Disney may not control the world (yet), but the studio continues to be a powerhouse in Hollywood. The House of Mouse provide a lot of offerings in 2016, from animated tales like Finding Dory to action blockbusters like Captain America: Civil War. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that many of these movies were critically and commercially well received this year, and it paid off for them big time, as Walt Disney Studios has become the first studio to cross $7 billion globally in a year.
The company announced their record-breaking achievement today, noting that it was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's global debut that pushed them over the edge, bringing in over $290 million over it first five days of release globally. Along with the previously mentioned movies, Zootopia, The Jungle Book, Doctor Strange, Moana and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which was released in December 2015) were crucial to the studio hitting this impressive blockbuster milestone. The press release went on to note that Disney holds five of the top 10 films of the year globally, domestically and internationally. Thanks to their successful 2016, they also now hold five of the top six domestic openings in industry history (four of those being MCU movies), as well as holding four of the top five animated films of all time. Pixar and Marvel Studios also both crossed over $10 billion in "combined lifetimes grosses" for their movies.
While 2016 hasn't been a great year when it came to quality blockbusters, Walt Disney Studios largely managed to soar above all that. Okay, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Alice Through the Looking Glass, which both underperformed commercially and earned a lot of negative reviews. The BFG's box office draw also wasn't as high as expected, though it did earn positive reviews. Still, the positive far outweighed the negatives as far as this studio is concerned. Other Disney movies that came out in 2016 included Pete's Dragon and Queen of Katwe, both of which did well for themselves critically.
You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't like at least one of the Disney movies that came out this year, whether it was watching a new version of Mowgli's journey through the jungle or witnessing former surgeon Stephen Strange becoming a powerful conjurer of the mystic arts. Looking ahead, it looks like 2017 could be another excellent year for them, as their heavy hitters include Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Cars 3, Thor: Ragnarok and Star Wars: Episode VIII, among others. Rest assured, if the studio breaks past $8 billion in 2017, we'll be sure to let you know around this time next year.
If you're looking to add some Disney flair to your moviegoing experience this holiday season, Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One are still playing in theaters.
