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Although after the acquisition of 20th Century Fox Avatar became the highest-grossing film in the history of Walt Disney Company, the latest installment of Marvel's Avengers franchise remains one of the company's most successful. Specifically, Avengers: Endgame grossed nearly **** billion U.S. dollars worldwide from ticket sales, placing it second, about *** million U.S. dollars behind James Cameron's film. That films like Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, or the Oscar-winning Titanic are among the top spots is no coincidence. The acquisition in recent years of the rights to iconic franchises such as Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as 20th Century Fox, the studio behind The Simpsons, has solidified Walt Disney as the second most valuable media company in the market.

Walt Disney, the cinematic giant to beat

Walt Disney is one of the highest-grossing production companies in the film industry overall, and in animation in particular. And, although collectively its films have grossed less than some of its major competitors, the Mickey Mouse company continues to break records year after year. In its latest fiscal year, Walt Disney's revenues reached around billion U.S. dollars, the highest figure of the past decade. It is also worth noting that theatrical releases are not even its main source of income. In 2024 alone, theme parks and related experiences and products generated more than four times the revenue of film productions for the media giant. That said, television channels are not far behind and are already the company's second main source of income, followed by streaming platforms that continue to gain ground.

Animation, a sector in continuous growth

The box office success of titles like The Lion King, Toy Story 4, and Frozen 2 has contributed to the recent boom that animation seems to be experiencing. Between these three films, the industry grossed over * billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2019. This figure was expected to be even higher the following year but was ultimately curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the total value of the animation sector continues to grow and is estimated to have reached billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2024. However, among the highest-grossing animated films of that year, around *** billion U.S. dollars were earned, practically the same as the combined total of the three Disney blockbusters from 2019 mentioned earlier. What does this mean? Simply put, animation still has a challenging road ahead to return to its pre-coronavirus status, but it is on the right track.