‘Monkey Kingdom’: Disney’s new nature film looks beyond box office

Disneynature’s latest offering, “Monkey Kingdom,” earned just $4.7 million in its first weekend, but modest as those numbers may be, the company has reasons beyond the box office to keep Disneynature blooming. Since launching in 2008, the young division has sought to structure a viable business model around family and environmentally friendly nature documentaries like “Oceans”, “African Cats” and “Bears”. It also speaks directly to the company’s legacy, continuing a tradition begun by Walt Disney himself.

We look for what the next opportunity will be … to give people that experience of getting out there [in nature] in a spectacular way.

Paul Baribault, vice president of marketing at Walt Disney Studios

Like every other Disneynature film, “Monkey Kingdom” has a philanthropic component: a portion of all the opening weekend tickets sold will be donated to Conservation International, an organisation that works to protect monkeys and other endangered species. At a time when Disneynature’s parent company is focusing more and more on building blockbusters like the Marvel movies and “Star Wars”, the label’s films allow audiences to experience landscapes and creatures that the majority of viewers would likely never see offscreen.

Entertainment Monkey Kingdom