Disney occupies eight of the top ten movie box office in 2019

This year has undoubtedly been a record-breaking year for Disney, as the company officially occupied eight of the top 10 US box office revenues of 2019 with the release of Star Wars 9, and it also made a very promising start to the streaming market with Disney+. Disney's new record comes on the heels of the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which grossed $175.5 million in its first weekend in the US, slightly higher than Universal Pictures' acclaimed horror film Us, which grossed $175.05 million over the weekend.

Although The Rise of Skywalker is currently the tenth highest-grossing film at the US box office in 2019, its position may rise as more viewers go to see it in the coming days.

In fact, a quick look at Disney's slate of movies released this year shows that they are guaranteed to be box office hits, like Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home (Marvel Studios co-produced the movie with Disney and Sony, but Marvel Studios has full creative control). Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 are both highly anticipated franchises, while Aladdin and The Lion King are both remakes of Disney's most popular animated films from the '90s, and The Rise of Skywalker is the latest film in the Star Wars franchise.

This list is a microcosm of Disney's strategy over the past decade. Any film on the list has a franchise or is designed as a potential franchise product.

All this is going according to Mickey Mouse's plan. During this decade, Disney made two key acquisitions: Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and Lucasfilm in 2012. The total investment of more than $8 billion has brought rich returns to Disney. According to statistics, Marvel Pictures' box office revenue alone has exceeded $28 billion, and "Star Wars" is the core of Disney's future development.

While Disney didn't have as many films as expected in 2020 - "Mulan," "Black Widow," "Eternals" - and didn't have the cultural impact and popularity of "End Game," "The Lion King" or "Toy Story," the company's future is no longer just about theatrical movies, and its Disney+ streaming service, which just launched this year, will continue to grow the company's business.

In fact, Disney has converted some dramas into exclusive content for Disney+, removed its own works from competitors, and brought in popular non-Disney works such as "The Simpsons."