Highest-Grossing Disney Movies Ever

Disney knows what it’s doing when it comes to making big money with good storytelling. The company first became well known in the feature world for its family fun and heartwarming animated features, but in recent decades, it has acquired a number of incredibly lucrative franchises and companies, including Lucasfilm, Marvel, and Pixar.

With those powerhouse properties under their belt, Disney has been churning out hit after hit at the box office, and huge numbers of people are turning out at theaters worldwide for the experience.

These are the top-grossing Disney movies of all time.

24. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Year: 2007

Worldwide gross: $963,420,425

Domestic gross: $309,420,425

Overseas: $654,000,000

Note: The listed numbers are from Box Office Mojo and don’t adjust for inflation. These massive numbers also don’t account for any of the other major sources of income a successful property can bring in, like spin-offs, TV shows, Broadway plays, park attractions, video games, branded experiences, and merchandise, all of which bring in even more profit for each franchise.

Bottom Line: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

This movie smartly capitalized on the popularity of its predecessors and incorporated even more elements of the high seas franchise that people had come to expect (and clearly love).

While this "Pirates" installment maybe wouldn’t have made the top 20 list based on domestic gross alone, it did extremely well overseas, which brought its overall gross to nearly one billion dollars.

23. The Jungle Book

Year: 2016

Worldwide gross: $966,554,929

Domestic gross: $364,001,123

Overseas: $602,553,806

Bottom Line: The Jungle Book

Delving again into their archives, Disney once again revamped one of the 2D animated films and rebooted it for current times.

Unlike some of the others, this remake took a lot more liberty from the animated film rather than staying relatively closer to the original like some others had done.

But, clearly, the deviation paid off big.

22. Zootopia

Year: 2016

Worldwide gross: $1,023,792,558

Domestic gross: $341,268,248

Overseas: $682,524,310

Bottom Line: Zootopia

"Zootopia" not only blew away expectations at the box office, making a ton of money and introducing a completely new world to moviegoers that they hadn’t yet experienced from Disney, but it also won an Oscar.

A sequel is scheduled to be released in November 2021, so we’ll get to see more of these animated animals in the future.

21. Alice in Wonderland

Year: 2010

Worldwide gross: $1,025,468,216

Domestic gross: $334,191,110

Overseas: $691,277,106

Bottom Line: Alice in Wonderland

The live-action reboot of the beloved children’s story expressed all the weirdness and wonder that audiences hoped for.

It was also one of the first live-action reboots Disney that delved into its own animated intellectual property vault, and the big payoff made the filmmakers more confident about doing the same to other popular animated stories in the future.

20. Finding Dory

Year: 2016

Worldwide gross: $1,028,570,942

Domestic gross: $486,295,561

Overseas: $542,275,381

Bottom Line: Finding Dory

The spin-off sequel to the wildly popular underwater adventure "Finding Nemo" was well-loved by audiences both domestically and internationally.

Ellen Degeneres stole the show during the original movie, so it only seemed appropriate that her live-in-the-moment optimistic fish character would get a chance to tell her own story.

19. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Year: 2016

Worldwide gross: $1,056,057,720

Domestic gross: $532,177,324

Overseas: $523,880,396

Bottom Line: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The first standalone "Star Wars" installment, this movie was a bit of an experiment that paid off for Disney.

Unlike any of the other series that pick up in particular timelines with well-known characters, this movie introduced a completely new set of heroes who you knew played into a small part of the main storyline, even if they were never going to get any sort of sequel.

18. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Year: 2006

Worldwide gross: $1,066,179,747

Domestic gross: $423,315,812

Overseas: $ 642,863,935

Bottom Line: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

The intensely popular follow-up to the original 2003 "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie gave audiences more of what they wanted — pirates, pirate talk, pirates fighting, and Johnny Depp as the wobbly yet charming Jack Sparrow.

17. Toy Story 3

Year: 2010

Worldwide gross: $1,066,970,811

Domestic gross: $415,004,880

Overseas: $651,965,931

Bottom Line: Toy Story 3

The tear-jerking third installment of the beloved Pixar toy tale was wildly popular, and understandably so.

The original movie was released in 1995 and basically redefined 3D animated storytelling.

Each movie of the series proved to be as beloved as the next, with the third one beautifully telling the story of these toys and the childhood of Andy, the boy who loved them, while many of the people who originally saw the first movie as children embraced the fact that they, too, were now grown up.

16. Toy Story 4

Year: 2019

Worldwide gross: $1,073,394,593

Domestic gross: $434,038,008

Overseas: $639,356,585

Bottom Line: Toy Story 4

If it's ain't broke, don't fix it. And release another sequel. That is the Disney/Pixar motto. And it works.

The fourth movie of the "Toy Story" franchise was another home run. Will there be a fifth version with Woody and friends?

The smart money says yes.

 

 

15. The Lion King

Year: 1994

Worldwide gross: $1,083,720,877

Domestic gross: $422,783,777

Overseas: $660,937,100

Bottom Line: The Lion King

Considering these numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation, it’s almost mind-boggling to think about how much of a hit this mid-1990s movie was.

It spawned all sorts of TV spin-offs, an incredibly popular Broadway show, and a ton of intellectual properties that continue to be popular today.

It’s easily one of the most record-breaking and impressive animated movies of all time.

14. Captain America: Civil War

Year: 2016

Worldwide gross: $1,153,337,496

Domestic gross: $408,084,349

Overseas: $745,253,147

Bottom Line: Captain America: Civil War

The promise of both introducing new popular characters like Ant Man, plus having the beloved Avengers fight against each other meant that people wanted to get out and see this movie.

