Walt Disney Studios posts record domestic box office for 2018, continues global streak

The Walt Disney Company’s conglomeration of movie studios has had a year to remember. At the domestic box office (US and Canada) Disney racked up an impressive $3.09 billion, a record for the studio and a new industry record. Disney also holds the previous record of $3.0 billion in 2016.

The studio released 10 films in 2018, including the top three industry releases of the year: Black Panther with $700 million to become the No. 3 film of all time; Avengers: Infinity War with $678.8 million, which ranks as the No. 4 film ever; and Incredibles 2 with $608.6 million to become the No. 1 animated release of all time and the No. 9 overall release in history. With Ant-Man and The Wasp and Solo: A Star Wars Story, five of Disney’s 2018 releases have surpassed $200M domestically to date, the sixth consecutive year at least four of the studio’s releases have reached this milestone.

The $7.3 billion earned by Disney at the global box office isn’t a record, but it’s a close second. Disney also owns the top spot of $7.6 billion earned in 2016. Disney remains the only studio to reach the $7 billion mark.

Three of Disney’s releases hit the billion-dollar mark globally, including Avengers: Infinity War with $2.05 billion, Black Panther with $1.35 billion and Incredibles 2 with $1.24 billion, while Ant-Man and The Wasp surpassed $620 million. Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther rank as the No. 1 and No. 3 international releases of the year.

“Congratulations to our studio and to Alan Horn and his ‘studios:’ Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Disney Live Action, Marvel & Lucasfilm! Quite an achievement!” said Disney Chair and CEO Bob Iger on his Twitter account.

“Thanks to the support of fans of Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm around the world, it’s been a monumental year for The Walt Disney Studios,” said Alan Horn, Chair of the Walt Disney Studios. “I want to especially acknowledge Marvel Studios’ pivotal year, during which Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War sparked conversation and broke records and expectations to cap an unprecedented first decade for this exceptional studio.”

“Right alongside these superheroic performances was the return of the Supers in Pixar’s Incredibles 2, bringing these beloved characters back to the screen with their powers stronger than ever,” continued Horn. “We truly appreciate the amazing talent of our studio team as well as the filmmakers and creatives we’re fortunate to work with, and we look forward to a great 2019.”

2018 is Disney’s third consecutive year over $6 billion, fourth consecutive year over $5 billion, and sixth consecutive year over $4 billion. It is also Disney’s fourth consecutive year over $2 billion domestically and third consecutive year over $4 billion internationally. These are some impressive numbers and shows consistency in studios leadership. It’s not easy to make so many good calls in a row.

Looking forward to Disney’s 2019 slate. It is full of highly anticipated titles, including: Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel (3/8/19) and Avengers: Endgame (4/26/19); Disney’s Dumbo (3/29/19), Aladdin (5/24/19), The Lion King (7/19/19) and Artemis Fowl (8/9/19); Pixar’s Toy Story 4 (6/21/19), Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen 2 (11/22/19), and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode IX (12/20/19). With titles like that $7 billion at the global box office might be possible again in 2019.

Which Disney movie do you think will end with the highest box office of 2019?

Previously: Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns shows signs of long legs at Box Office.