Not many companies can compete with Disney when it comes to their consistent output of films each year. When people think of Disney movies, their minds often go to the animated projects they’re most known for. However, Disney has several studios under its umbrella, making it hard to pick out their best release each year.
Along with Walt Disney Studios, their releases include Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and more. Over the past decade, each year has seen Disney be behind several fantastic movies from superhero blockbusters to modern animated classics to critically acclaimed dramas.
2016 – Zootopia (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
It doesn’t get talked about much, but 2016 was a stellar year for Disney. They released several films that nearly or did crack the $1 billion mark, from Finding Dory to The Jungle Book to Captain America: The First Avenger to Moana to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Any of those films could’ve been considered for the top of the year, yet Zootopia takes the crown. From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the movie is set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals and centers on a rabbit who defies the odds and becomes a police officer. She works with a con artist to solve a conspiracy in Zootopia.
Zootopia became a massive success, grossing over $1 billion and receiving critical acclaim. It’s one of the few films to win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Annie Awards. With stunning animation, a great voice cast, and an intriguing mystery at its core, Zootopia does so much so well.
2017 – Coco (Pixar Studios)
While not quite as successful as 2016, 2017 was another strong year for Disney. The MCU put out three fantastic films in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Thor: Ragnarok, while the likes of Beauty and the Beast and Cars 3 were massive box office hits.
That said, Pixar Studios’ other release in 2017, Coco, is the year’s best. The film follows Miguel, a young boy who gets transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks out his ancestors to help lift the ban that his living family has placed on music.
Coco was as well-received as it gets, continuing Pixar’s hot streak. It holds a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Film. The gorgeous visuals also helped it win a whopping 11 Annie Awards. Coco has held up over time too, with a sequel in production.
2018 – Avengers: Infinity War (Marvel Studios)
A lot of Disney’s releases in 2018 ended up being rather disappointing from a commercial standpoint. A Wrinkle in Time and Solo: A Star Wars Story bombed, though Incredibles 2, Black Panther, and Ralph Breaks the Internet made sure the year still wound up as a success.
Avengers: Infinity War had an incredible amount of hype to live up to. It had to bring together so many beloved characters from over a dozen movies, put the focus on a new major villain, and somehow make it all work. Marvel Studios managed to pull it off and deliver something special.
The film grossed over $2 billion and its shocking ending is now a pop culture staple. Avengers: Infinity War didn’t have the cultural impact of Black Panther, but the way the movie managed to balance so much is incredibly impressive and the fact that the action almost never lets up makes up a tremendous film.
2019 – Avengers: Endgame (Marvel Studios)
It almost didn’t matter what Disney put out in 2019 because Avengers: Endgame was always likely to top it. The year still saw some hits, from Captain Marvel to Toy Story 4 to Spider-Man: Far From Home to Frozen II, yet the likes of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker upset fans of that franchise.
Thankfully, Avengers: Endgame didn’t disappoint its fans. The three-hour epic saw the surviving heroes from the previous installment put together a time heist that paid homage to the history of the MCU as they fought to bring back those they lost and take down Thanos one final time.
Avengers: Endgame made history by grossing over $1 billion in its opening weekend. The movie was everywhere and felt like the perfect culmination of everything the MCU had been building towards for over a decade. The franchise has struggled to regain this level of momentum since.
2020 – Hamilton (Walt Disney Studios)
2020 was a difficult year for Disney, as it was for every film studio. The COVID-19 pandemic hit hard, causing places, including movie theaters, around the world to shut down. Many movies were delayed, meaning Disney’s biggest output came from Onward, Mulan, and Soul.
While those films were strong releases, especially the ones from Pixar, it was Walt Disney Studios’ Hamilton that stood out the most. The stage play telling the story of the life of Alexander Hamilton through the use of hip-hop music has been a phenomenon since it initially opened in 2015.
This filmed version allowed people who never got to see the play to experience it with the original cast intact. Like the Broadway version, it was loved by critics and nominated for several major awards. Hamilton also remains one of the most constantly replayed things on Disney+ to this day.
2021 – Encanto (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Things started to turn back around in 2021 with theaters opening and several delayed films seeing the light of day. Under the Disney umbrella, that meant critically acclaimed projects like Cruella, Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, West Side Story, and the Fear Street trilogy.
Even with the stiff competition, Encanto is hard to beat. From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the film follows the Madrigals, a Colombian family who all have magical powers except for the protagonist, Mirabel. Still, it’s up to her to save them all when the family starts to lose its magic.
Along with being loved by critics, Encanto was a massive success with kids. It racked up the viewing hours on Disney+ after its theatrical run and features some of the best songs ever put in a Disney film, which is high praise.
2022 – Avatar: The Way Of Water (20th Century Studios)
From Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to Turning Red to Fire Island to Fresh to Barbarian, 2022 was a varied year for Disney releases. The year also saw Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Menu, The Banshees of Inisherin, and more.
Alas, it’s the film that fans waited over a decade for that stole the show. Avatar: The Way of Water was the long-awaited sequel to the record-breaking first James Cameron movie, and it more than lived up to the hype. In fact, it also managed to gross over $2 billion.
Avatar: The Way of Water added intrigue to the original story by introducing a new Na’vi tribe. The visuals were spectacular, with the underwater scenes looking breathtaking on the big screen. The entire experience was something to behold.
2023 – Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (Marvel Studios)
Some of the biggest Disney movies in 2023 struggled, like The Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Its most successful films were the smaller releases from Rye Lane to Theater Camp to the Oscar-winning Poor Things.
Poor Things and Elemental, a surprise massive hit for Pixar, were both in contention but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was too good to overlook. Wrapping up the story of the titular heroes in emotional fashion, this featured the comedy and action that James Gunn is known for.
Putting the focus on Rocket Raccoon and his origin gave the movie its emotional core, while the likes of Gamora, Nebula, and Drax all got conclusions that made sense and were happy. It was everything fans of the franchise wanted.
2024 – Inside Out 2 (Pixar Studios)
After a few years of struggles, it seemed like Pixar Studios was back, thanks to Elemental and Inside Out 2. The latter grossed over $1 billion and was met with widespread acclaim, proving that the studio still had the goods to deliver.
2024 saw Disney put out several strong projects, including Deadpool & Wolverine, A Real Pain, Alien: Romulus, A Complete Unknown, and Moana 2. They were all hits either critically or commercially.
However, Inside Out 2 managed to be both in such a strong way. It grew up with the audience, focusing on Riley’s emotions as she enters her teenage years and masterfully showcasing how terrifying anxiety can be.
2025 – Rental Family (Searchlight Pictures)
2025 was a mixed bag for Disney. Captain America: Brave New World, Snow White, Elio, and Tron: Ares were major disappointments, while Avatar: Fire and Ash, Predator: Badlands, and Lilo & Stitch were hits. Thunderbolts* missed commercially but hit critically, while Zootopia 2 managed to do both.
However, we look to a much smaller film to find Disney’s best of the year. Released by Searchlight Pictures, Rental Family focuses on a struggling actor living in Tokyo who gets a job where he plays various roles in the real lives of strangers.
Brendan Fraser gives possibly his greatest performance ever as the actor. Watching him play the husband to a woman trying to escape her family, the friend to a man with dementia, and the father to a girl who never met her real dad all make for engaging, captivating scenes.