The king of this year’s box office has been crowned, and it’s none other than Disney. After a year of mixed-reception releases, the House of Mouse rose on top of the competition with a global box office haul of US$6 billion — its first since COVID-19.
This marks the studio’s fifth time crossing the major milestone, joining previous highs set in 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Much of the success can be attributed to Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2, both members of the billon-dollar club (with the latter earning US$1.3 billion globally and counting), as well as James Cameron’s CGI juggernaut, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which currently stands at US$450 million after a week of release. In total, Disney has grossed US$2.3 billion domestically and US$3.65 billion internationally across all titles.
Other big contributors to the haul include the three Marvel sequels, Captain America: Brave New World (US$415 million), Thunderbolts (US$382 million), and Fantastic Four: First Steps (US$521 million), even if their individual tally is significantly lower than what a Marvel instalment would bring in during its heyday. Conversely, Pixar’s Elio (US$154 million), the live-action Snow White (US$205 million), and the Jared Leto-starring Tron: Ares (US$142 million) fell short of expectations by a wide margin.
More notably, 2025 is Disney’s best showing since 2019, when it notched a record seven films that surpassed the US$1 billion mark: Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, the Aladdin and The Lion King live-action adaptations, Toy Story 4, Frozen II, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Love Disney or not, there’s no denying that the five-year streak is impressive, if unsurprising, considering no other studio has hit US$6 billion since 2015.
And the Magic Kingdom’s momentum won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Heading into 2026, it will offer with a heavy-hitter lineup that includes Avengers: Doomsday, Toy Story 5, the live-action Moana, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and more.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
