Walt Disney Studios Produced 80% Of 2020’s Top Box Office Films
It’s never happened before. But The Walt Disney Studios produced 80% of the year’s top box office films in 2020.
A Big Year For Walt Disney Studios
The Verge’s Julia Alexander reported:
A scene from STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
It’s difficult not to look at Disney’s record-breaking year, securing eight of the top 10 highest-grossing films of 2019 domestically and its impressive entrance into streaming with Disney+, without whispering to yourself “maybe Martin Scorsese had a point.”
Disney’s new record follows the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film grossed $175.5 million domestically in its opening weekend, just skirting past Universal Pictures’ critically acclaimed horror film, Us, which grossed $175.05 million total domestically.
Glancing at Disney’s releases this year yields an unprecedented collection of guaranteed hits. Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home (Marvel Studios and Disney co-produced the film with Sony, but Marvel Studios had full creative control) brought an end the Infinity Saga. Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 were highly anticipated next installments in adored franchises. Aladdin and The Lion King were remakes of some of Disney’s most popular ‘90s animated films, and The Rise of Skywalker is a Star Wars movie. It works out to more than $10 billion in global revenue.
It’s All Going to Plan for Disney Studios
And, Disney’s franchise machine is paying dividends – even if it is annoying the auteurs:
Everything is going according to plan for the House of Mouse. Disney began the decade with two key purchases: Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012. The combined more than $8 billion investment has exceedingly paid off for Disney; Marvel Studios has made more than $28 billion at the box office alone, while Star Wars is the centerpiece of Disney’s future, Disney+. The goal was to build out franchises Disney could consistently use and build worlds around.
