Universal Pictures emerged as the highest-grossing studio at the 2023 box office, outshining Disney thanks to a diverse lineup that included hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Oppenheimer,” and “M3GAN.” The studio’s 24-film roster amassed a formidable $4.907 billion in global ticket sales, marking the first instance since 2015 that Disney did not secure the top spot in global box office rankings.
Disney, known for powerhouse releases like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and “The Little Mermaid,” trailed behind Universal with a total global revenue of $4.827 billion from 17 new films. The studio pointed out that releasing seven fewer movies than Universal in 2023 contributed to the $80 million disparity in earnings. Disney underscored its dominance in the top 10 studios with the highest number of titles and claimed four of the top-grossing global releases, along with three of the biggest domestic releases.
However, in an unprecedented turn, Disney failed to secure a spot in the top three highest-grossing movies of the year. Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” ($1.4 billion), alongside Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” ($1.3 billion) and “Oppenheimer” ($950 million), claimed these coveted positions. This marks the first time since 2014, except for the pandemic-affected years 2020 and 2021, that none of Disney’s movies surpassed the $1 billion milestone.
Disney’s 2023 tentpoles, aside from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” struggled to meet expectations. Underperforming sequels and remakes such as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “The Marvels,” and “Haunted Mansion” contributed to the studio conceding its box office supremacy to Universal. Despite “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ranking as the 10th-highest grossing movie at $476 million, the film incurred losses during its theatrical run due to its high production budget.
Universal faced setbacks with films like “Renfield,” “Book Club: The Next Chapter,” and “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” posting modest global earnings. However, their impact was less severe compared to Disney’s underperformers. Even with “Fast X” barely breaking even with its $340 million budget, the film grossed $704 million, securing the fifth spot among the year’s biggest movies.
Warner Bros. landed in a distant third place with a global earning of $3.84 billion, led by hits such as “Barbie,” “The Nun II,” and “Wonka.”
Sony and Paramount, although yet to disclose final grosses for 2023, reportedly earned $2 billion globally each, rounding out the top five.
Sony holds an estimated edge with $2.09 billion worldwide, thanks to anticipated releases like “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Equalizer 3,” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.”
Paramount, whose major releases included “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” and “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” wrapped up the year with an estimated $2.03 billion globally.
