“Moana 2” just crossed $1 billion at the global box office

According to Deadline, only 56 movies have managed to gross more than $1 billion in movie theaters around the world — and just one giant owns the production houses and studios that have been behind almost 60% of them: The Walt Disney Co. 

“Moana 2,” the long-awaited sequel to the most-streamed movie of the past five years, this week became the House of Mouse’s latest theatrical release to break the $1 billion barrier. The animation rounds out a stunning slate of three Disney flicks that debuted in 2024 to cross the threshold, the other two being “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($1.3 billion) and the cerebral sensation “Inside Out 2” ($1.7 billion).

For context, no other studio managed to meet the $1 billion mark even once last year.

With three movies released by Fox, which Disney picked up for $71 billion in 2019, and now “Moana 2,” the company has been behind 32 of the biggest releases in cinematic history. Franchises have formed the foundation for Disney, with two “Toy Story” movies, four Star Wars installments, and nine films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (not including the “Spider-Man” movies made with Sony) all grossing more than $1 billion apiece.

While not all the releases are strictly family-friendly — the MPAA slapped last year’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” with an R-rating — many of Disney’s megahits have skewed toward younger audiences as kids worldwide tighten their grip on the global box office.