Performers on the red carpet of the Rome Film Festival premiere of High School Musical 3. 10/28/08. WENN
With the “Jonas Brother’s 3-D Experience” failing to woo teenage girls to the theaters, Disney has decided to stick to a formula that works and make a new High School Musical Movie. This would be the fourth in the series. Although the third movie was released in theaters and had a very good showing, bringing in $250 million at the box office, the fourth will be screened on the Disney Channel like the first two movies. This is probably due to high production costs and the state of the economy. It might also speak to how big their stars have become and the cost of convincing Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, who most recently took the stage at the Oscars, to do the fourth film.

The article says that the movie will feature a new cast of characters, which means that Zac and Vanessa may not be signing on. The screenwriter from the first three movies, Peter Barsocchini, and the previous films’ executive producers, will stay on.

The fourth installment of Disney’s High School Musical movie franchise will once again be making its world premiere on Disney Channel in 2010, the network says.

Disney will not be launching the movie first in theaters, as it did for High School Musical 3, which premiered last October, racking up over $250 million at the worldwide box office.

The fourth installment will also feature a new cast of characters, which would make a theatrical launch a risky proposition if current stars Zac Effron and Vanessa Hudgens don’t come on board in some form.

The High School Musical franchise started life on Disney Channel in January, 2006, but has since grown into a worldwide phenomenon. High School Musical 2 premiered on the network in August, 2007, and was at the time the most-watched program in cable television history.

“The High School Musical trilogy introduced a new generation to the celebrated genre of movie musicals,” said Gary Marsh, president, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide, announcing the decision. “In crafting this next iteration, we’ve challenged the entire creative team to raise the bar again — and create something truly worthy of this extraordinary global phenomenon.”

[from Broadcasting Cable]

It’s interesting, but not surprising, that they’ve chosen to release the last film on TV. The second HSM was the largest-watched program in cable television, and producers are probably hoping that a TV movie would reduce costs and up ad sales. It’s a good move, considering the public’s apparent aversion to Disney stars at the moment.

Casting for the movie will also be interesting to watch. Zac and Vanessa have become stars in their own right, and to a lesser extent their costar Ashley Tisdale (who plays her self-absorbed character Sharpay delightfully well). Zac has gone on to do other films, and is going to be starring in the remake of Footloose. He has a strong fan following, and he can surely find more profitable projects outside of Disney. You have to wonder, though, if he has written in his contract the studio’s option for a fourth installment.