Box office endgame: Is Disney’s dominance bad for the movies?

Analysis: The term ‘blockbuster’ has been redefined for a generation, after the latest Avengers offering cracked $1bn in just its opening run

Disney and Marvel: Box offices heroes, cinematic villains? (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Watching Disney’s Moana at the weekend with my daughter offered a fascinating illustration of the stunning success of another of the company’s properties: the all-conquering Avengers: Endgame.

Moana was a highly successful movie. According to Box Office Mojo, it grossed $643.3m over 2016 and 2017, one of a run of four Disney animated films to break the $600m barrier.

Released on Thursday, Endgame, the epic conclusion to a sprawling mass of Marvel movies, has raked in nearly twice that in just its opening run.