Disney Accidentally Admitted That No Film Post 2021 Gets Significant Viewership on Streaming

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Disney recently shared its yearly streaming results for Disney+ and Hulu on December 17th. While the company presented the data with playful graphics, a closer look suggests potential concerns for investors. The numbers show a decrease in viewers and indicate that new shows and movies haven’t attracted a large audience.

In 2025, ‘Bluey’ was the top series on both Disney+ and Hulu, reaching a total of 26.5 million viewers, according to Disney.

‘Moana 2’ was the most viewed movie in every state and nearly every country with 80+ million views.

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) December 17, 2025

Disney reported that viewers spent over 55,000 hours enjoying content on Disney+ and Hulu, creating many memorable experiences. However, the company is now looking at whether that viewing time translated into a worthwhile return on their investment and if enough people actually tuned in.

Surprisingly enough, Bluey may provide some insight.

Most-Streamed Series

As a huge animation fan, I was blown away by the numbers Disney just released for Bluey. Apparently, people re-watched it a staggering 26.5 million times in 2025, making it the most-watched show of the year! If you figure each episode is around 7-9 minutes long, that adds up to roughly 37 billion minutes of Bluey being streamed. It’s incredible! Interestingly, Nielsen reported even higher numbers last year – 55.62 billion minutes watched! It just shows how much families are loving this Australian cartoon.

As a big fan of streaming, I’ve been following the numbers, and it’s a bit frustrating that Disney stopped sharing how many people are using Disney+ and Hulu. Because of that, it’s hard to say if Bluey is losing steam, or if families are just watching shows on different services now. What we do know is that even though it’s still the most popular show on Disney+, it’s seen a noticeable drop in viewership compared to last year, which is a little concerning.

Disney Streaming reveals its billion hours streamed club.

Here’s a list of popular TV shows and movies: Bluey, American Dad, 911, Bob’s Burgers, Bones, Desperate Housewives, Encanto, Family Guy, Futurama, The Golden Girls, How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Malcolm in the Middle, and Sons of Anarchy.

— Boardwalk Times (@BoardwalkTimes) December 17, 2025

While Bluey is a popular show, it’s actually licensed from the BBC by Disney. Of the 24 shows that have reached a billion hours of streaming, only The Mandalorian was created specifically for Disney+. Most of the other shows, including The Golden Girls, Sons of Anarchy, Bones, and How I Met Your Mother, are older programs that Disney added to the platform after acquiring the rights to air them repeatedly.

What’s missing is new content. Besides The Mandalorian, recent Star Wars series like Andor (which released its second season this year) and Skeleton Crew (which premiered late last year but was quickly canceled) aren’t included. The same goes for Marvel shows like Daredevil: Born Again and Ironheart. These were all significant investments by Disney, and their absence suggests these new shows didn’t attract enough viewers.

Perhaps even more concerning is what Disney revealed about its movies.

New Movies Fail to Find an Audience

This year, Moana 2 was the most popular movie on Disney+, racking up 80 million views. Disney reported it was the top movie in almost every country and U.S. state, totaling 133 million hours of watch time over nine months. In comparison, Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters achieved 325.1 million views – or 520 million hours watched – in just its first 91 days.

The viewership numbers for Moana 2 are significant, not only for Disney+’s performance, but also for the Disney brand as a whole. Other exclusive releases on Disney+ and Hulu, like Captain America: Brave New World and the live-action Snow White, didn’t reach the same level of popularity – none surpassed 133 million viewing hours to claim the top spot. This isn’t particularly surprising, considering those films underperformed when released in theaters.

Recent movies that didn’t perform well in cinemas aren’t seeing much improvement in viewership at home either. Disney+ relies on being the first place people can watch films after they’ve left theaters, so they’ll need to adjust their strategy if they want to attract more subscribers and reverse the current downward trend in viewing hours.

The Takeaway

How Disney interprets its recent performance will likely shape its future strategy. While the company tried to present a positive outlook, the numbers reveal a concerning pattern: fewer people are watching its popular shows, and its new movies aren’t performing well in theaters or on its streaming service. With streaming service prices increasing and competition growing, Disney is hoping for better results next year.

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2025-12-22 21:57