Air Bud (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. The franchise began in 1997 with the theatrical release of Air Bud, followed by the theatrical release of Air Bud: Golden Receiver in 1998. 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. The franchise features fourteen films (five of which were in the Air Bud series and seven in the Air Buddies series), 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.