Last year, Disney became the first studio in history to surpass $11 billion in annual box office earnings, shattering its own record set in 2016 ($7.6 billion). Perhaps more impressively, Disney saw seven movies surpass $1 billion in global ticket sales in 2019, also flying past its own previous milestone of four $1+ billion films in 2016.
As the following chart shows, six of this year’s eight highest-grossing movies have been Disney films, with “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (Sony Pictures) and “Joker” (Warner Bros.) the only exceptions.
Thanks to the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilms and 21st Century Fox in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2019, respectively, Disney has grown into a dominant force in the movie industry, assuming 33 percent market share at the North American box office last year.
