A couple of weeks back, Disney (DIS) released the first theatrical trailer of Avengers: Endgame and movie buffs can’t stop speculating about the fate of Tony Stark and others. Thanks to a highly successful Infinity Wars, expectations are sky high going into the movie’s release, which is scheduled for April 26, 2019.
Adding to the tizzy is the release of yet another Marvel movie – Captain Marvel, which is hitting screens on International Women’s Day on March 8.
Besides these two big movies, Disney has an interesting line-up for 2019, including The Lion King, Toy Story 4, Frozen 2 and Star Wars Episode 9. In short, Disney’s Studio Entertainment business, which makes up more than a quarter of its total revenue, is all set to make its cash register ringing next year.
This year proved that Disney has the manpower and talent to pull audiences into theatres. Three out of the top five grossing movies – Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Incredibles 2 – came from Disney’s production studios, according to Comscore. The films also form the top three grossing movies of the year.
In 2018, more than a quarter of all ticket sales in the US accounted for movies coming from the House of Mouse. In comparison, Universal Studios accounted for 15% of all US ticket sales, while Warner Bros represented 12%. Sony came in at high single digit.
The company also had a wonderful run at the box office, collecting almost $3 billion from the US alone this year.
The Bob Iger-led firm is giving high expectations, both to investors and movie-buffs. All are now waiting for a repeat of 2018.