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Credit: LucasfilmAlthough the fanbase has been increasingly divided since the studio’s acquisition, it seems like Disney is doing more with Star Wars than some might have imagined. The Force is strong with this one.
By little exaggeration, 2023 has not been Disney’s greatest year. Dubbed by fans as its “Flop Era,” the Walt Disney Company has genuinely struggled to rake it in at the box office thanks to several lukewarm releases like The Marvels (2023) and Wish (2023). However, its saving grace might just lie in a galaxy far, far away.
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According to a report from CNBC, the Star Wars franchise currently ranks as the number one franchise of 2023, forcing Disney itself to take number two. But how did the series reach the top after a year of no theatrical release from the sci-fi space opera?
Disney Shifts Focus with Star Wars Media
Although fans might not have a true Star Wars cinematic experience until 2026, 2023 has been a big year for the franchise. Along with a slew of new content on Disney+ like Ahsoka and the thrilling conclusion of Din Djarin and Grogu’s story arc in The Mandalorian, the franchise has had tremendous developments in its creative team, specifically Dave Filoni claiming the throne of Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm.
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That’s all perfectly well and good, but is it truly enough to dwarf franchise giants like DC, Marvel, and Harry Potter? Given the amount of material Star Wars fans have outside of the core movies, there’s certainly strength in numbers.
By shifting focus from the theaters to streaming services, Disney has utilized Disney+ to construct a much wider universe than its competition, even rivaling the MCU. The franchise isn’t objectively better, but it does have more toys to play with.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, described it perfectly when he told CNBC,
“The Star Wars brand has no peer when it comes to the unprecedented goodwill, cultural ubiquity, character mythology and sheer revenue-generating power achieved across most every vertical in the entertainment ecosystem…”
By having more series and spinoffs on Disney+, Lucasfilm has given its fans and supporters more than enough outlets to occupy their time until the next major theatrical release. As a result, viewers are more invested in the fictional worlds rather than one storyline, as seen in something like Harry Potter or the Batman movies.
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In short, it’s not about having one string of movies but rather utilizing the realm in which they occur. The MCU had this down to a science until the Multiverse got involved, but the Star Wars galaxy is just big enough to contain more than just Jedi Knights, lightsabers, X-Wings, and the Death Star.
Do you think Star Wars is Disney’s best franchise? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!