In September, Warner Bros. crossed $4 billion, ruling the global box office. The studio had a big comeback year thanks to a slew of hits including “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Superman,” “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” “Weapons,” and “F1: The Movie” (distributed for Apple Studios), among others. Even with that head start, it wasn’t enough to take down the Mouse House. With a week to go, not only has Walt Disney Studios roared past its Burbank counterpart, but it has earned a massive $6 billion worldwide.
READ MORE: The 150 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
As of December 23, Disney earned $2.3 billion domestic and $3.65 billion overseas. It surprassed $6 billion on December 24. This is the first time Disney has hit this mark since the pandemic. It previously surpassed $6 billion in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. In the latter year, it became the only distributor in history to cross $10 billion thanks to billion-dollar grossers “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story 4,” “Frozen II,” “Captain Marvel,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” and “Aladdin.” The current theatrical marketplace is years away from returning to that level, but $6 billion is a positive sign for exhibitors, Disney, and their fellow distributors.
Disney’s 2025 global haul is thanks to “Zootopia 2” ($1.3 billion and still climbing), “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.03 billion), “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($450 million over just five days), “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” ($520 million) and “Captain America: Brave New World” ($413 million), and more than 15 additional releases from 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. Not all of the studio’s releases were profitable, but as a production entity and distributor, Disney is safely in the black. This year’s figure was also a substantial jump from 2024, when the company earned a little over $5 billion in theaters worldwide.
2026 could be a massive year for all three Disney divisions, with new films such as “Avengers: Doomsday,” a live-action “Moana,” “Toy Story 5,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Hoppers,” and “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” headed to theaters.
There will be genuine competition from Warner Bros. with “The Mummy,” “Wuthering Heights,” “Supergirl,” “Practical Magic 2,” “Digger,” “The Cat in the Hat,” and “Dune: Part Three.” As well as Universal Pictures, which is also waiting in the wings with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Disclosure Day,” “The Odyssey,” “Minions 3,” “Focker-in-Law,” international on “Michael,” and Focus Features’ “Werewulf.”
Walt Disney Studios’ next wide release is Sam Raimi’s “Send Help” from 20th Century Studios on January 30th.
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Bluesky
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Threads
Follow Gregory Ellwood on Instagram
Sign Up For The Breakdown Newsletter
