 | The Cheetah Girls | 6.5 | [25] [26] |
2004 | Halloweentown High | 6.1 | [34] [35] |
2005 | Twitches | 7.0 | [41] |
2006 | The Cheetah Girls 2 | 7.8 | [25] [26] [45] |
2007 | High School Musical 2 | 17.2 | [50] [51] [57] [165] [166] [167] |
2008 | Camp Rock | 8.9 | [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] |
2009 | Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie | 11.4 | [63] [64] |
2010 | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | 7.9 | [67] [168] [169] [170] [171] [172] |
2011 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | 7.6 | [77] |
2012 | Let It Shine | 5.7 | [82] [83] |
2013 | Teen Beach Movie | 8.4 | [86] |
2014 | Zapped | 5.7 | [90] |
2015 | Descendants | 6.6 | [95] |
2016 | Adventures in Babysitting | 3.4 | [97] |
2017 | Descendants 2 | 8.9 | [101] |
2018 | Zombies | 2.6 | [103] |
2019 | Descendants 3 | 4.6 | [109] |
2020 | Zombies 2 | 2.5 | [110] |
2021 | Spin | 0.5 | [115] |
2022 | Zombies 3 | 0.3 | [128] |
2023 | The Naughty Nine | 0.3 | [140] |
2024 | Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation | 0.2 | [146] |
Who Do You Think You Are? is an American genealogy documentary series that is an adaptation of the British series of the same name that airs on the BBC. In each episode, a celebrity participant researches their family history. The participant often travels to locations both domestically and internationally to research family stories.
Penn & Teller: Fool Us is a magic competition television series in which magicians perform tricks in front of American magician-comedian duo Penn & Teller. Its first two seasons were hosted by Jonathan Ross, the third through ninth seasons were hosted by Alyson Hannigan and the tenth season by Brooke Burke. Fool Us was filmed at Fountain Studios in London, England and the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, located in Las Vegas. After each performance, if Penn & Teller cannot figure out how a trick was done, the magician(s) who performed it win a Fool Us trophy and a five-star trip to Las Vegas to perform as the opening act in Penn & Teller's show, also at the Rio Hotel & Casino.
Zombies is an American musical and zombie Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on Disney Channel on February 16, 2018. The film is based on the unaired pilot Zombies & Cheerleaders by David Light and Joseph Raso, and stars Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly, playing zombie football player Zed and human cheerleader Addison who meet and fall in love, and who must lead their respective groups to coexist with each other.
Since debuting with the Diane Keaton-starring "Northern Lights" on Aug. 23, 1997, this series of made-for-TV films has been usually digestible, often cheesy, sometimes awful, and always a delightful way to escape reality for a little bit.
The 1997 film Northern Lights, which is widely considered to be the first Disney Channel Original Movie, is not on the list. Some fans, however, peg the DCOM Under Wraps, about a mummy brought back to life, as the first-ever DCOM. Either way, Under Wraps is certainly more well-known than Northern Lights, which starred Diane Keaton.
The news comes as Disney Channel today unveiled plans for the 100th DCOM Celebration, a summer programming marathon centered on the airing of the network's 100th original move since 1997 — the first movie was Under Wraps, and the 100th will be a reimagining of the 1987 film Adventures In Babysitting which doesn't have an airdate yet.
Disney Channel considers 1997's Under Wraps as its first official DCOM...
Two previous "Cheetah Girls" movies also chalked up humongous numbers on Disney Channel — 6.5 million viewers in August 2003 and 7.8 million in August 2006.
The first "Cheetah Girls" movie was broadcast in 2003, drawing an estimated 6.5 million viewers on its first night; the second aired in 2006, attracting 8 million.
Over those five showings, Halloweentown High delivered 22.6 million viewers, including 6.1 million for its premiere.
Cable records. Latest Disney Channel movie Jump In! averaged 8.2 million viewers Friday, becoming the network's most-watched telecast ever.
'One World' Premiere Pulls 6.2 Million Viewers
Hatching tweens. Disney Channel's latest original movie, Hatching Pete, claimed a decent 4.1 million viewers Friday, though it didn't come close to the channel's top films.
The first season will premiere on March 24, two weeks after the debut of the Disney Channel Original Movie Tangled Before Ever After, premiering March 10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The Disney Channel aired the film "Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars" in 2010.
DR [Debby Ryan]: It's actually darker, at some points, than a normal Disney Channel Original Movie.
...In 2010, Disney aired another MarVista Debby Ryan original in conjunction with a different Canadian kids network, and didn't even grant it entry into the DCOM pantheon at all. That's right: 16 Wishes is not DCOM canon.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)