With $7.3254 billion in global box office from January 1 through December 31, 2018, The Walt Disney Studios has posted the second biggest year in industry history, behind only Disney’s own 2016 record of $7.6053 billion. Disney remains the only studio to reach the $7 billion mark. Three of Disney’s releases hit the billion-dollar mark globally, including Avengers: Infinity War with $2.05 billion, Black Panther with $1.35 billion and Incredibles 2 with $1.24 billion, while Ant-Man and The Wasp surpassed $620 million.
Domestic box office of $3.0923 billion is a new industry record, ahead of Disney’s previous record of $3.0009 billion set in 2016. The studio released 10 films in 2018, including the top three industry releases of the year: Black Panther with $700 million to become the No. 3 film of all time; Avengers: Infinity War with $678.8 million, which ranks as the No. 4 film ever; and Incredibles 2 with $608.6 million to become the No. 1 animated release of all time and the No. 9 overall release in history. WithAnt-Man and The Wasp and Solo: A Star Wars Story, five of Disney’s 2018 releases have surpassed $200M domestically to date, the sixth consecutive year at least four of the studio’s releases have reached this milestone.
International box office of $4.2331 billion represents Disney’s second biggest year and the third best in industry history, withAvengers: Infinity War and Black Panther ranking as the No. 1 and No. 3 international releases of the year.
2018 is Disney’s third consecutive year over $6 billion, fourth consecutive year over $5 billion, and sixth consecutive year over $4 billion. It is also Disney’s fourth consecutive year over $2 billion domestically and third consecutive year over $4 billion internationally.
Capping 2018 are two new releases: Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Ralph Breaks The Internet, which debuted over Thanksgiving and recently crossed $360 million worldwide, and Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, which opened just ahead of Christmas and has brought in $200 million globally, including $115 million domestically and $33 million in the UK, in its first two weeks.
Marking the year’s success, Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios, said: “Thanks to the support of fans of Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm around the world, it’s been a monumental year for The Walt Disney Studios. I want to especially acknowledge Marvel Studios’ pivotal year, during which Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War sparked conversation and broke records and expectations to cap an unprecedented first decade for this exceptional studio. Right alongside these superheroic performances was the return of the Supers in Pixar’s Incredibles 2, bringing these beloved characters back to the screen with their powers stronger than ever. We truly appreciate the amazing talent of our studio team as well as the filmmakers and creatives we’re fortunate to work with, and we look forward to a great 2019.”
Disney’s 2019 slate is fully of highly anticipated titles, including: Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel (3/8/19) and Avengers: Endgame (4/26/19); Disney’s Dumbo (3/29/19), Aladdin (5/24/19), The Lion King (7/19/19) and Artemis Fowl (8/9/19); Pixar’s Toy Story 4 (6/21/19), Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen 2 (11/22/19), and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode IX (12/20/19).