Disney Dominates “Most Streamed Movies of 2023” Nielsen List

In a recently released report of the most streamed movies of 2023 from Nielsen, Disney dominated the list with several of its animated and live-action films.

The list contains both the presence of some newer additions as well as some beloved animated movies that have been extremely popular since their release.

We will discuss the popularity of the Disney movies featured on this list of the most streamed movies of 2023 and talk about how Disney has expanded the presence of these movies in theme parks around the world. Plus, the theme park expansions that we hope Disney considers with these titles.

Most Streamed Movies of 2023 According to Nielsen

Below are the stats for the most streamed movies of 2023 according to Nielsen, including the movie title, minutes viewed (in billions), and the streaming service.

Disney titles make up more than half the list. Notably, three of the other top movies of the year on streaming came from Illumination, the animation studio behind Super Mario, Minions, and Sing 2. This is an interesting sign of the competition to come.

1. Moana (11.6 billion mins viewed) (Disney+)

2. Encanto (9.7 billion mins viewed) (Disney+)

3. The Super Mario Bros Movie (8.8 billion mins viewed) (Netflix/Peacock)

4. Elemental (2023) (8.6 billion mins viewed) (Disney+)

5. Minions: The Rise of Gru (7.1 billion mins viewed) (Netflix)

6. Sing 2 (6.7 billion mins viewed) (Netflix)

7. Frozen (6.5 billion mins viewed) (Disney+)

8. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (6.4 billion mins viewed) (Disney+)

9. Avatar: The Way of Water (6.4 billion mins viewed) (Disney+/Max)

10. Glass Onion: A Knives-Out Mystery (6.4 billion mins viewed) (Netflix)

It is not too surprising to learn that Moana takes the top spot as the most-streamed movie in the U.S. in 2023. The movie, which premiered in 2016, has remained one of the most beloved and most-watched animated Disney stories since its release. Since Nielsen began measuring streaming, audiences have watched nearly 80 billion minutes of Moana—this translates to watching the full movie 775 million times.

Moana is popular for good reason—it's visually beautiful and entertaining, contains several catchy and memorable songs, and offers a valuable message for kids and adults alike that you must follow your heart and stay true to yourself.

For many of the same reasons, Encanto (2021) and Frozen (2013) have also been incredibly well-received since their release. These Disney movies are engaging enough that they can be rewatched over and over again by kids as they sing along to their favorite songs and enjoy the movies' beautiful animation.

Many see this as the value of Disney+, as it contains a treasure trove of entertainment for everyone in the family as well as the opportunity for younger audiences to enjoy their favorites repeatedly. This repeated viewing is likely a major reason why these movies hold their spots on the most-streamed list.

Undoubtedly, these three movies (Moana, Frozen, and Encanto) will not see a decline in popularity anytime soon. For this reason, Disney has significantly increased the presence of these stories and characters in its theme parks around the world, which we will talk more about in the section below.

Also on the list are some more recently released Disney movies that viewers have been eager to watch, like the new Disney-Pixar Elemental (2023) and two sequels to popular Disney movies: Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

After a slow initial release weekend, Pixar's Elemental was painted as a rare Pixar movie miss but the movie found success in succeeding weeks and on streaming on Disney+.

Popular Disney Movies at Disney Parks

While Disney movies have inspired several attractions and experiences over the years, Disney has been making an effort to introduce some of its most popular movies to the parks, including several from this list. We believe that there is some improvement for the amount of characters from the animated films from Disney Animation in the parks.

Most recently, we've seen the attraction Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana open at World Nature in EPCOT, along with a new Moana character meet-and-greet. The attraction, a self-guided exploration trail where you can play and interact with water, is based on the animated film. You can see our full review of the new Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana in our guide! Moana and Maui have also recently appeared in the fan-favorite Magic Happens parade as part of the Disney100 celebration, and the parade will soon be returning to Disneyland.

Encanto has also been present in the Disney parks, with a Mirabel meet-and-greet available in Magic Kingdom at Disney World, Bruno appearing as part of Oogie Boogie Bash, the movie featured across Disney Parks entertainment, and the recent tease that Encanto may be featured at Animal Kingdom as part of a reimagining of Dinoland in Animal Kingdom. Because of Encanto's incredible popularity, it makes sense for Disney to feature its stories and characters at the parks as much as possible.

Recently, the first Frozen-themed land was opened at Hong Kong Disneyland with new attractions like a Frozen-themed rollercoaster, a new restaurant and merchandise locations, unique character experiences, and more. A $2 billion Disney expansion at Tokyo DisneySea will also be introducing Frozen to the park, and Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris is also building a new Frozen-themed land called the Kingdom of Arendelle. We think there are some good signs that Frozen is also destined to come to Disneyland as well.

All of the additions mentioned above really lack the heft that we would expect for attractions based on these extremely popular franchises. It's not too surprising though since Disney Parks have consistently missed opportunities to add attractions for major animated hits. Amazingly, there is no permanent attraction for Frozen at Disneyland sitting here 10 years after the movie. If you think that's harsh you could also look to Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin, all of which have no substantive Disneyland presence. Walt Disney World is better off with a Frozen attraction and nods to Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. That said there is still plenty of opportunity for more there.

All of that said, we hope that Disneyland and Walt Disney World lean into these animated films as key intellectual properties to create theme park attractions and lands around. Disney has shared information about their plans to turbocharge the Disney Parks with a $60 Billion investment and at least a $1.9 billion investment at Disneyland. Let's see some of that investment go towards these animated films.

Finally, we'll discuss the two big live-action hits from Disney on the list which, in addition to Star Wars, have received the biggest investments for the creation of new themed lands.

Characters from Black Panther are highlighted in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure. Black Panther is one of the characters who appears repeatedly in Avengers Campus for character meet-and-greets and stunt shows, and fans also have the opportunity to train with the Dora Milaje from the movie in Warriors of Wakanda: The Disciplines of the Dora Milaje.

While Avatar already has a presence at Disney World with the immersive themed land of Pandora (containing rides like the incredibly popular Flight of Passage), Bob Iger also announced that there will also be an Avatar experience coming to Disneyland. While not much information has been shared yet on the exact details, it has been described as a “bold” new experience.

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