Has Disney Made Their Money Back From Star Wars

Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars The Force Awakens

It'south been six years since Disney bought Lucasfilm. It's been a good six years. The House of Mouse spent $four.05 billion on George Lucas' company, and every bit of yesterday, the six-twelvemonth ceremony of the sale, the Star Wars movies lonely have grossed $iv.eight billion. For an investment this large, getting a 100% render in six years is pretty impressive.

Certainly, those ii numbers alone don't tell the entire story. In addition to the $iv billion that Disney spent on Lucasfilm up front, at that place'southward the money that Disney has spent on the studio itself over the last four years. There'due south the cost of the four movies that have been produced and the fifth moving-picture show that is currently underway. At that place are the regular costs of employing everybody at Lucasfilm as well. Lucasfilm has cost Disney more than $iv billion in total

However, the box office take also isn't the only place that Lucasfilm has made money for Disney. There are the sales of the Star Wars films on Blu-Ray also every bit the immense licensing feels that the brand has made in the world of merchandising to sell toys, video games, and other products that accept the Star Wars name on them.

While nobody but Disney accountants, and possibly not even them, accept any real thought what the level of cost vs. profit has been since Disney bought Lucasfilm, it'south clear that the purchase was a remarkable investment. Ane market analyst tells CNBC that the buy has been "i of the smartest acquisitions in history." It'southward difficult to disagree from the exterior looking in. Particularly when you consider that, while it has been 6 years since the purchase happened, the movies take just been coming out during the last half of that period, so the virtually $5 billion in box office acquirement has been in less than three years.

With Disney's new streaming service on the style, which will include new animated and live-action Star Wars Telly series, along with who knows what else, it's articulate that the volume of content from Lucasfilm has yet to hit its limits. These serial volition likely play a large office in how quickly many adopt the new streaming platform, showing that Star Wars is essential to the success of Disney.

The entertainment world was blown abroad 6 years ago when the purchase of Lucasfilm was announced by Disney. The only affair whatever bigger was the confirmation that along with the buy would come up a new generation of Star Wars movies. Now, we stand here six years later and we can at present conspicuously come across what was only a fantasy back then. A new Star Wars trilogy is now generally complete, additional spinoff films have been made. New animated serial take arrived, and run their form. New live-action series are planned and a whole drove of new movies are on the way from Star Wars: The Final Jedi director Rian Johnson amid others.

And that's only the media. Two massive additions are currently nether structure at Disney's two U.S. theme parks which promise to exist unlike anything we've always experienced earlier. Not merely have we seen the Millennium Falcon come back to life on the big screen, soon nosotros'll get to wing it. The costs of these expansions wouldn't technically exist considered past almost as part of the cost of Lucasfilm, every bit the Disney Parks are handled past an entirely separate division within Disney, just certainly, the money wouldn't exist spent on them if Disney didn't already own Lucasfilm.

Of course, all this success hasn't been without criticism. While the Star Wars movies take mostly been huge financial successes, the first two episodes of the new trilogy are already among the highest grossing movies of all time, neither film was universally embraced. Star Wars: The Force Awakens attempted to stay so truthful to the successful Star Wars formula that many of the plot points came right out of A New Hope. Yet, Star Wars: The Last Jedi would do things and so differently that many would claim it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie at all.

Meanwhile, the first spinoff film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would be a pretty universal success, but the one to follow would non do too. Solo: A Star Wars Story would see a clash of perspectives backside the scenes resulting in a change in directors in the midst of production. In addition to the increased toll of product, the film also wouldn't fare nearly as well at the box role, making it the closest thing Lucasfilm has seen to a flop since the transition. Still, what's considered a flop by Star Wars standards still grossed nearly $400 1000000.

The era of Disney CEO Bob Iger has been 1 of conquering. During his tenure, Disney has purchased Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm and it's difficult to argue that any of these have been bad investments, even if they toll $xv billion in full. All these studios take produced content that has been nearly universally loved by fans and that has translated into financial success. Disney's various divisions accept get about as close to sure things as you see in entertainment. Half of the top x grossing films worldwide have been Disney owned productions made in the last decade.

This certainly leads one to wonder what the futurity will concord for Disney's newest acquisition, Fox. This deal, of class, dwarfs all the others, equally Disney spent over $lxx billion to acquire the massive picture studio. At the aforementioned time, the various Fob divisions volition be producing a lot more content than a Marvel or a Lucasfilm can. Still, it will likely be a lot more vi years before Disney sees a full return on that investment.

For Lucasfilm, however, the future seems pretty bright. Star Wars continues to be one of the hottest brands in entertainment, and there are however plans for at to the lowest degree ane more Indiana Jones pic that volition only proceed to increase the value of the company to Disney's lesser line. $4 billion is certainly no small-scale sum, but there seems to accept been no improve way for Disney to take spent information technology.