The launch of Disney+ proved to be a saving grace for the megaconglomerate as the pandemic shut down movie theaters and reduced crowds at its theme parks. With the streaming service, Disney translated the massive theatrical success of franchises like Marvel and Star Wars to the small screen, surpassing 100 million subscribers in under 18 months with hits like The Mandalorian and WandaVision, and established itself as Netflix’s most vicious competitor. The company plans to add more than 50 Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and Disney originals to the platform in the next few years. Attracting viewers with new takes on beloved franchises isn’t novel (see: Paramount+’s ever expanding list of Star Trek series, and Netflix’s own foray into the Marvel universe). But no other media company in history has leveraged IP as successfully as Disney, which projects its eponymous streamer could reach 260 million global subscribers by 2024.
Correction, April 28
The original version of this story misstated the number of subscribers expected for Disney+ by 2024. It is 260 million, not 350 million.
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