MUMBAI: Walt Disney Studios has crossed the $4 billion mark at the global box office, beating its previous studio record by nearly six weeks.
As of 7 October, 2015, Disney collected $1.4 billion in the US and Canada and $2.575 billion at in international markets. This is the third consecutive year the studio has breached the $4-billion box office milestone.
The studio’s revenues in 2015 were driven by the worldwide success of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out, Disney’s Cinderella and Marvel’s Ant-Man.
In addition, Inside Out has crossed the $800 million mark at the global box office. It’s the third highest grossing Pixar film of all time and made its debut in China this week.
Additionally, Walt Disney Studios has also unveiled new and updated release dates for several upcoming projects.
Marvel unveiled Ant-Man and the Wasp, a sequel to this summer’s Ant-Man, which is set for release on 6 July, 2018. Black Panther will now open 16 February, 2018, and Captain Marvel is set for 8 March, 2019.
Three new films are set for 2020, the titles of which will be revealed at a later date.
Pixar will release Cars 3 on 16 June, 2017, Coco on 22 November, 2017, and The Incredibles 2 on 21 June, 2019. Toy Story 4 will now debut 15 June, 2018. Two new (as-yet-untitled) Pixar films are set for 2020.
Building upon the success of films such as Cinderella and Maleficent, Disney Live Action selected release dates for four fairy tale films in the coming years: one in 2017, one in 2018, and two in 2019.
Next up is The Jungle Book in April 2016, followed by Alice Through the Looking Glass in May and Pete’s Dragon in August.
Finally, Gigantic, a unique take on Jack and the Beanstalk from Walt Disney Animation Studios featuring music from Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, will be released on 9 March, 2018. A new Walt Disney Animation Studios film is set for November 2020 and a new Disneytoon Studios film is due out in April 2019.
Walt Disney Studios head of distribution said, “2015 has been a record-setting year both domestically and internationally thanks to a strong slate of films from all of our brands. With an incredible pipeline of both original stories and anticipated sequels featuring our most beloved characters, we are set to deliver some fantastic movies well into the future.”
