How Disney Won The 2021 Box Office Race

After a marvelous year from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney found itself on top of the box office earnings in 2021.

The effects of the pandemic continued to hinder the theater industry, yet Disney still managed to return to its former glory, becoming Hollywood’s top studio for last year’s earnings. CNN reports that it had a 25% market share at the box office. Despite Disney’s strong year, total box office earnings are still far below pre-pandemic numbers.

Sony was a close second, bringing in $1.05 billion over the year, CNBC reports. Over half of its earnings came from “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” an impressive feat considering it was released in the last two weeks of the year.

“No Way Home” was made in collaboration between Disney and Sony. It is the highest-grossing film of 2021, generating $573 million. "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is in second place, but by a large margin of $348 million.

A mere 13 movies exceeded the $100 million mark which, according to CNBC, was an accomplishment achieved by around 30 movies in the pre-pandemic era.

“The results were impressive and a much-welcome confidence booster for a resilient industry that will face challenges in 2022,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It took a village to build back the box office in a most unusual 2021.”