Star Wars’ financial success has long been the subject of debate concerning Disney’s return on investment, with recent insight proving the franchise may not be as profitable as first thought. Since 1977, Star Wars has been one of the biggest franchises in history. The success of each Star Wars trilogy is evident, with 11 live-action movies being produced over the five decades. Upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows will hopefully continue these individual success stories, though whether they will see the purchase of Lucasfilm be branded a success for Disney remains to be seen.
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Upcoming Star Wars Shows: Story, Casts & Everything We Know
Several exciting Star Wars TV shows are set to be released on Disney+ in the coming years from the realm of both live-action and animation.
After Disney’s reveal that the profit of Star Wars outweighs the $4 billion purchase price of Lucasfilm in March 2024, an investigation by Forbes hints this may not be overly true. As revealed in the report, Disney’s claimed profit was achieved after subtracting its expenses from the revenue of the Disney-crafted Star Wars films. However, Forbes’ investigation reveals that Disney did not account for the production or marketing costs of any Star Wars projects, only how much the acquisition of Lucasfilm cost. This implies that Star Wars has not been as financially successful for Disney as first thought.
We’ll Probably Never Be Able To Say For Sure How Profitable Star Wars Has Been
These reveals make it clear that it will be unlikely to ever provide a definitive answer to how profitable Star Wars has been for Disney. For one, insight and analysis such as this will always be difficult, as major Hollywood studios never truly divulge exact numbers. Tax and accounting tricks often mean figures revealed regarding profits, revenue, and expenses are inaccurate, especially in the case of a franchise like Star Wars which has such inflated numbers for each aforementioned aspect.
Furthermore, it is near-impossible to calculate the profit on shows that stream on services like Disney+. The nature of subscribers paying monthly to access the service means it is difficult to say how much revenue any individual show has earned. All of these factors and variables prove that calculating profit for a franchise as massive as Star Wars is fruitless, though some reports hint Disney’s claims of immense profit are not as clear cut as they first seemed.
Source: Forbes
