Disney Studios Sets New Company Box Office Record

Walt Disney's Disney Studios unit has notched an all-time high in terms of ticket receipts. The company announced this week that the division, its feature-film arm, has surpassed $4 billion in global box office so far this year. Earlier this month, it broke its previous peak of $3.79 billion set in 2010.

That $4 billion was powered in large part by the latest installment in the company's superhero saga, Iron Man 3, which raked in $1.21 billion and currently stands as the fifth-highest grossing film in history. Other successes were the sequels Monsters University from animation subsidiary Pixar, which took in more than $744 million, and Thor: The Dark World from another unit, Marvel. The latter is still in release and has so far grossed $559 million.

Disney is hoping to add to its record with several high-profile films currently in theaters or coming in the near future. It released its latest animation offering, Frozen, on Wednesday, and on Dec. 13 will launch Saving Mr. Banks. The latter is a live-action movie featuring the company's co-founder, Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks), as a lead character.