Disney lost near-decadelong streak of highest-grossing studio in 2023

Disney’s streak as king of the box office came to an end in 2023 after Universal Pictures took the top spot last year.

The Mouse House’s box office total tallied $4.83 billion in 2023, with Universal’s total box office slightly ahead at $4.91 billion. The results put an end to an eight-year streak that Disney had at the box office, being the highest-grossing studio since 2015.

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Disney losing the box office battle to Universal could be attributed to the myriad of financial flops the studio released last year, including six big budget films. The studio’s most recent flop, Wish, greatly underperformed for an animated Disney film, grossing just over $61 million in North America and over $176 million worldwide.

Other flops released by Disney in 2023 included Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Little Mermaid live-action remake, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Haunted Mansion, and The Marvels.

Various factors have been cited for Disney’s underperformance, including fatigue of the company’s brands and franchises, along with consumers not spending as much as they used to.

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The nearly $5 billion Universal grossed last year stemmed from the release of various films, including The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Oppenheimer, and Fast X, all three of which were in the top five highest-grossing films of 2023.

Behind Universal and Disney in the box office battle was Warner Bros. Discovery, which trailed the previous two studios with a global tally of $3.84 billion.