Disney is the most successful Hollywood studio of 2025, with about $2.5 billion in US and Canada box office across its Disney, 20th Century and Searchlight releases, ahead of Warner Bros. at about $1.9 billion. Studios do not publish profit by label, so we rank on a measure anyone can check: the 2025 domestic gross of every distributor’s films in the top 200 of the year. The first version of this list, built on 2014 figures, put Disney, 20th Century Fox and MGM on top. Since then Disney bought Fox (2019) and Amazon bought MGM, so the map looks different. Totals below are our sums of each distributor’s releases, in US dollars.
| Rank | Studio | 2025 domestic gross (our sum) | Biggest 2025 release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney (with 20th Century and Searchlight) | About $2.51 billion | Zootopia 2, $428 million |
| 2 | Warner Bros. | About $1.87 billion | A Minecraft Movie, $424 million |
| 3 | Universal (with Focus Features) | About $1.72 billion | Wicked: For Good, $343 million |
| 4 | Sony (with Screen Gems and Classics) | About $627 million | Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, $137 million |
| 5 | Paramount | About $482 million | Mission: Impossible, The Final Reckoning, $197 million |
| 6 | Lionsgate | About $402 million | The Housemaid, $126 million |
| 7 | A24 | About $239 million | Marty Supreme, $96 million |
| 8 | Angel Studios | About $183 million | David, $80 million |
| 9 | Amazon MGM Studios | About $118 million | The Accountant 2, $66 million |
| 10 | Neon | About $110 million | The Monkey, $40 million |
1. Disney: $2.51 billion, led by Zootopia 2
Disney’s three labels together had the biggest year: Zootopia 2 ($428 million), Lilo & Stitch ($424 million), Avatar: Fire and Ash ($404 million, released under the 20th Century banner), The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($274 million), Captain America: Brave New World ($201 million) and Thunderbolts* ($190 million). Marvel is still a major engine, as our look at the richest Marvel cast members shows, and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is a good example of how Disney turns a lesser-known comic into a hit.
The number rests on 23 Disney, 20th Century and Searchlight titles from the top 200 domestic films of the year. Disney bought 21st Century Fox in 2019, which is why 20th Century is counted here.
2. Warner Bros.: $1.87 billion on four big bets
Warner had A Minecraft Movie ($424 million), Superman ($354 million), Sinners ($280 million) and F1 ($190 million), then Conjuring: Last Rites ($178 million) and Weapons ($152 million). That is a year with no weak quarter.
Our sum covers 15 titles in the top 200. The studio’s ownership has been in flux, with 2026 records showing Skydance as the owner of the Warner film and TV assets, so check the current owner before you quote it.
3. Universal: $1.72 billion with Focus Features
Wicked: For Good ($343 million), Jurassic World: Rebirth ($340 million) and How to Train Your Dragon ($263 million) carried the studio. Universal alone adds up to about $1.52 billion, and its specialty label Focus Features adds roughly $200 million for titles such as Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ($45 million) and Song Sung Blue ($39 million).
We combine the two because Focus is a Universal division. Without that, Universal would still rank third.
4. Sony: $627 million, anime and horror
Sony’s biggest 2025 titles were Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ($137 million), 28 Years Later ($70 million) and Anaconda ($65 million), plus the anime Chainsaw Man ($43 million). The total includes about $46 million from Sony Pictures Classics and $20 million from Screen Gems.
Sony earns less at the domestic box office than the big three, but it keeps costs low and licenses to streaming platforms, which is part of why we say “box office” and not “profit.”
5. Paramount: $482 million
Mission: Impossible, The Final Reckoning ($197 million) was by far the biggest title, followed by The SpongeBob Movie ($71 million) and The Naked Gun ($53 million). Paramount merged with Skydance on August 7, 2025, forming Paramount Skydance Corporation.
That puts the studio in the middle of a corporate reshuffle, which is a bigger story than its box office year.
6. Lionsgate: $402 million
The Housemaid ($126 million) was the hit, with Now You See Me: Now You Don’t ($62 million) and Ballerina ($58 million) behind it. Lionsgate is the successful mini-major of the group, a label built on franchises like Saw and The Hunger Games.
Our sum covers 13 titles. It is a smaller business, but it has the most consistent record among the independents.
7. A24: $239 million
Marty Supreme ($96 million) was A24’s biggest 2025 release, with Materialists ($37 million) and Warfare ($26 million). The distributor is the one independent label that audiences treat as a brand in itself.
The total comes from 11 titles in the top 200.
8. Angel Studios: $183 million
The faith-based distributor had David ($80 million) and The King of Kings ($60 million), both animated. Angel runs a crowd-funded model where fans can back titles in advance.
It lands ahead of Amazon MGM and Neon, which says something about the size of the faith audience.
9. Amazon MGM Studios: $118 million
The Accountant 2 ($66 million) and A Working Man ($37 million) led the slate. Amazon bought MGM, the lion-logo studio that was number 3 in our first list, and now releases its films alongside its streaming plans.
The theatrical numbers are modest because Amazon’s business is subscriptions.
10. Neon: $110 million
Neon’s biggest title was The Monkey ($40 million), with Together ($21 million) and No Other Choice ($10 million) next. Over 12 titles it makes the top ten as the leading specialist distributor outside the majors.
Netflix released only a few theatrical titles in the year, so it is excluded.
Keep reading
- richest Marvel cast members: what the Disney machine pays its stars
- things you did not know about Guardians of the Galaxy: one of Marvel’s least likely hits
FAQ
Which Hollywood studio is the most successful?
Disney, with about $2.51 billion in US and Canada box office in 2025 across Disney, 20th Century and Searchlight, by our sum of the top 200 films.
Which studio is the most profitable?
Studios do not publish profit by label, so we rank on box office. Disney leads in 2025.
What was the biggest film of 2025 in the US?
Zootopia 2 from Disney, at about $428 million domestic, just ahead of A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch.
What happened to 20th Century Fox and MGM?
Disney bought 21st Century Fox in 2019, and the studio now releases as 20th Century Studios. Amazon owns MGM and releases as Amazon MGM Studios.
How do you calculate these totals?
We summed the domestic grosses of every distributor’s releases in the top 200 films of 2025, grouping labels under their parent. Smaller releases are not counted, so totals are slightly low.
How we put this list together
We rank Hollywood distributors by the domestic gross of their 2025 releases, summing film by film from the year’s list of the top 200 films and grouping specialty labels under their parent studio.
Because the list stops at 200 films, small titles are missed. Gross is revenue, not profit, which no studio publishes by label.
Last updated: October 2026.
