How Disney Hit $6 Billion in 2025 Without Marvel, Beating Warner Bros. and Paramount

Disney just muscled its way back to the top of the yearly box office, and it did it in a way that would have sounded unlikely a few years ago: not riding Marvel as its primary engine. Let me break down who made the money, how they made it, and where the surprises are.

Disney is No. 1 again, and this time it wasn't a Marvel-dependent win

Disney cleared $6 billion at the worldwide box office this year, outpacing rivals like Warner Bros. and Paramount. That makes it the studio's fifth time crossing the $6B line after 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. For context: 2019 is still the all-time outlier with Disney pulling in $13.1 billion worldwide, the only year any studio has ever cracked $10B, thanks largely to "Avengers: Endgame."

This year's $6B+ haul splits out to $2.3 billion domestic and $3.65 billion international. And the interesting part: Marvel underperformed by its old standards. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" was the top Marvel title at $521.9 million worldwide, while "Captain America: Brave New World" made $415.1 million and "Thunderbolts*" landed at $382.4 million.

So what pushed Disney over the top? Two family plays doing classic four-quadrant work. "Zootopia 2" and the live-action "Lilo & Stitch" both crossed $1 billion. Add in "Avatar: Fire & Ash" at $483.3 million from 20th Century (which sits under Disney now) and you start to see the shape of the year. "Avatar" is still bringing in money, so Disney's total should keep inching up.

There were also a bunch of mid-performers and some outright duds that still count toward the global number: "Snow White" at $205.7M, "Predator: Badlands" at $184M, Pixar's "Elio" at $154M, "Freakier Friday" at $153.2M, and "Tron: Ares" at $142.2M. In all, Disney had 16 releases in the mix this year.

Warner Bros. rebounds into second place

Warner Bros. grabbed the No. 2 spot with $4.3 billion worldwide, which is a big comeback after a rough run last year. The studio strung together seven consecutive releases that opened above $40 million, a genuinely rare streak for any studio. It didn't even start strong: "Mickey 17" and "The Alto Knights" combined to put WB $110 million in the hole early. Then the ship turned with "A Minecraft Movie," "F1: The Movie," and "Superman," enough to outpace Universal and Paramount for the year.

"The studio made outstanding choices and took some big creative risks, and they're paying off." — Analyst David A. Gross (Franchise Entertainment Research) to Variety

For placement nerds: WB's "A Minecraft Movie" is the fourth-highest grosser of the year worldwide, behind "Ne Zha 2," "Zootopia 2," and "Lilo & Stitch." Universal's "Jurassic World Rebirth" currently sits in fifth.

The scoreboard

• Disney worldwide total: $6B+ (Domestic: $2.3B; International: $3.65B)
• Disney — Zootopia 2: $1.289B
• Disney — Lilo & Stitch: $1.038B
• Disney/Marvel — The Fantastic Four: First Steps: $521.9M
• Disney/20th Century — Avatar: Fire & Ash: $483.3M (still climbing)
• Disney/Marvel — Captain America: Brave New World: $415.1M
• Disney/Marvel — Thunderbolts*: $382.4M
• Disney — Snow White: $205.7M
• Disney/20th Century — Predator: Badlands: $184M
• Disney/Pixar — Elio: $154M
• Disney — Freakier Friday: $153.2M
• Disney — Tron: Ares: $142.2M
• Warner Bros. worldwide total: $4.3B
• WB — A Minecraft Movie: $958.1M
• WB — F1: The Movie: $631.6M
• WB — Superman: $616.8M
• WB — The Conjuring: Last Rites: $494.6M
• WB — Sinners: $367.9M
• WB — Final Destination: Bloodlines: $315.8M
• WB — Weapons: $269M

Short version: Disney is back on top, powered by two billion-dollar family hits and a still-rolling "Avatar," while Marvel took a step back. WB rallied from an ugly start to a very healthy second place, with a streak of strong openings and a blocky little video game adaptation carrying a huge share of the load.