The theatrical landscape has been slow to regain its footing since the pandemic reshaped audience habits and release strategies across Hollywood. While blockbuster filmmaking remains a high-risk proposition, only a handful of studios have consistently found ways to bring audiences back to cinemas worldwide. This year, one company managed to separate itself from the pack, achieving a financial benchmark that had seemed increasingly out of reach.
Disney Reaches a Rare Post-Pandemic Box Office Milestone
According to Variety, Disney has surpassed $6 billion in global box office revenue, marking its first time reaching that level since COVID disrupted the theatrical business. The achievement is especially notable given that no other studio has crossed the $6 billion threshold since 2015, highlighting just how dramatically industry economics have shifted over the past decade.
Source: IMDb
This milestone represents Disney’s fifth time hitting $6 billion overall, following a dominant pre-pandemic run from 2016 through 2019. The return to that level comes despite the broader box office still trailing its pre-COVID strength, with global ticket sales estimated to remain roughly 20% below where they stood before the industry shutdown.
Much of Disney’s success in 2025 has been driven by a small number of outsized hits. “Lilo and Stitch” reached approximately $1.03 billion worldwide, while “Zootopia 2” has climbed to around $1.3 billion and continues to add to its total. James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” also made an immediate impact, earning roughly $450 million globally in just its first week of release.
Beyond those tentpoles, “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts,” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” contributed significantly to the studio’s overall haul. In total, Disney generated about $2.3 billion at the domestic box office and an additional $3.65 billion internationally, reaffirming its unique ability to deliver global theatrical events at a time when such scale has become increasingly rare.