Like many of the Marvel franchise, it did really well domestically, but annihilated overseas with almost twice as much revenue generated at the international box office.

13. Iron Man 3

Year: 2013

Worldwide gross: $1,214,811,252

Domestic gross: $409,013,994

Overseas: $805,797,258

Bottom Line: Iron Man 3

Iron Man was one of the first superheroes of the Marvel world, and it paved the way for the rest.

His popularity remains extremely high, so it’s no big surprise that the third installment of this superhero trilogy story garnered a lot of interest from moviegoers.

12. The Incredibles 2

Year: 2018

Worldwide gross: $1,243,089,244

Domestic gross: $608,581,744

Overseas: $634,507,500

Bottom Line: The Incredibles 2

"The Incredibles" are a pretty popular animated family.

Don't be surprised if it's already impressive overall gross number continues to grow.

11. Beauty and the Beast

Year: 2017

Worldwide gross: $1,264,434,525

Domestic gross: $504,014,165

Overseas: $759,953,360

Bottom Line: Beauty and the Beast

The live-action revamp of the original animated movie proved to be a major success for Disney.

It didn’t hurt that the wildly popular Emma Watson, who already had the "Harry Potter" franchise under her belt, starred and sang as the beloved Belle.

Plus, the fact that technology finally made it possible to create a believable-looking CGI characters made the film feel like you were bringing the magic of your childhood back to life.

10. Frozen

Year: 2013

Worldwide gross: $1,281,835,246

Domestic gross: $400,953,009

Overseas: $880,882,237

Bottom Line: Frozen

Anyone living in 2013 likely heard the breakout hit song (and at some point had the chorus stuck in their head), "Let It Go" from this Disney musical.

This animated film wasn’t the traditional 2D animation that put Disney first on the map. But it was the 3D style that Disney has embraced in recent decades.

The storyline was similar to the more classic Disney style involving magical and talking inanimate object sidekicks and, of course, princesses.

9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Year: 2017

Worldwide gross: $1,332,698,830

Domestic gross: $620,181,382

Overseas: $712,517,448

Bottom Line: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The first follow-up to the record-breaking reboot of the "Star Wars" franchise, this movie promised (and delivered) a whole lot more of the OG force-user, Luke Skywalker.

The storylines between the old and new continued to effortlessly meld, and people who wanted elements of the original trilogy were satisfied as were people who enjoy all the delightful nuances of the newer characters and their world.

8. Black Panther

Year: 2018

Worldwide gross: $1,347,597,973

Domestic gross: $700,426,566

Overseas: $647,171,407

Bottom Line: Black Panther

This movie was a surprise hit for Marvel, blowing any other stand alone superhero character out of the water.

The sequel to the breakout hit is scheduled to hit theaters in July 2022.

Just like the comic books, there are all sorts of ways that characters can continue to exist in the Marvel Universe even after something dramatic happens in one timeline.

7. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Year: 2015

Worldwide gross: $1,405,403,694

Domestic gross: $459,005,868

Overseas: $946,397,826

Bottom Line: Avengers: Age of Ultron

After seeing the Avengers squabble amongst themselves and go through their own battles, this movie helped show where the franchise would go now that the allure of first fighting together had worn off.

It continued to show how new characters would be brought into the fold while keeping that action and laughs that moviegoers (especially those overseas) love.

6. Frozen 2

Year: 2019

Worldwide gross: $1,450,026,933

Domestic gross: $477,373,578

Overseas: $972,653,355

Bottom Line: Frozen II

"Frozen II" was the 58th animated film produced by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, but it's one of Disney's best animated movies.

Not bad for a sequel. This "Frozen" film was released six years after the original 2013 film. And it was worth the wait.

Audiences really love the characters of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven.

5. Marvel’s The Avengers

Year: 2012

Worldwide gross: $1,518,815,515

Domestic gross: $623,357,910

Overseas: $895,457,605

Bottom Line: Marvel’s The Avengers

After steadily introducing many of the Marvel characters through their own standalone movies, it’s understandable that the first time you see them all work together will get butts in seats.

The original "Avengers" was an action-packed yet highly playful movie that would help define how many of the Marvel franchise would be produced in the future.

4. The Lion King (2019)

Year: 2019

Worldwide gross: $1,657,870,986

Domestic gross: $543,638,043

Overseas: $1,114,232,943

Bottom Line: The Lion King (2019)

What's better than an animated movie about animals that teaches the meaning of responsibility and bravery?

A photorealistic computer-animated remake of the same classic film from 1994.

This version was even more popular.

3. Avengers: Infinity War

Year: 2018

Worldwide gross: $2,048,359,754

Domestic gross: $678,815,482

Overseas: $1,369,544,272

Bottom Line: Avengers: Infinity War

This "Avengers" movie did particularly well overseas.

The story delivered on a promise that there would be some absolutely heart-wrenching moments, and it was one of the most true-to-the-comics movies of the entire franchise.

2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Year: 2015

Worldwide gross: $2,068,455,677

Domestic gross: $936,662,225

Overseas: $1,131,793,452

Bottom Line: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The much-anticipated reboot of the beloved franchise lived up to all the expectations.

Despite the fact that there was an immense amount of pressure, Disney and the filmmakers totally delivered a captivating story that seamlessly wove the original characters into a totally new world that the franchise has capitalized on.

1. Avengers: Endgame

Year: 2019

Worldwide gross: $2,797,501,328

Domestic gross: $858,373,000

Overseas: $1,939,128,328

Bottom Line: Avengers: Endgame

"Avengers: Endgame" didn't just live up to the hype. It exceeded it as the Avengers came together to reverse Thanos' action and restore order to the universe.

That's why the movie made so much money.

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