Summer Box Office: Disney Leads the Way But Falls Short of Expectations
Heading into the summer of 2025, there was optimism that the box office could have one of its best years in recent memory.
To reach those expectations, however, the movie theaters needed Disney to shine. Looking at the studio’s slate of films, there was reason to be optimistic.
Photo: Marvel
After all, Disney lined up two Marvel films (Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps), one highly anticipated live-action remake (Lilo & Stitch), a Pixar film (Elio), and a sequel to a beloved comedy (Freakier Friday).
A Mixed Bag
Unfortunately, what looked like a murderers’ row of movies ended up being something of a mixed bag.
Photo: Graceland
While Lilo & Stitch was an undeniable blockbuster, Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four, and even Freakier Friday fell short of expectations.
Photo: Disney
Elio, meanwhile, was a disaster.
The Results Are In
Now that the dust has settled, we can assess Disney’s overall summer performance. Disney closed out the season at $1.02 billion.
Photo: Disney
Breaking that number down, 42% of Disney’s summer haul came from Lilo & Stitch ($423.3 million) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($266.1 million).
Thunderbolts* added another $190.2 million to that total, while Freakier Friday and Elio were basically nonfactors.
Photo: Marvel
The good news for Disney is that it still topped all studios at the summer box office.
By Disney standards, however, the season was disappointing.
Disney Was Down in 2025
Competing against the twin juggernauts of Deadpool & Wolverine as well as Inside Out 2, Disney’s summer 2025 box office was down 32% year over year.
Image: Pixar
Without Disney’s firepower, the summer box office fell short of its lofty expectations, grossing $3.67 billion. That number was roughly even with last year and 10% lower than many analysts anticipated.
What We Learned
Examining the numbers, it is challenging to draw any definitive conclusions. The big takeaway is that Marvel and Pixar films are no longer guaranteed to dominate theaters.
D23
On the other hand, following the implosion of Snow White earlier this year, we were saying the same thing about live-action remakes. Months later, Lilo & Stitch became a bona fide blockbuster.
Photo: Disney
Ultimately, the only definitive takeaway is that movie theaters rely on Disney to thrive. For that reason, everyone should be rooting for the studio’s fall slate.
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