It’s Mickey’s world, we’re all just living in it.
With the summer moviegoing season now in the rear view, the final domestic box office numbers reveal just how dominant Disney was. Of the $4.31 billion grossed from the first weekend of May through Labor Day weekend, $1.83 billion came from movies distributed by the Mouse House. That’s a market share of 42%, a 9% increase from Disney’s 33% take last year.
It’s important to note that these figures do not factor in the record-shattering opening weekend of Avengers: Endgame, which hit theaters and grossed $537 million domestically before the summer season “officially” kicked off. If you include that weekend’s grosses, the overall summer take jumps to $4.84 billion and Disney’s share soars to a staggering 47% overall with $1.83 billion.
As The Wrap points out, Disney’s record-setting success this summer also came from a lack of major blockbuster from other studios. This summer the House that Mickey Built did not face competing tent pole juggernauts like last year’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom from Universal or even a mid-budget powerhouse like Warner Bros’ Crazy Rich Asians.
In fact, many notable franchises from other studios fell well below expectations, including Warner Bros’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters or Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2. Even Hobbs & Shaw failed to generate the box office stimulation of other Fast & Furious films. That said, Disney likely won’t hit such astronomical stats next summer given the facts that they won’t be putting out an Avengers movie or a sequel to a beloved Pixar series.
What do you make of this news? Are you shocked by the summer box office results? Do these numbers worry you for the future of the moviegoing experience? Sound off in the comments below; I’m very much interested in hearing what you have to say!
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