Many analysts and experts are looking forward to the year when the box office finally fully recovers from the effects of the pandemic.

It’s been a long and difficult journey coming out of the pandemic that swept the entire world in 2020. The scale of the pandemic was one that few saw coming. Many of us were completely taken aback by the reality of its long-term effects on the economy and people’s lives (let alone the more tragic ones of the lives lost and health impacts of the virus).

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Experts Look to 2026 as the Year Disney Recovers from Pandemic Effects

The box office has certainly been particularly impacted by the pandemic. For example, in the case of the Walt Disney Company, 2019 saw one of its best years yet, but after the pandemic, the Mouse House has been struggling to make its way back. (Though some believe this is as much a question of the quality of Disney’s productions rather than just external factors.)

But it’s worth noting that Disney’s not the only one.

As a recent article from CNBC, between the pandemic and the two labor strikes that Hollywood saw last year, the numbers for box office performance aren’t looking to top its pre-pandemic levels just yet.

However, on a pleasantly surprising positive note for Disney itself, experts do believe that the box office will bounce back, and they believe Disney will be the reason for this resurgence.

As CNBC wrote, “Wall Street doesn’t expect ticket sales to top $10 billion domestically until 2026…[but] When the box office does again surpass that threshold, Disney could be the driving force.”

2023 was not a good year for Disney. So it’s surprising that experts think the Walt Disney Company’s productions might be the driving force behind hitting that magical $10 billion mark. Even with highly anticipated releases like The Little Mermaid and Indiana Jones, Disney didn’t live up to its name.

Now, when it comes to 2024 and 2025, the lineup is still primarily a “franchise-rich” movie lineup. Wall Street doesn’t expect that this will rake in a lot of money.

In fact, in the specific case of Disney, Bob Iger himself has admitted that Disney has become too dependent on sequels. However, 2026 is going to bring a slate of movies alongside four big franchise films that could do the trick.

Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM, commented, “We don’t know completely what is in ’26, but I think it could end up being bigger than 2025 because it’ll be the first time ever that we have like four mega-franchise films.”

Handler is referencing the third Avatar movie coming out in December 2025 (sales will impact 2026 as well), a 2026 Avengers film, currently titled The Kang Dynasty, a Mandalorian Star Wars movie, and another Star Wars film to round out the year.

Between these films and “three untitled Marvel movie dates, two unnamed Pixar films, a Disney Animation film slated for Thanksgiving, and six other Disney titles,” it seems 2026 might be a good year for Disney, and, consequently, a great year for the box office.

Per Eric Handler, “I think 2026 has a good shot to be the year that the industry gets back to $10 billion.”