Box Office: 'Lion King' Nudges Disney Toward Record Year of $1B Hits
The Mouse House could see six or more of its 2019 releases become members of the elite club.
Jon Favreau's The Lion King opened to a record-breaking $185 million domestically for an early global total of $531 million; Avengers: Endgame passed up Avatar to become the top film of all time not adjusted for inflation; and Aladdin is on the verge of magically jumping the $1 billion mark globally.
Disney's film empire accounts for $7 billion in ticket sales at the 2019 worldwide box office — or as much as 46 percent of the $15.9 billion collected by movies released on more than 1,000 screens, including revenue from titles inherited following the Disney-Fox merger.
With five months left to go in 2019, Disney is just days away from eclipsing the industry record set in 2016 when its movies collected $7.6 billion for the full year. Its revenue for all of 2019 could clock in at $10 billion or more, considering six of its movies are likely to cross $1 billion globally, a first for any Hollywood studio (in 2016, Disney set a new bar with four).
The dominance of Disney has left Hollywood reeling, particularly now that 20th Century Fox is no longer a stand-alone studio, but part of the Mouse House fold. The disparity between Disney, run by veteran executive Alan Horn in tandem with Alan Bergman, and the four remaining major studios is startling: Warner Bros. currently accounts for roughly $1.8 billion in global ticket sales year to date, followed by Universal with $1.7 billion and Sony with $1.5 billion. Fox is at $770 million, and Paramount, $540 million.
Avengers: Endgame's current gross stands at $2.90 billion, followed by $1.23 billion for Captain Marvel, both from Marvel Studios. Aladdin finished Sunday with a total $988.8 million. The live-action remake is from Disney's homegrown studio, run by Sean Bailey and also home of Lion King, which is now virtually assured of becoming a member of the billion-dollar club.
Pixar and Disney's Toy Story 4 is another potential club member, considering that animated pics can enjoy especially long legs. Its total through Sunday is $859.4 million. Frozen 2, which opens at Thanksgiving, is likewise a candidate.
On Dec. 20, Disney and Lucasfilm open Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Two years ago, Star Wars: The Last Jedi earned $1.33 billion globally, preceded by a massive $2.07 billion for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released in December 2015. Box office analysts say it's almost a given that the new Star Wars film — the ninth and final installment in the Skywalker saga — will earn north of $1 billion.