While the Walt Disney Company are usually on the receiving end of a number of complaints from certain directors for jamming up the box office with big blockbuster movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or their own live-action remakes, it is clearly something that cinema needs to survive. Deadline reported that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s arrival has helped push Disney’s 2022 box office beyond $3 billion. With Avatar: The Way of Water still to come next month, that could very quickly pass $4 billion in the next month.

This will be the 14th time the House of Mouse has crossed the $3 billion mark in a year, something that has been greatly helped by the continued success of their many big franchises. That is something that has now expanded to include a number of former 20th Century Studios releases, and only seems likely to be an annual event thanks mostly to the MCU.

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This year, Disney has scored big hits with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Death on the Nile and even the less-than-stunning performance of Lightyear was enough to provide box office sparks in a year that continued to struggle in the wake of the Covid pandemic. With 2023 set to include several Marvel releases, Indiana Jones 5, The Little Mermaid and animated offering Elemental, there is little chance of the Disney dominance coming to an end anytime soon.

Is Disney Harming the Box Office?

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There have been many filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese who have been very vocal in denouncing the amount of Marvel movies that are released, and the impact it has on smaller, quieter movies that seem to struggle to pull audiences into theaters. While there are times when multiplexes seem to be nothing but big, flashy blockbusters, it can always be argued that without the kind of crowd pleasers that have been the staple of summer seasons for over five decades, it is likely that there would not be a cinema experience at all.

There are some movies that are made to be seen on a big screen, and others that are much more suited to being watched in the home via streaming. That is now the balance that is being sought among filmmakers, with even the likes of Steven Spielberg, who has always advocated the theatrical experience, admitting that some movies are just not cut out to be big winners at the box office.

The challenges of the Covid pandemic have proven that there is a place in the world for both cinematic and streaming-based movies, and recent hybrid releases of movies such as Halloween Ends and Glass Onion have further evolved the model to allow films to enjoy both a short box office punch and on-demand success simultaneously.

Of course, when it comes down to it, theaters need big blockbuster movies in order to stay in business, and that is something that Disney can do better than anyone when at the top of their game. For those who have become invested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or enjoyed Disney’s reimagined live-action remakes, then they can rest assured that there are plenty more of both and so much more to come.