Disney has been knocked from its top spot at the box office in 2023 by Universal. With 17 films released in 2023, Disney slipped to the second spot behind Universal. Universal brought in $4.907 billion globally at the box office with movies like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Oppenheimer and M3GAN among its 24 films that were released throughout the year. Disney brought in $4.827 globally during the course of the year.
Disney attributes part of this slip to second in the fact that it released fewer movies that Universal in 2023. It also highlighted that the house of mouse had the most films that were in the top ten this year. This included four of the highest-grossing global releases and three of the highest-grossing domestic releases. However, it didn’t capture any of the top three spots at the box office. These went to:
- Barbie – $1.4 billion (Warner Bros.)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie – $1.3 billion (Universal)
- Oppenheimer – $950 million (Universarl)
2023 also marked the first time since 2014 that Disney didn’t have a movie cross the $1 billion mark at the box office (not including during 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic). This was evident throughout the year as movies released by the different banners that The Walt Disney Company failed to meet expectations. This includes Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, Haunted Mansion, and a few others. The bright spot for Disney was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This brought in $845 million.
While this year didn’t meet the regular expectations for movies coming from Disney. It is worth recognizing that if any other studio had the results that Disney had this year, there would have been celebrating. The flip side of this is the amount that Disney spends on its movie, which is substantial.
Moving forward, Disney CEO Bob Iger has stated that the company will be focusing on the quality of its films and not the quantity. Recently, Disney announced seven confirmed release dates and titles for its movies. There are also seven release dates with unknown titles. Disney undoubtably hopes that one, or more, of these titles help put it back on track to where it normally is at the box office. With films like Mufasa: The Lion King, Inside Out 2, and even Deadpool 3, there is a distinct possibility that this could happen.
What do you think of Disney at the box office in 2023? Do you think it will do better in 2024? Share your thoughts, opinions, and predictions in the comments below!
