How a Company Surpassed Disney with a $2 Billion Record

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Disney has a major rival

Even though they are far from being the only ones on the market, it's hard to get more ubiquitous than Disney And Pixar in the minds of the general public when it comes to animated cinema. It must be said that the Californian firm has been producing classics since 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and has never really stopped since. Today, Disney has no less than 62 animated classics different, not to mention the various sequels and films from Pixar studios, often confused with the parent company by the general public. Despite everything, the world of animation still offers other studios that are at least as talented, if not even more so.

We think, for example, of course of the studio Ghiblia true spearhead of Japanese animation internationally, but also Dreamworks. Founded in 1994, this animated film production company has nevertheless created a large number of absolutely legendary titles today. Of Antz has Kung Fu Panda Passing by Shrek, Dragons And Madagascar, you must have seen one or even several films produced by Dreamworks. In total, this Disney rival still produced more than forty films in 30 years of existencea real feat which has often propelled them to the top in the hearts of the public.

A $2 billion record broken by Disney's competitor

If we might think that Disney are the undisputed masters of animated films, Dreamworks' figures nevertheless bring a little nuance to all that. Recently, while Disney has been releasing a series of lackluster releases (wish, Avalonia, Raya…), Dreamworks knew how to do well. Released in 2022, the film Puss in Boots 2 had, for example, an absolutely fantastic critical reception, but it was ultimately their very latest release which broke a new record, thus surpassing Disney in this category.

A few weeks ago, the license Kung Fu Panda was back in cinemas with a fourth opus eagerly awaited by fans. It must be said that it had been eight years since they had much to eat, and they were finally able to be satisfied. In response, spectators were able to come together en masse to experience Kung Fu Panda 4, pushing the global box office to a result of $500 million for a budget of $85 million. A resounding success which allowed the Kung Fu Panda license tojoin the very small list of franchises having grossed more than 2 billion dollars.

Today, Dreamworks can therefore boast of having produced no less than three $2 billion licenses: Kung Fu Panda, Shrek and Madagascar. For their part, Disney only has two franchises that have achieved the same result (including one produced by Pixar): Toy Story And Snow Queen. In other words, Dreamworks just beat Disney in this area, thus confirming its status as a major rival to the big-eared firm. It remains to be seen whether Disney will manage to equalize thanks to its upcoming sequels. Moana And Zootopia expected for the end of 2024 and 2025 respectively.