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Disney Studios has been ruling the industry for quite some time now. A key reason behind the studio’s success was none other than the amazing performance of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies at the box office.
In 2023, multiple Marvel movies failed at the box office, such asThe MarvelsandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.On top of that, films likeThe Little MermaidandStrange Worlddidn’t help much either.
Also Read:Cillian Murphy and Chris Pratt’s Movies Help Universal Studio End Disney’s Dominant Reign as The Highest Grossing Studio
Disney Gets Dethroned as the Highest-Grossing Movie Studio of 2023
Ever since the rise of the MCU, Disney has remained one of the highest grossing movie studios in the world. However, according to a report by Variety (via @DiscussingFilm), Disney has lost its top place to Universal Pictures, which released films such asOppenheimerandSuper Mario Bros.in 2023.
Universal Pictures is the highest grossing studio at the 2023 box office.
First time since 2015 that Disney has not been #1.pic.twitter.com/ifq22kv00H
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm)June 10, 2025
As mentioned in the above-attached tweet, it’s the first time since 2015 that Disney has failed to become the top-performing movie studio in the world. Movie fanatics had various reactions to the news on Twitter.
Universal pictures deserves it… they gave different range of movies
— V.S (@vishal070393)July 23, 2025
https://twitter.com/_twohitwonder/status/1742325944193372476
Disney fell off.
— Isiah (@forevertawl)August 07, 2025
That’s wild tbh
— Truly Pete (72%)👽 🔜 Some Rave Eventually (@AStateofPete)August 06, 2025
Disney didn’t help itself with a few ‘direct to Disney +’ releases.
Let’s hope each studio (and indy films!) do better in 2024.
— Ben Everard (@beneverard)July 09, 2025
A plethora of fans pointed out that Disney’s demise is only to blame for themselves. After all, the studio didn’t release a wide range of movies in 2023. On the other hand, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. didn’t make this mistake.
Although Disney had an underwhelming year by their standards, they still managed to clinch second place on the list of the top-performing movie studios in 2023. Keeping that in mind, if the studio can focus more on delivering quality movies in 2024, they may regain the top spot.
One of the most anticipated movies under the banner of 2024 is none other than Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’sDeadpool 3.Apart from that, a prequel toLion Kingand a newAlienmovie on the slate has fans on the edge of anticipation this year.
Also Read:Despite Having Tom Cruise at Their Side, Paramount Suffers Humiliating Defeat Against Disney at 2023 Box Office
Disney Failed to Even Have a Single Movie in the Top 3 Spots in 2023
It’s one thing to lose their top spot to Universal Pictures, it’s another to fail to land even one movie in the top 3 spots in 2023. Well, as per the aforementioned report byVariety, none of Disney’s flicks managed to cross the $1 billion mark at the box office.
But for the first time in a long time, Disney didn’t have one of the top three movies — those spots belong to Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” ($1.4 billion) and Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion) and “Oppenheimer” ($950 million). It’s also the first time since 2014 (except for the pandemic-stricken 2020 and 2021) that none of Disney’s movies crossed the $1 billion benchmark.
One of the only triumphs for Disney was none other than Chris Pratt’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,which raked in $845 million for the decorated movie studio.
Amidst the rivalry of Universal Pictures and Disney, Warner Bros. quietly clinched the third spot on the list. The biggest hit by the studio was none other thanBarbie,which made $1.4 billion globally and became the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
Which studio will win the war for being the highest-grossing movie studio in 2024? The audience will find out with time.
Aikansh Chaudhary
Articles Published :165
Aikansh Chaudhary is an Entertainment/Anime writer for FandomWire with over five years of experience covering the latest movies, TV shows, and sports buzz. In his free time you can find him playing basketball, soccer, watching anime, or asleep. Throughout his career as a writer, he has published more than 5000 articles.Aikansh’s work has been featured on numerous reputed websites such as CBR, Sportskeeda, Essentially Sports, Fadeaway World, and more.
