Has Marvel or Pixar Made More Money for Disney?

In the past, Disney has acquired many properties to continue grow its entertainment empire.

Shall we name them?

Jim Henson’s Muppets
Pixar Animation Studios
Marvel Entertainment (from the comics to the movies)
George Lucas’s Star Wars

The Muppets and Star Wars

The Muppets was in entertainment limbo for several years until the popular The Muppets and The Muppets Most Wanted breathed life into the fleece and foam. Star Wars hasn’t truly taken off yet, but Disney just finished filming the newest Star Wars movie and the franchise has been a forceful presence in the parks for years.

Pixar and Marvel

What about Pixar and Marvel? Pixar kept Disney Animation afloat during the company’s sixteen year low. When Disney acquired it, Pixar’s heads rejuvenated the animation department. While Marvel was popular in comics and the occasional movie, DC dominated its rival in animation. Marvel was floundering and even the Submariner couldn’t keep it afloat. Disney threw the company a life preserver and its Marvel cinematic universe exploded the box office. Or did it?

Rotoscopers friend Tim Beyers of The Motley Fool wrote, “Marvel vs. Pixar: Can You Guess Which Acquisition Has Done Better For Disney?”

The numbers never lie and Pixar once again claims the revenue generating crown. Beyers compares box office profits, home video sales, and more in this chart:

Metric	Marvel	Pixar
Number of films since acquisition	8	8
Worldwide grosses	$6,304,740,356	$4,781,944,543
Production, marketing, distribution costs	$1,765,000,000	$1,970,000,000
Estimated box office profit	$1,242,987,206	$651,963,846
Home video sales	$395,612,472	$1,608,528,731
Estimated gross profit	$1,539,696,560	$1,858,360,394
Estimated profit margin	22.98%	27.12%

A 5% margin usually isn’t that big, but we’re talking billions of dollars rather than pennies and dimes, so it all adds up. Beyers also mentions how Pixar’s business practices are influencing Disney Animation Studios, which was responsible for Frozen.