Air Bud (series)

Air Bud
Original workAir Bud (1997)
OwnersAir Bud Entertainment (original films and Air Buddies)
The Walt Disney Company (all other films)
Years1997–2013
Films and television
Film(s)
Direct-to-video
Air Bud series
Air Buddies series
Santa Paws series

The Air Bud film series (also known as Disney Buddies) is an American film franchise based on a sports-playing Golden Retriever named Buddy, portrayed by Buddy.[1] The franchise began in 1997 with the theatrical release of Air Bud, followed by the theatrical release of Air Bud: Golden Receiver in 1998.[1][2] Following the box office failure of Golden Receiver, the rest of the films in the series were released in direct-to-video form. The Air Buddies or Disney Buddies spin-off series began in 2006 with the release of Air Buddies and it focuses on the adventures of Buddy's talking Golden Retriever puppies.[2] The franchise features fourteen films (five of which were in the Air Bud series and seven in the Air Buddies series),[3] in addition to two Christmas spin-offs of the Air Buddies series.

Disney Buddies is one of the top direct-to-DVD franchises, just behind Disney Fairies at $300 million, with the first 12 films grossing $220 million by March 2014.[4]

  1. ^ a b Wolk, Josh (April 3, 1998). "Air Bud". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Finley, Adam (February 24, 2006). "Air Bud is Coming Back". AOL Moviefone. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Strowbridge, C.S. (August 26, 2013). "DVD and Blu-ray Releases for August 27th, 2013 - The Numbers". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  4. ^ McClintock, Pamela (April 3, 2014). "How Tinker Bell Became Disney's Stealthy $300 Million Franchise". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2017.