The staff of Fortune recently assembled the best business moments of 2015. Here’s one of our picks.
Who needs stormtroopers when you’ve got dinosaurs, fast (and furious) cars, and a bunch of cute yellow things? Led by Jurassic World, the summer’s biggest hit, Comcast’s Universal (CMCSA) set a new record for full-year global ticket sales—topping Fox’s (FOX) 2014 mark of $5.5 billion—before the end of August.
But it wasn’t all raptors and Chris Pratt. The high-octane Furious 7 and animated spin-off Minions gave Universal three separate billion-dollar blockbusters. The studio also scored a string of surprise box office smashes, including Fifty Shades of Grey, Pitch Perfect 2, and Straight Outta Compton. Near the end of 2015, Universal was closing in on $6.5 billion in worldwide sales while boasting more than a 20% share of the global movie market, according to box office research firm Rentrak.
Of course, Universal has some competition from runner-up Walt Disney Studios (DIS), which also had a big year thanks to Inside Out and the Avengers sequel, not to mention the huge returns from its late-December Star Wars release. But, Universal’s stockpile of hits built such a massive lead that even the Force’s awakening won’t be able to bridge the gap.
This article is part of Fortune’s Best in Business 2015 package of highlights and lowlights of the year in business, politics and the economy by the writers and editors of Fortune. To see the entire package, click here.
