Disney dominated 2025 box office. Can it keep the crown in 2026?

Disney Dominates the 2025 Box Office with Beloved Franchises

The Walt Disney Company has emerged as the top player in the domestic box office for 2025, thanks to the success of its iconic franchises, including blue aliens, a family of superheroes, and a city of talking animals. According to data from Comscore, Disney accounted for $2.49 billion in ticket sales, or 27.5% of the total domestic box office haul of $9.05 billion.

The company’s success can be attributed to its diverse range of popular intellectual properties, including Marvel, which falls under the Disney umbrella. In fact, four of Disney’s films were among the top 10 highest-grossing domestic releases of the year, including the live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch,” a sequel to 2016’s “Zootopia,” another entrant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” and a third “Avatar” film.

Competition and Market Share

Disney’s closest competitors, Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal, trailed behind with $1.9 billion and $1.7 billion in domestic ticket sales, respectively. These three studios combined accounted for nearly 70% of the domestic box office market share, with no other studio surpassing $1 billion in domestic ticket sales or accounting for more than 7% of the total box office haul.

According to Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore, the success of these studios can be attributed to their diverse range of successful sub-brands, such as Marvel under Disney, New Line under Warner Bros., and Illumination under Universal. These sub-brands enable the studios to dominate the box office and maintain a significant percentage of the marketplace.

Upcoming Releases and Future Prospects

Looking ahead to 2026, Disney is set to release several highly anticipated films, including its first Star Wars film in theaters since 2019, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” as well as “Toy Story 5,” a live-action “Moana,” and “Avengers: Doomsday.” The box office is also expected to get a boost from Warner Bros.’ “Supergirl” and “Dune: Part Three,” Universal’s “Minions 3” and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” and Sony’s third “Jumanji” film.

Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, notes that the 2026 slate is packed with top-tier franchises, including fan-driven and family-oriented films, as well as filmmaker-driven tentpoles. With a strong lineup of releases, there is plenty of optimism for the future of the box office.