Credit: Marvel StudiosAs many critics and industry insiders will tell you, the Walt Disney Company is having a rough year at the box office, with multiple films performing worse than expected. However, this hasn’t stopped Disney from becoming the most successful studio of the year.
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Many people are finding 2023 to be a disappointing year for the Walt Disney Company. While Parks like Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort thrive, Disney films have been underperforming overall. Yes, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been a massive success, but the other four have grossly missed the mark.
This has led many critics and reporters would have you believe that this means that Disney as a whole is dying. However, this is far from the case. If you want proof, just take a look at the world box office, where Walt’s company continues to destroy the competition and bring in more money than ever.
Disney is Leagues Ahead of Universal and Warner Bros.
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Despite these films earning less than expected, Disney is still well ahead of the other studios regarding box office performance. Currently, Disney has earned $3.4 billion at the world box office, $1.35 billion domestically and $2.05 billion internationally.
The House of Mouse also has five movies currently in the top 20 highest-grossing movies of the year: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ($837 million), The Little Mermaid ($525 million), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($476 million), Elemental ($188 million), and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($131 million). Four of them are still in theaters.
Disney’s closest rival is Universal Pictures, which has grossed $2.89 billion from 14 movies. This includes the highest-grossing movie of the year, The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.33 billion), and the third-highest-grossing movie, Fast X ($6.99 million). The third most successful studio so far is Sony Pictures, with $1.1 billion from 15 films, including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($6.13 million).
Warner Bros. is in fourth place with $898 million, and fifth is Paramount with $871 million. While it seems like any of these studios could catch up with many more superhero films on the way, Disney has plenty of other properties that could easily dwarf the competition, including Haunted Mansion, The Marvels, and Wish, Disney’s first traditional princess film in years.
Do you think Disney will hold onto its lead? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!