Disney Toppled From Top Spot as Highest-Grossing Studio at Box Office

Disney has been knocked off its perch as Hollywood’s top-grossing studio at the box office in 2023 by Universal, according to reports.

Last year, the two entertainment giants battled for supremacy in movie theaters, with reports from Variety and Hollywood Reporter indicating that Universal managed to edge out Disney in both domestic and offshore revenue.

Universal, which released 24 movies in 2023, generated an estimated $4.91 billion in worldwide ticket sales, per the reports.

In another disappointment for Disney, the studio failed to break into the top three of 2023’s highest-grossing movies. That honor belonged to Warner Bros. and Universal: Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” brought in $1.4 billion, followed by Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $1.3 billion and “Oppenheimer” at $950 million.

In March 2022, Florida lawmakers passed HB 1557, or the Parental Rights in Education Act, which banned instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools for kindergarten through third grade.

The bill was later signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has pushed back against policies that he and other conservatives have described as radically progressive.

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Supporters of the legislation have argued that it gives parents more power to decide how and when topics relating to LGBT issues can be introduced to their children. It also gives parents the opportunity to sue school districts for violating the rules set out in the legislation.

The DeSantis–Disney dispute continued into 2023. Mr. DeSantis ended a decades-long deal allowing Disney World to govern its vast Central Florida resort by itself in February 2023. The Republican governor said the action was aimed at holding Disney accountable.

“The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” he said in February 2023. “There’s a new sheriff in town, and accountability will be the order of the day.”