We may only be in August, but Disney is already breaking records at the box office. The studio has officially become the first to have five films gross over $1 billion in a single year, thanks to the recent news that Toy Story 4 has officially joined the billion-dollar club, making it the fourth Pixar movie ever and fifth Disney movie this year to do so.
Tat means Disney is now in competition with itself, with its own previous record set in 2016 -- when it saw four films reach the billion-dollar mark in a single year -- being the one to beat. So, which of Disney's films managed to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office so far this year?
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CAPTAIN MARVEL
Disney and Marvel Studios kicked the year off on a high note this year when it launched Captain Marvel, the first female-led film set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unsurprisingly, the film went on to smash plenty of records before completing its theatrical run with $1.128 billion at the worldwide box office.
That number includes the $426.8 million it made in the states and the $701.4 million it pulled in from international markets. Not too bad for the first installment in a new series. And while a second film has not yet been given a release date, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige did confirm that Captain Marvel 2 is in development -- suggesting the sequel is a lock for Phase 4 or 5.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME
There was never a question as to whether or not Avengers: Endgame would do well at the box office, but rather how well the film would perform. When Endgame hit theaters in April it did so with an astounding worldwide opening of $866.5 million, leading many to believe Endgame could finally become the film to topple Avatar as box office king.
While it would take a re-release to do so, Avengers: Endgame officially became the highest-grossing film of all time in July. The film finished its theatrical run with $2.795 billion at the worldwide box office. $858 million of that came from the domestic box office, while $1.937 came from international markets.
ALADDIN
Perhaps the most surprising of Disney's releases this year to surpass $1 billion worldwide is Aladdin. The live-action remake saw its fair share of controversy ahead of release and, like Dumbo, Disney's Aladdin seemed destined to falter upon launch. However, that was far from the case. After opening to $91.5 million in the states, Aladdin managed to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office on July 26th.
It's currently sitting at $1.035 billion worldwide with $353 hailing from the domestic box office and $682 from international markets. Unlike the prior two entries, Aladdin is still playing in theaters and should continue to see a slight uptick in its overhaul box office haul in the coming weeks before it is eventually pulled.
THE LION KING
Though the critic response to The Lion King has been mixed, it hasn't been enough to keep audiences from flocking to the theaters to see the visually stunning remake. Just four days after Aladdin crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide, The Lion King joined its fellow remake in the same bracket.
The Lion King has amassed $1.346 billion worldwide at the moment, after taking in $482 million domestically and $863 million internationally -- and it still has quite a ways to go as the film is approximately only a month into release. More impressively, though, the film is now Disney's biggest live-action film ever -- although, technically, it's still animated -- and 2019's second-highest-grossing film domestically.
TOY STORY 4
The Toy Story franchise has been proven to be pretty consistent in the past at the box office, so it was presumed the fourth installment would follow suit. Of course, given the gap between Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 -- nine years -- it remained to be seen whether the long break between installments would hurt its box office potential.
Luckily for Disney, the gap between releases didn't seem to impact the film's box office at all. After 55 days in release, Toy Story 4 finally soared past $1 billion at the box office, hovering at $1.001 billion worldwide at the moment. Most of that came from international markets -- $579.9 million -- while $421.8 million came from the domestic box office.
Although Disney has had quite an impressive year thus far, it is far from over. The studio still has Frozen 2, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to come. At least two of those should hit $1 billion at the box office, pushing Disney to a potential seven billion dollar properties for the year.
(via Variety)