Which Disney remakes of the 21st century turned out to be the highest-grossing (17 photos)
Over the past two decades, Disney has turned its classic animated feature remakes into a hit factory. Using tried-and-true stories and modern visuals, from CGI to acting, the studio has not only brought old stories back to life, but also grossed billions of dollars worldwide. 
Some of these films have become cultural icons, while others have sparked controversy and deserved criticism, but they have all shown that audiences still have a strong sense of nostalgia for Disney’s “golden age.”
Yes, this genre of remakes always gets a beating from those who want to finally leave Disney's legacy of the last century behind and focus on new ideas. But why would Disney do this if remakes make so much money? Let's see how much and who turned out to be the most successful.
16th place - Mulan (2020) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $70 million
Considered one of the most unsuccessful Disney remakes financially - largely due to the pandemic and the mixed reaction of the audience.
15th place — Snow White (2025) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $205 million
Remained among the modest releases (and what's more — failures). Despite the interest in the project, too much controversy flared up around it, and the film's ratings are simply horrific.
14th place - Cruella (2021) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $233 million
Another Disney victim of the pandemic. Although the film was warmly received for its style and acting, it cannot be called a big box office success.
13th place — Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $299 million
The second part of this dilogy was clearly disappointing both in the quality of the film itself and in the box office, which is quite logical, because the second is a consequence of the first.
12th place - Dumbo (2019) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $353 million
Collected a lot, but with a large budget did not bring significant profit to Disney.
11th place - Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $491 million
This is already a decent box office, but it is much inferior to the result of the first film.
10th place - Cinderella (2015) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross box office: $542 million
The film showed that classic fairy tales are still interesting to viewers, and cemented the format of realistic remakes in Disney's arsenal.
9th place — The Little Mermaid (2023) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $569 million
It became a notable event, although the reaction to it was mixed — from admiration to criticism. Well, you know, the bold choice of the actress was not easy for the project in terms of media.
8th place - Lilo & Stitch (2025) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $610 million (so far)
Despite the skepticism before the release, it became a pleasant surprise with great box office receipts, proving that the audience still loves touching family stories. And Stitch with his successful design, of course, became a magnet for children.
7th place - Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $722 million
It became a worthy continuation of the project, which we will see here again.
6th place - Maleficent (2014) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $759 million
The Sleeping Beauty spin-off starring Angelina Jolie became one of the first hits of the new era - over seven hundred million dollars and high audience ratings laid the groundwork for a whole wave of reimaginings of classic villains.
5th place — The Jungle Book (2016) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross box office: $967 million
This is a real surprise. How did a remake of Mowgli with zero famous actors in the frame manage to earn almost a billion? Probably, it is because this film turned out to be the best in terms of audience ratings among all Disney remakes. That is, it succeeded first and foremost as a good film, and not as a cultural event.
4th place - Alice in Wonderland (2010) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $1.025 billion
Despite critical remarks, it became a real hit with more than a billion at the box office, which opened the way for other similar projects. This is far from the best project of the Burton-Depp duo, the CGI here is terrible, but there was hype all over the world.
3rd place - Aladdin (2019) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Box office: $1.097 billion
Guy Ritchie tried his hand at a Disney remake, made Will Smith blue and collected a ton of money. For the director, the film turned out to be too studio, that is, slick and ordinary, but as a machine for raking in millions at the box office, it fulfilled its function.
2nd place — Beauty and the Beast (2017) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $1.266 billion
One of the most average remakes in terms of quality and resourcefulness turned out to be extremely successful at the box office. Thanks to the status of the story itself in culture and, of course, the choice of Emma Watson for the role of Belle.
1st place — The Lion King (2019) 
Walt Disney Pictures
Gross revenue: $1.662 billion
Well, hello there. Here it is — the highest-grossing Disney remake of all time. Despite all the criticism, which is primarily related to the fact that it should not have been made at all, this photorealistic cartoon played well on nostalgia and intrigue around how much better this legendary story looks with advanced visuals. It turned out that, of course, it is no better, but you can’t get your money back.
