Warner Bros. made history with the release of their horror sequel The Conjuring: Last Rites, which opened to a whopping $83 million domestic and $187 million worldwide. That tally made Warner Bros. the first studio ever to release seven films in a row that opened to more than $40 million at the domestic box office.

The studio rebounded from a sluggish start (Companion, Mickey 17, and The Alto Knights) with a string of box office hits starting with A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, F1, Superman, Weapons, and The Conjuring: Last Rites. The box office streak could continue later this month with One Battle After Another from Leonardo DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson.

However, after winning this summer’s box office race, Disney could roll out a run that breaks this impressive record, starting next summer.

Disney’s Potentially Record-Breaking Box Office Lineup

While Warner Bros. basks in its box office glory, Disney is getting ready to roll out a string of potential hits, starting next summer with the highly anticipated Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22, 2026).

The studio will follow that up with Toy Story 5 (June 19, 2026), their live-action Moana (July 10, 2026), Whalefall (October 16, 2026), Hexed (November 25, 2026), Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026), Ice Age: Boiling Point (February 7, 2027), and Star Wars: Starfighter (May 28, 2027).

The Star Wars and Marvel films are almost surefire locks to open north of $40 million, and the last two Toy Story movies debuted with nine-figure sums. Hexed and Moana are positioned nicely with prime dates to eclipse $40 million as well, and only one Ice Age movie opened below it, 2016’s Ice Age: Collision Course ($21.3 million).

Whalefall Is The Biggest Wild Card, But It Could Come Through

The biggest potential threat to this record-breaking run is Whalefall, an adaptation of Daniel Krauss’ 2023 novel of the same name. It was a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller and named one of the best books of that year by NPR, described as a cross between The Martian and 127 Hours.

The book follows a teenager named Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) who is tasked with finding the remains of his father (Josh Brolin) during a scuba expedition in the ocean. During this expedition, Jay is swallowed alive by an enormous sperm whale and must find a way out before his oxygen runs out in just one hour.

The pulse-pounding thrills combined with the book’s legions of fans, along with a stellar cast (Abrams, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Shue, Jane Levy), could make Whalefall a surprise hit of the fall and help solidify Disney’s place in box office history while doing so.

Without Whalefall, Disney Could Still Break The Record

Even if Whalefall doesn’t hit $40 million, Disney could have a chance to break this record later, with Hexed, Avengers: Doomsday, Ice Age: Boiling Point, Star Wars: Starfighter, a new Pixar film Gatto (June 18, 2027), Bluey: The Movie (August 6, 2027), Frozen III (November 24, 2027), and Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17, 2027).

While one of these films may fail to eclipse $40 million, the next few years are shaping up to be huge for Disney at the box office, record or not.