Disney fourth installment of the “Toy Story” franchise hit over $1 billion in global box office sales, the company announced this week. The film is Disney’s fifth billion dollar release this year.
“It is almost comical,” Sean O'Connell, the managing director of Cinemablend, said of Disney’s success.
“Toy Story 4” was made by Pixar, a Disney ($DIS) subsidiary, and released domestically on June 20, boasting over $120 million in its debut weekend. To date, the film has grossed over $421 million in the U.S. and nearly $580 million internationally.
Disney’s other films that hit $1 billion in sales this year include “Captain Marvel,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
In total, Disney has so far had four animated films reach the $1 billion milestone: “Incredibles 2,” “Finding Doy,” and “Toy Story 3,” which was in 2010.
“I want some other studios to step up and put out movies that break through the culture zeitgeist,” O’Connell said. “And it is not happening right now.”
O’Connell added that Disney’s success this year is significant, especially since the studio does not have any expected hits for release in 2020. Yet with four months left in the year, Disney still has a strong lineup coming with the release of “Frozen 2” in November and "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in December.
Disney's stock has been up roughly 23 percent year-to-date.
An Illinois attorney general's office investigation released Tuesday found that 451 Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children in the state over a nearly 70-year period, which was more than four times the 103 individuals the church named when the state began its review in 2018.
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Cheddar's own Shannon LaNier is taking a staycation, and all week he'll be trying out different summer activities in New York and the surrounding area that will hopefully serve as an inspiration no matter where you live. On Monday, Shannon traveled to Huntington, New York to get a taste of the boating life. He spoke with Maggie Maskery, head of public relations for Discover Boating, about some of the best boat share options.
