Disney's 2019 Box Office Breakdown
Disney occupied 7 of the top 10 films at the worldwide box office.
Well, as we prophesized for years now. 2019 was going to be a massive year for Disney. Now we are in 2020 and it seems like a good time to reflect and breakdown Disney's historic 2019 box office performance.
*Even if Disney didn't get all the profit for Spider-Man: Far From Home they basically made the film into the behemoth. Sony should feel blessed by having the first major MCU film after Endgame. We won't be covering Far From Home in this specific list due to it being released by Sony and the profit share complexity.
Captain Marvel
It is safe to say that Captain Marvel was the first film of 2019 that overperformed for Disney. An MCU film tends to do well at the box office but a billion-dollar success is overachieving. Captain Marvel was a prequel film for the MCU but it featured Brie Larson's debut as the titular hero. Samuel L. Jackson also reprised his role as Nick Fury for the film.
Captain Marvel had a $153 million opening weekend. The film grossed over $426 million domestically, and $701 million worldwide. Bringing the overall total to $1.1 billion. Captain Marvel had a budget between $152-175 million. The film finished 5 out of 10 on the 2019 world box office list. It was a huge success, and Captain Marvel 2 is already confirmed.
Dumbo
Dumbo is a Tim Burton remake of the 1941 animated classic. And it was one of the very few strikeouts, in a year that Disney kept hitting home runs. Disney's live-action remake strategy is usually pretty successful (more on that later). Yet, Dumbo didn't deliver. Maybe Dumbo wasn't the smartest property to do considering the original film was from the forties. Although it's considered a classic it isn't as popular as some other Disney titles throughout the years. Trust me there are people out there that are psycho for the original Dumbo. We found that out back in November during the launch of Disney+.
Anyways, Dumbo's opening weekend was $48 million. The film made $114 million domestically, and $238 million globally. Bringing its total to $353 million overall. Dumbo had a budget of $170 million so it definitely lost money but it wasn't as big of a disaster as some previous Disney releases years prior.
Avengers: Endgame
Endgame doesn't even really need that much of an in-depth breakdown. The film was the number one film in 2019. Quite frankly it is the biggest film of all time. Dethroning Avatar for highest-grossing film of all time.
Avengers: Endgame made a historic $1.2 billion worldwide on its opening weekend. The film went on to make $858 million domestically, and $1.9 billion worldwide. Bringing its overall total to the record-breaking $2.79 billion. Endgame led the charge for Disney's box office domination this year. The film also had a $356 million budget.
Aladdin
If Captain Marvel being a box office force was a shock. Aladdin's staying power was even crazier. The remake of the 1992 animated classic saw Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith take on the classic characters.
Aladdin had a $91 million opening weekend. A very strong showing for any film. It went on to make $355 million domestically, and $695 million globally. Bringing its total to a strong $1.05 billion. Making Aladdin the eighth highest-grossing film worldwide of this year. Aladdin 2 is looking quite plausible too.
Toy Story 4
Pixar ends its sequel phase. Which started in 2016 with Finding Dory, then continued in 2017 with Cars 3, and in 2018 with Incredibles 2. Toy Story 4 marks the end of the sequel phase of Pixar as they eye a return to original films for 2020 and beyond. Toy Story 4 had a pretty controversial production due to original director John Lasseter leaving Pixar, among other issues. Yet, in the end, Toy Story 4 was a reminder of just how great Pixar is.
Earlier in the year, many Hollywood trades reported that Toy Story 4 was off to a slow start with a $120 million opening weekend. Toy Story 4 would prove to get going with a $434 million domestic haul and $639 million globally. Making an overall total of $1.07 billion. The film finished sixth in the top 10 for the worldwide box office. Toy Story 4 had a budget of $200 million.
The Lion King
The second biggest film to Avengers: Endgame this year. The Lion King was a remake of the 1994 animated film. It had the massive budget of $260 million. Jon Favreau directed the remake with a stacked cast of Donald Glover, Beyonce, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, James Earl Jones, and others.
The film had a $191 million opening weekend. The film would go on to make $543 million domestically, and $1.1 billion globally. Bringing the overall total to an impressive $1.6 billion.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Angelina Jolie returned to her iconic role as Maleficent in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The film was originally slated to come out May 29, 2020, instead, Disney moved it up into 2019, their stacked year. This equaled mixed results.
The film finished 15 in the worldwide box office. Which is usually a good thing. Yet Maleficent 2 had a poor opening weekend with only $36 million that's lower than Dumbo. It went on to make only $113 million domestically. The film was saved by international audiences with a $377 million total. Resulting in an overall $491 million. The budget was a healthy $185 million. The original film made $758 million overall. So, it is safe to say that Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was expected to due better although it did squeak out with something.
Frozen II
The highly-anticipated sequel to Frozen arrived this year also. Which just shows how Disney engineered this entire 2019 around their biggest franchises. Frozen II which is still in theaters, by the way, is already the third highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.
Frozen II made $130 million on its opening weekend. Powering its way to a domestic total so far of $459 million, and a global total of $912 million. Frozen II currently stands at $1.3 billion. Frozen II's budget was $150 million.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
And the last true Disney release of 2019 was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The film sits at 9 on the top ten list. But it's still possible it could move its way up the rankings.
With a budget of $275 million. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made $177 million on its opening weekend. The film grossed $478 million domestically so far, and $511 million globally so far. Bringing the total so far to $989 million. Will the film reach a billion? It's always possible. The film may keep in theaters until more 2020 releases happen.
In Conclusion
Captain Marvel ($1.13 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion) wowed at the box office for Disney. Aladdin ($1.05 billion) and The Lion King ($1.66 billion) both proved that the Disney live-action remake formula is still alive and well. Pixar’s Toy Story 4 ($1.07 billion) soared even if it took a while, and Walt Disney Animation’s Frozen II ($1.3 billion) became the highest-grossing animated film of all time — and counting. Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($989 million so far) is still out in theaters but is giving a dominant performance.
The only true misses in Disney's box office lineup this year was Dumbo and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Which it's even hard to call Maleficent a miss considering the circumstances, and both films still made the top 25 at the worldwide box office.
Disney had 33% of the box office market share. Disney has to date earned $3.76 billion domestically (an all-time record) and $7.35 billion internationally (an all-time record), for a global take of $11.12 billion. They were involved with 8 of the top 10 highest-grossing films worldwide in 2019. And none of these numbers include or come from the acquired 20th Century Fox studios.
2019 was truly a powerhouse year for Disney. It will be hard for Disney to live up to this in 2020. There could be some hidden gems but next year Disney faces new challenges with a smaller slate with less recognizable intellectual property. Plus next year will have two new Marvel films instead of the three, and the two new films are Black Widow and Eternals which will probably not make Captain Marvel or Endgame level numbers. Disney will also have no Star Wars films for next year. Disney is probably hoping their animation heavyweights Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar deliver with their orignal 2020 releases (Raya and the Last Dragon, Onward, and Soul).
The 2019 worldwide box office list went like this, and obviously things may fluctuate with some of the films still being in theaters. 1. Avengers Endgame (Disney) 2. The Lion King (Disney) 3. Frozen II (Disney) 4. Spider-Man: Far From Home (Sony [Disney had a role]) 5. Captain Marvel (Disney) 6. Toy Story 4 (Disney) 7. Joker (Warner Bros.) 8. Aladdin (Disney) 9. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) 10. Hobbs & Shaw (Universal).
It will probably be a while before we see Disney dominate a year like they did 2019 again.
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