Disney kept a stranglehold on cinemas in 2019, while the Brits fought back against American blockbuster power, writes Charles Gant in his review of the year

The winner: Disney

The fortunes of film studios fluctuate from year to year depending on the strength of that year’s product, but never in our lifetimes have we seen one company dominate the way that Disney has done in 2019.

Thanks to its ownership of Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm, as well as its own live-action and animation divisions, Disney delivered seven of the 10 biggest hits at the UK box office this year, as well as four of the top five. Its market share for the year to mid-December stood at 34.7 per cent – a number that should rise further, thanks to the impact of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Its nearest competitor, Universal, has achieved a 14.1 per cent share, with Warner Bros in third place on 13 per cent.

Every division of Disney has delivered: Pixar with Toy Story 4; Marvel with Avengers: Endgame and Captain Marvel; live action with The Lion King, Aladdin and Dumbo; animation with Frozen II. And now Lucasfilm is joining the party with The Rise of Skywalker (more on this below). On top of that, Disney (through Marvel) also has a stake in the eighth-biggest hit of the year: Sony’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Globally, Disney delivered six of the eight titles taking $1 billion at the box office in 2019. That tally may rise to seven thanks to The Rise of Skywalker (currently at $374m), which has nine more days to play before 2019 is done.