According to the Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Studios passed the $4 billion mark at the global box office for the first time in the studio’s history. Without a doubt, the folks over at Disney are standing tall and proud of their landmark accomplishment. Disney execs and industry analysts are agreed that the achievement would not have been possible if it weren’t for the company’s Marvel acquisition. Iron Man 3 is the fifth highest grossing movie in Hollywood history, bringing in $1.21 billion worldwide.
“It’s not so much classic Disney content as we know it” says Katie Hanson, a Disney fan familiar with the achievement, “it’s the properties they have purchased from other creatives that have made it possible.” Hanson is correct, with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World released in the same year, a record breaking financial achievement was to be expected. In the grand scheme of the company and its history of content, this seems to go right along with how they acquire and develop what are considered to be more Disney-esque ideas. “If you think about it” Hanson went one, “all of the most successful movies that are often regarded as Disney stories, aren’t all that original except in their execution. They’re classic fairy tales, but what they managed to do is tell those stories in a caricature style that is unique to their studio”.
The most recent film released by the company that continues the tradition of retelling classic fairy tales is in fact an adaption of a the Hans Christian Anderson story: The Snow Queen. Frozen, which was released last week, is the most critically acclaimed and audience accepted Disney film since Tangled and expected to continue to do well, considering its appeal to both children and adults.
One thing is for certain, with a $4 billion year like this, they’ve pretty much paid off their Lucas Film acquisition which ran Disney about $4.05 billion.