Disney has revealed how much they have made off of their Star Wars acquisition since 2015. If you thought the franchise was hurting, and that Disney was failing with Star Wars, this information might make you change your tune. During an investment call the company released financial data, which includes Star Wars. Since their purchase of Star Wars, they have made $12 billion from a galaxy far, far away!
So, if they paid $4 billion for Lucasfilm, then that means they have made $8 billion since 2015. However, that is not the whole story. The data that was released does not include everything related to Star Wars. Take a look at the slide from the presentation below and pay special attention to the fine print…
Source: Company data. Reflects the ratio between revenue and investment on titles released following Disney’s acquisition of the IP. Revenue reflects aggregate 10-year revenue streams, both generated and expected, directly associated theatrical releases, including theatrical, home entertainment, VT (pay and free), and consumer products.
Does not include derivative revenue streams, such as park attractions, nor does it include DTC originals associated with those franchises or pre-established franchise consumer products revenue. Investment reflects film production cost and print and advertising associated with the theatrical release of the titles, and in the case of animated titles it also includes production overhead. Investment does not include any additional distribution costs overhead.”
The revenue from Star Wars is only in relation to how the movies have done. It does not take into account things like the shows, video games, theme park attractions, and merchandise. This only accounts for theatrical releases! This is the profit from the box office, which for Disney Star Wars equals about $6 billion (add up the totals for the four five films – Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Solo: A Star Wars Story), plus home entertainment and streaming fees.
In reality, Star Wars has provided Disney much more profit as a whole than what this slide is letting on. Sounds like the future of Star Wars is bright!
