Universal Has Had More #1 Movies Than Disney This Year

As the calendar turns into October, no movie studio has had as many number one films at the box office than Universal Pictures. That’s right, not even Disney — with its highest-grossing Avengers: Endgame — has toppled Universal; and the other majors in Columbia, Paramount, and Warner Brothers trail even further behind, let alone mini-majors like Lionsgate, MGM, or STX.

Thanks to the standout performance of Dreamworks‘ Abominable this weekend, Universal has had seven films this year reach number one at the box office. Outside of the Chloe Bennet-starring film, Universal’s also had Glass, How to Train Your Dragon 3, Us, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Hobbs & Shaw, and Good Boys all release this year. Surprisingly enough, Us is the highest-grossing film for the studio this year with box office receipts totaling $175 million domestically. Hobbs & Shaw came in a close second at $170.6m.

Disney’s right behind with six number one box office hits including Captain Marvel, Dumbo, Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, and The Lion King. Warner’s third with five films (LEGO Movie 2, Shazam!, The Curse of La Llorona, Godzilla: King of the Monster, and It: Chapter Two while Columbia makes the list with Men in Black: International and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Paramount has yet to tally a single number one film this year, despite releases like Pet Sematary and Rocketman; even STX (The Upside) and Lionsgate (John Wick: Chapter 3, Angel Has Fallen) have each recorded champion box office weekends.

It should be noted that when you look at the money made at the box office and current market share, it’s not even a close competition. Disney owns a whopping 34 percent of the market ($2.82b), or nearly 40 percent if you include 20th Century and Fox Searchlight’s early 2019 releases. Universal is second in market share with $1.12b made (13.6 percent) while Warner Brothers is third with a 13.5 percent market share ($1.11b). Rounding out the top five is Lionsgate (6.6 percent; $546.1m) and Paramount (4.9 percent; $406.6m).

The stat isn’t guaranteed to last either, though Universal appears to have the upper hand. With three full months left in the year, Universal still has six theatrical releases: The Addams Family (October 11th), Last Christmas (November 8th), Queen & Sim (November 27th), Black Christmas (December 13th), Cats (December 20th), and 1917 (December 25th). Disney, on the other hand, has five releases in Maleficent 2 (October 18th), Ford v Ferrari (November 15th), Frozen 2 (November 22nd), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (December 20th), and Spies in Disguise (December 25th).

Do you think Universal will still end up with more #1 movies than Disney at the end of 2019? How much do you think the box office as a whole will make this year? Share your thoughts at the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt!