Is $9 Billion In Box Office Possible For Disney?
“…and The Lion King, Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker are all due out later this year.”
That is how this story ends; and pretty much all fans need to know after Disney pulled in $4 billion in world-wide box office through May.
Walt Disney Studios Aim For $9 Billion
On Friday, June 14, CNBC’s Sarah Whitten reported:
Disney has a shot at the impossible in 2019 — earning more than $9 billion at the global box office.
The entertainment giant has been a box office behemoth for the last five years, setting and then smashing its own records in the film industry over and over again. In 2016, the company’s films earned a record $7.6 billion globally. Last year, the company nearly broke that record again, reaching $7.3 billion. Domestically, Disney made a record $3.09 billion in 2018.
Both of those records could be passed in 2019.
An Amazing Year for Disney Box Office
This year has already been amazing for The Walt Disney Company’s various studios, what with Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Dumbo, and Penguins.
I’ve seen four of those five films, and apparently, I’m not alone; nevermind how many folks will line up to see Woody, Elsa, and Rey later in 2019.
“I would say they should finish pretty substantially above where they finished last year,” Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen, told CNBC. “I think it’s going to be above eight [billion dollars], it might be above nine.
“They could have five films break half a billion dollars in domestic box office this year,” added Creutz. “Last year they had three.”
And Whitten also noted that Disney’s newly-acquired studios also have movies in the mix:
Love this chart.
It shows @Disney's market share of the domestic box office over a decade. During that time, it acquired Marvel & Lucasfilm and went from 10% of all U.S. ticket sales to 26%.
2019 could be closer to 30%.
(data courtesy of @Comscore)https://t.co/nT1eNPXjRl pic.twitter.com/MeG8H1NxNz
— Sarah Whitten (@sarahwhit10) June 14, 2019
And that’s just the Disney titles. With the acquisition of Fox earlier this year, Disney has nine additional films in its lineup: Tolkien, Dark Phoenix, Stuber, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Ready or Not, Ad Astra, The Woman in the Window, Ford v. Ferrari, and Spies in Disguise.
Beyond the Box Office
Photo credit: CNBC.com
Beyond the movies, the news continues to be good for The Walt Disney Company, overall.
Next Year? Not So much…
However, for those following the ticker tape into next year, Disney’s studios are not expected to break records next year.
Whitten concluded:
“They have a huge slate year,” Creutz said, but he warned. “Next year? There’s a lot less.”
However, from 2021 on, Disney has at least secured the holiday box office, as it is set to release a “Star Wars” and “Avatar” film every other year through 2027.
What do you think of all these numbers? Is it a good thing for Disney to keep pumping out tentpole movies? Where should they invest the profits? Let us know in the comments.
