The studio is still the overall box office leader, even if fans and audiences aren’t fully behind Disney.
Reports put Disney with $3.4 billion worldwide at the box office, which ranges from the beginning of the year to this past week (Jan. 1-July 2). That breaks out to $1.35 billion domestically and $2.05 billion abroad. This number is just from the seven Disney theatrical releases in 2023.
Deadline notes that put the studio well ahead of most of its competitors; the Disney box office is “3.9x that of Paramount’s ($871M with five movies) and 3.8x that of Warner Bros ($898M with six movies).”
The only real competition Disney faces theatrical this year (minus bad reviews) is Universal, which is in a solid second place. Universal Pictures sits right behind Disney with an estimated $2.89 billion from 14 titles. Carrying the studio to such success is Illumination’s Super Mario Bros and its whopping $1.33 billion, which is currently the highest-grossing film of the year. For comparison, Disney’s most successful film of the year is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 and its current $838.6 million global haul.
The latest two Disney releases: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny & Elemental, are currently playing in cinemas worldwide. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has grossed $159.6 million in its first week, while Elemental has played for almost a month and has only brought in $195.9 million. Both films saw a poor reception when they premiered at Cannes but have since found moderate acclaim from audiences.
