Report: Half Of Hollywood’s Top 10 Most Profitable Films Last Year Were Animated

Five of the ten most profitable films released by Hollywood last year were animated features, according to Deadline’s Most Valuable Movie Blockbuster series.

This is a stunning statistic considering that less than 10% of the films released last year by the Hollywood majors — Universal, Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony — were animated films. It also makes it all the more perplexing that studios refuse to acknowledge animation’s popularity and don’t seem to have the will to boost their production slates.

The Big 5 have released a combined total of one theatrical animated film through the first four months of 2025. That’s not a typo. The only film they’ve released in 2025 thus far is Dog Man. They are planning to release what is almost surely to be a record low of just five fully-animated films through the entire year of 2025. It’s almost as if the majors have given up entirely on theatrical animation at the same time that animation is proving to be their most financially successful product. It’s so utterly illogical that it’s beyond criticism.

Here are Deadline’s top 10 most financially successful films of 2024:

1. Inside Out 2 (animated)
2. Moana 2 (animated)
3. Deadpool & Wolverine
4. Despicable Me 4 (animated)
5. Wicked
6. It Ends with Us
7. Dune: Part Two
8. Kung Fu Panda 4 (animated)
9. Mufasa: The Lion King (animated)
10. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Each of the Deadline pieces breaks down a film’s earnings from theatrical, home entertainment, and streaming, against its expenses (production budget, P&A, residuals, participations, etc.). The numbers are all estimates by Deadline since studios never provide these numbers, but it’s as close as anyone on the outside can get to understanding just how much Hollywood films net for the studios.

Inside Out 2, which was Hollywood’s most successful film of last year, ended up netting $650 million for Disney, while Moana 2 delivered $415 million in profit.

There’s some fascinating stats in the pieces. For example, Universal spent $100 million to produce Despicable Me 4, but $170 million to promote the film. Universal did the same for its other title on the list, Kung Fu Panda 4, spending $85 million to make the film and $125 million to promote it.

How much more successful do animated films have to become for studios to upgrade their slates and start producing more animation?