The Market Structure of Animation Studios, and What It Means for Disney Animation Studios

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The Market Structure of Animation Studios, and What It Means For Disney Animation Studios In the midst of the holiday season, a group of firms plans the release of their next products, hoping to beat out all their competition and appeal to the maximum numbers of consumers as they spend time with their families. This group of firms is distributors of movies. Especially with the cancellation of school around the holidays, animated movie producers try to make a killing at the box office. Looking at the studios responsible for the films, Disney Animation Studios with Wreck-It Ralph is one of the newest flicks (“Walt Disney Animation Studios”). Disney Animation Studios has a reputation for classic movies, from the 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the highest-grossing animated film of all time, The Lion King, in 1994 (“Box Office Mojo”), to Wreck-It Ralph’s current success. Animation studios are an example of an oligopoly in their market structure. Disney Animation Studios has some major competition. The other firms competing with Disney are Pixar, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, and Studio Ghibli. Pixar is probably Disney Animation Studio’s greatest rival, though they are both owned by Walt Disney Studios, which is in turn a part of the Walt Disney Company (“Walt Disney Company”). The market power is unequally divided between these firms. Though all six animation studios are in an oligopoly together, most of the market power is held by Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks. Since Disney’s beginning, the market structure has changed. In the 1930’s, Disney Animation Studios was in a duopoly with Warner Brothers. However, looking at movie statistics from 2001, which is when the “Best Animated Feature” category was added to the Academy Awards, Pixar Animation Studios has won ten Academy Awards with 25 nominations, DreamWorks Animation Studios has won one

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