The Numbers Say that Everyone Is Wrong About Disney's Live-Action Movies

Where do you stand on the live-action debate?

Live-Action Ariel Meet-And-Greet

Disney has been making live-action remakes of its animated classics seemingly left and right. That hasn’t exactly been the most popular choice among fans, however. In fact, over 92 percent of our readers who participated in our recent poll agreed that Disney should not keep making them! Many feel like Disney should leave the classics in their original form and focus more on creating new stories. But, what do the numbers say?

In general, Disney has experienced a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the box office lately. While movies like Avatar: The Way of Water have done exceptionally well, the company has seen quite a few flops. Pixar’s Lightyear and Elemental have fallen short at the box office, and Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania broke a record with its first-to-second-week dropoff in turnout.

Avatar: The Way of Water

So, where do live-action remakes of animated classics fit into all of this? Since so many people are outspoken about their distaste for them, you’d think that these movies wouldn’t be performing very well. But, according to a statistic by The Numbers, when it comes to remakes, Disney is doing better than you’d expect.

©Disney

In a list of the highest-grossing remake movies worldwide as of May 2023, the top four films are by Disney! The Lion King ($1,647,733,638), Beauty and the Beast ($1,268,697,483), Aladdin ($1,046,587,513), and The Jungle Book all top the list, beating out movies like It, Clash of the Titans, and A Star is Born.

©The Numbers

Now, not all of Disney’s remakes have been so successful. Mulan, for instance, made roughly $69.9 million at the box office worldwide (though its limited theatrical release during the pandemic played a role.) And while the new Little Mermaid film is still in theaters and not on this specific list quite yet, it hasn’t performed as well as some of Disney’s top live-action remakes. But, overall, when it comes to remakes — Disney is still seeing quite a bit of success.

AMC Theater for ‘The Little Mermaid’

For example, Beauty and the Beast was the second-highest-grossing film in the year it was released, 2017. Similarly, in 2019, The Lion King was second only to Avengers: Endgame.

©The Numbers

So, while live-action remakes are a bit of a controversial move, it’s unlikely that Disney will stop making them altogether. We already know that they are currently working on live-action versions of the animated movies Moana, Hercules, and Lilo & Stitch, to name a few. Only time will tell how many more of these the company will make. In the meantime, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news.

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Do you think Disney should continue releasing live-action remakes? Let us know in the comments below!