DisneyDisney's massive blockbuster franchises achieved a nearly impossible feat at the global box office in 2016 – and that feat may never be repeated by another studio (or even Disney itself). The Mouse House made an impressive recovery at the box office this year with a trio of blockbusters culminating in Moana 2. The Disney brand bottomed out in 2022 and 2023 with bombs like The wonders, Strange Worldand the Haunted Mansion reboot and commercial disappointments like Elementary, The Little Mermaid, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaand Indiana Jones and the Fate Dial.
But in 2024, Disney made an impressive return at the box office. It had the two highest-grossing films of the year with Pixar Inside Out 2the highest-grossing animated film ever made, and Marvel Studios' Deadpool and Wolverinethe highest-grossing R-rated film ever made. As impressive as Disney's box office recovery was in 2024, it was nowhere near as impressive as the box office success the studio achieved in 2016. Disney's success in 2016 will be difficult for any studio to replicate (especially in a post-COVID world).
Disney was responsible for the five highest-grossing films in 2016
The five best-selling films of 2016 were all released by Disney
The five highest-grossing films of 2016 (via Mojo Box Office) were all released by Disney. Captain America: Civil Wara huge Marvel crossover that pits Iron Man against Captain America, topped the year's box office with a global haul of $1,153,296,293. Rogue One: A Star Wars Storythe prequel explaining how the Rebels acquired the Death Star plans came in second with $1,056,057,273. Finding DoryPixar's long-awaited sequel to Finding Nemoraised $1,028,570,889. Zootopiaa successful original animation, grossed US$1,023,784,195, and the live-action remake of The Jungle Book raised $966,550,600.
2016 was a perfect storm for Disney. The Wonder and Star Wars brands were at the height of their value before years of haphazard results damaged public goodwill. Unlike many of the less successful remakes that followed, The Jungle Book it was surprisingly great; it has beautiful visuals and a more concise story that really improves on the original. Finding Dory followed one of Pixar's most beloved films and Zootopia offered a fascinating new animated world with a strong narrative and lovable characters. At that time, the Disney brand seemed indestructible.
Even Disney will struggle to replicate its 2016 box office success
The box office is in shambles after COVID
Even Disney will have a hard time replicating 2016's box office success. It's almost impossible for the year's five biggest films to all come from a single studio. Disney did a good job of monopolizing the industry by acquiring one of the other major studios, 20th Century Fox. But the rest of the “Big Five” (formerly “Big Six”) – Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros. and Sony – are all competing for box office dominance. And that's not to mention smaller studios like Lionsgate and A24, which deliver occasional surprise hits like John Wick or Everything everywhere at the same time.
Every studio releases blockbuster films every year. It's difficult for just one of them to outdo all the others to grab the top five spots at the year-end box office. There's a reason this has only happened once before. 2016 was the exception to the rule, even in the best of times. In a post-COVID world, it's increasingly difficult for studios to get audiences into theaters unless it's for a cultural event like the Barbenheimer. Today, studios are lucky if they can get a big hit in one year, let alone five.
2026 is Disney's best chance to beat its 2016 box office record
In 2026, Disney has Moana, The Avengers, The Mandalorian and Woody coming to theaters
Disney has a good chance of replicating its 2016 box office success with its 2026 release schedule. Avengers: Judgment Day, Toy Story 5, The Mandalorian and Groguand the live-action remake of Moana all have a good chance of ranking among the highest-grossing films of the year; they are all based on Disney's most valuable blockbuster properties. Disney just needs one more blockbuster movie in 2026 (and may they all perform exceptionally well at the box office) to make this happen. There are a few other 2026 Disney movies that could be box office hits.
Avengers: Doomsday, Toy Story 5, The Mandalorian & Grogu and the live-action remake of Moana have a good chance of ranking among the highest-grossing films of the year; they are all based on Disney's most valuable blockbuster properties.
Tom Holland's room Spider-Man the film is set to be released on July 24, 2026, but while it's a guaranteed box office hit, it's tied to Sony, so it wouldn't really count as a win for Disney. There is also an original Pixar production called Funnels Coming out March 6th. Pixar's original films haven't performed as well as their sequels recently, but Inside Out 2 regained some goodwill for the studio, and Funnels has an interesting premise of scientists transplanting their consciousness into robot animals. Disney there are also seven yet-to-be-announced films dated 2026, so one of them could debut.
Source: Mojo Box Office