Disney+ was first launched in 2019, since then the digital platform has released back to back series and features from two franchises respectively Marvel and Star Wars. The two have combined for just nine seasons across eight series (six live-action, two animated) and a total of 75 episodes.
According to Hollywood Reporter analysis data, Marvel and Star Wars shows were the most-watched among Disney+’s original series. However, the number of shows and episodes released was not high when compared to other streamers, but Disney+ knowing the pulse of the audience has had a Marvel or Star Wars series running new episodes almost continuously since season two of The Mandalorian premiered in October 2020.
Marvel’s What If and Star Wars: The Bad Batch made seven appearances in the streaming rankings during their runs from May to October. In those seven weeks, the animated series garnered about two billion minutes of viewing time.
When we talk about live-action films like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett by Lucasfilm and WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye from Marvel Studios have generated nearly 36 billion minutes of viewing time in the weeks that original episodes aired. These six films always remained in the top 10 throughout their runs, only dropping out in the weeks after their season finales.
As per Nielsen data, The Mandalorian premiered on 12 November, day one of Disney+ and by the end of its first quarter, Disney had 26.5 million worldwide subscribers. Season one indicates that the series amassed 5.42 billion minutes of viewing time during its seven-week run, topping out at 1.15 billion during the week its finale premiered. It added 800 million more minutes the week after its finale. None of the Marvel shows has topped either Mandalorian season in terms of total viewing time. Loki first season drew 5.23 billion minutes of watch time and was the first and only Marvel series to exceed one billion minutes in a single week. Loki had the highest average watch time of any Marvel or Star Wars series, with slightly less than 872 million minutes per episode in its six weeks.