Disney loses its box office crown for the first time in seven years

Many Disney films underperformed at the box office last year.

By Christine Vigliotti 

Disney’s 100-year anniversary went out with a whimper. 

Universal Pictures dethroned Disney as the world’s highest grossing Hollywood studio in 2023, a crown Disney has worn since 2016. 

Disney had 11 major theatrical releases last year, many of which underperformed at the box office.   “Haunted Mansion” grossed $118 million against a $150 million budget. “The Marvels,” a sequel to the 2019 hit “Captain Marvel,” bombed at the box office, grossing $206 million against a $274 million budget, and“Wish,” which was granted the coveted Thanksgiving theatrical release, made only about $254 million against a $200 million budget. 

“I'm mindful of the fact that our performance, from a quality perspective, wasn’t up to the standards we set for ourselves,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a phone call with investors last November.

In addition to low box office numbers, these films also shared expensive budgets and mixed reviews. 

A film has to make about double its budget in order to break even, according to Screen Rant. Many recent Disney films had budgets of at least $200 million, excluding marketing costs. 

For example, the 2019 live action version of “The Lion King” had a budget of $260 million, making it one of Disney’s most expensive films, according to Movie Web. The film was successful, grossing more than $1 billion at the box office despite some negative reviews. 

But it doesn’t help Disney that moviegoer audiences have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. Movie ticket sales reached $9 billion in 2023, down from $11 billion in pre-pandemic sales, according to The New York Times.

Following the pandemic drought of entertainment, Disney released more than 32 films in theaters and on Disney+ in 2023, in addition to original television shows.

“Quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality, and I think that’s exactly what happened,” Iger told CNBC. “We lost some focus.”