Studio Revenue Table

This table is a visualization of the box office revenue made by the top 7 film studios between 2017-2023, according to Box Office Pro's data. These studios include Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, and Paramount Pictures. The top of the graph outlines the year of revenue, spanning from 2017-2023 to cover three years or so pre-pandemic and three years following 2020, where the pandemic was at its worst. Some companies remained fairly consistent - for instance, Sony and Universal didn't see dips quite as severe as those of their competitors in 2020, though Universal suffered more in 2021 compared to Sony. Universal came out on top in 2023, though, and did somewhat better in 2022 as well. Warner Bros. saw more significant dips in 2020 and 2021, but was otherwise relatively consistent, with 2023 also being the company's best year in the timeframe the table examines. Walt Disney Pictures appears to have suffered most overall, as prior to the pandemic, they reigned supreme, even generating $3.76 billion in revenue in 2019 from the box office alone - now, though, they have had yet to cross the $2 billion threshold since the start of the pandemic. This remains the case even when lumping in 20th Century Studios, which they purchased in 2019 - in fact, 20th Century has seen an even more drastic decline. Admittedly, it is unclear how Box Office Pro is dividing up the two, as it notes Avatar: The Way of Water made $684.08 million in the US alone across 2022 and 2023, yet attributes the film to Disney instead of 20th Century - however, if you do still count the companies as separate, that technically makes Disney's performance even lower compared to pre-COVID. On the opposite end of the spectrum, though, is Paramount Pictures; they made the most money out of any company in 2022 thanks to the success of Top Gun: Maverick, and still made more in 2023 compared to any pre-COVID year in the table, ultimately faring better following the pandemic. Lionsgate has fairly volatile performance across the board, though they were hit hardest by COVID out of any company in the table. Overall, while every company has rebounded at the box office except for 20th Century (which has distinct circumstances setting it apart from the other companies in the list), whether they're doing better than before, around the same, or worse has not been consistent across the board - this implies that the effects of the pandemic have shaken up the box office tremendously, though other factors are certainly at play, like how a number of Disney animated films went straight to Disney+ instead of releasing in theaters. Do keep in mind that this data ignores anything tied to streaming or other potential revenue sources like theme parks.