Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has become the first studio in 2025 to cross $4 billion at the worldwide box office. The figure marks its strongest year since 2019, showing how the studio has regained strength despite fewer releases. In fact, the company reached this milestone with only 11 films, compared with 20 titles when it last passed $4 billion six years ago.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 55% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
The studio earned $1.795 billion in the U.S. and another $2.2 billion from overseas markets. Altogether, that gave it a market share of 28.06% as of mid-September. No other studio has reached that level this year, though Walt Disney (DIS) is on track to hit the same mark later in the year. Meanwhile, WBD shares have reflected the production company’s success with an 84% rise year-to-date.
Box Office Leaders
The growth was built on seven films that all opened above $40 million at the domestic box office. The run started with Minecraft Movie, which opened with $162.8 million and ultimately grossed $957.8 million worldwide. Other hits included Ryan Coogler’s Sinners with $366.6 million, Final Destination: Bloodlines with $313 million, and F1: The Movie with $624.3 million. James Gunn’s Superman earned $615.3 million, while horror titles like Weapons and The Conjuring: Last Rites added $263.9 million and $403.2 million.
Altogether, nine of the studio’s 11 titles opened at number one. This helped Warner Bros. dominate the box office charts for 15 weekends both in the U.S. and abroad.
Awards Season in Focus
On the same day the studio surpassed $4 billion, it also released Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The drama cost $130 million to produce and earned $3.1 million in Thursday previews. It is expected to open between $20 million and $25 million this weekend. While that is below the studio’s recent streak of $40 million openings, the title is aimed at awards season rather than at blockbuster results.
With this mix of commercial success and critical focus, Warner Bros. Discovery has set itself apart in a year when the overall summer box office fell short of $4 billion for only the second time since the pandemic. The company now enters the final stretch of 2025 as the most successful distributor so far.
Is WBD Stock a Buy?
On the Street, Warner Bros. Discovery holds a Moderate Buy consensus rating, based on the opinions of 13 analysts. The average WBD stock price target stands at $14.55, implying a 25.42% downside from the current price.
