The Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special tallied 6.3 million views in its first three days on Disney+ and Hulu. The special also drove views of the old Hannah Montana content by nearly 1,000 percent, per Disney.
The marketing push behind the special was gigantic, with more than 250 brands getting in on the anniversary via user-generated content, events and activations, content collections and consumer products. Disney’s own ads generated 440 million total impressions, the company said, and drove more than 30 million engagements on social media. The teaser for the special alone got 120 million views within 24 hours.
With the 20th-anniversary special came a new Miley Cyrus original song, “Younger You,” which is out today via Hollywood Records. The old Hannah Montana songs jumped on streaming because of the special.
The Hollywood Reporter attended the anniversary–special’s taping.
“The crowd, ranging roughly in age from mid-20s to mid-30s, appeared instantly transported back to a simpler time as they sang, danced and clapped along to Hannah’s most iconic track (“The Best of Both Worlds”),” THR‘s Tiffany Taylor wrote. “Cyrus’ mom Tish Cyrus-Purcell and the singer’s fiancé Maxx Morando were both in the mix to witness it, as was Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper, who interviewed the star for the special and executive produced it.”
Hannah Montana ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2011. It followed Miley Stewart (Cyrus), a teenager living a double life as pop star Hannah Montana. Emily Osment and Mitchell Musso played Miley’s best friends, Lilly and Oliver, while Jason Earles played her brother, Jackson. The series also featured guest stars including Dolly Parton, Brooke Shields, the Jonas Brothers and Selena Gomez.
When Disney officially announced the special last month, Cyrus shared in a statement: “‘Hannah Montana’ will always be a part of who I am. What started as a TV show became a shared experience that shaped my life and the lives of so many fans, and I’ll always be thankful for that connection. The fact that it still means so much to people all these years later is something I’m very proud of. This ‘Hannahversary’ is my way of celebrating and thanking the fans who’ve stood by me for 20 years.”
