I don’t need to tell you this but Disney is kind of a big deal lately.
The Mouse House is undeniably, aggressively in command and control of Hollywood. And this weekend just proved it even more. Disney took over the stage at Comic-Con and announced a whole grab bag of news, including a new Blade film, The Eternals, What If…?, Black Widow and a whole lot more. They blew the roof off the place and left every other panel in the dust. People weren’t talking about Comic-Con anymore, they were solely talking about Disney and Marvel.
Meanwhile, Disney’s weekend release, the live-action adaptation of The Lion King, was conquering the box office. The movie pulled in $185 million in the states and has a standing total of $531 including global receipts. It’ll definitely be ANOTHER Disney film to reach $1 billion.
And then there was The Avengers. While Disney’s Marvel was announcing all their new franchises at Comic-Con, Endgame was dethroning James Cameron’s Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time. That movie has now grossed $2.79 billion, which would make even Jeff Bezos say “Not bad.”
Even better news? The now-number two biggest film of all time, Avatar, is also owned by Disney.
This is just the way it’s going to be from now on. Disney has solidified itself as the biggest name in the game, no questions asked. The question is no longer who will be number one in Hollywood, it’s who will be number two. Who will come in second place behind Disney? Who will have the biggest hit the year, behind Disney? Who will own the most popular franchises on Earth, behind Disney? Disney will always be front-and-center. Taking them down is more than David versus Goliath. It would be akin to a one-legged, blind David taking down Goliath and his entire family.
This raises a lot of concerns, of course. The word “monopoly” comes to mind and that’s a valid criticism. Many are worried that Disney will water down the properties it’s recently acquired or will transform them into bastardized mutations. Those are also legitimate worries. Some are just uncomfortable with one massive corporation owning so much. You’re not going to get an argument for me there. This is capitalism and corporatism gone wild. But there is no end in sight and audiences seem quite happy with Disney’s output. Don’t expect this gravy train to derail any time soon.
Disney has played its cards so perfectly right. They had a battle plan, a plot to practically run all of Hollywood. And they pulled it off. They spent boat loads of cash to get here and now they’re wearing the crown with no chance of being dethroned. When you look at the release schedule Disney has lined up for the coming years, you have to admit that the hits will just keep coming. It would take a series of massive mis-steps for them to stop dominating the box office and pop culture landscape. And, as we’ve seen, Disney just doesn’t make mistakes.