The latest Nielsen streaming rankings for April 20–26, 2026 paint a troubling picture for Disney franchise content. While Disney+ remains the home of Marvel and Star Wars, rival streaming services dominated nearly every category. Where Disney+ and Hulu did appear on Nielsen’s Top 10 charts, much of that success came from legacy Fox content and the BBC’s Bluey.
The overall impression is that Disney’s streaming dominance increasingly depends on licensed or legacy programming rather than breakout franchise originals.
Bluey Continues Carrying Disney+
Where Disney+ succeeded, once again, was with Bluey, which claimed the top overall spot with 889 million viewing minutes during the period. However, Disney does not own the series and only serves as its U.S. distributor.
Bluey, Bingo, and Bandit from Bluey – Disney Plus
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Holding the distribution rights clearly benefits the streamer. Still, many find it remarkable that the show driving Disney+ subscriptions is licensed from another studio. Disney has long maintained one of the strongest brand identities in entertainment and owns some of the world’s most recognizable IPs.
During the final week of April, Disney+ was also releasing new episodes of Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again and Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord. Neither series appeared on the Nielsen charts.
Zootopia 2 Is One of Disney’s Few Streaming Wins
Among original films, Zootopia 2 is one Disney franchise still showing momentum on Nielsen. The animated sequel ranked third with 230 million viewing minutes. Given the film’s strong theatrical performance, many audiences may have simply been waiting to watch it again at home.
However, Netflix claimed the top two spots. Roommates reached 321 million viewing minutes, while the Charlize Theron action film Apex delivered an impressive 847 million minutes watched.
Nick Wilde and Jusy Hopps in police uniforms in Zootopia 2 – YouTube, Disney
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Boosted by interest in the upcoming sequel, The Devil Wears Prada generated 173 million viewing minutes, placing sixth on Nielsen’s Top 10. Disney acquired the film through its purchase of 20th Century Studios, and the Nielsen streaming total was shared between Hulu and HBO Max.
Disney’s Biggest Streaming Hits Are Legacy Shows
Not every Disney-controlled franchise saw the same boost from an upcoming theatrical release, however. The Mandalorian did not generate enough renewed interest to appear on the Nielsen charts, despite a new Disney Star Wars sequel film arriving in theaters later in May. The historically low opening weekend box office performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu suggests that fans are largely walking away from the series.
A screencap from The Mandalorian and Grogu – YouTube, Star Wars
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Disney+ and Hulu showed their strongest streaming numbers on Nielsen’s Top 10 Acquired Series chart, where they appeared a combined six times. In addition to Bluey, shows like Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers, and The Rookie continued drawing strong viewership. That said, like Bluey, they are not directly connected to Disney’s in-house franchise machine.
Disney’s Franchise Strategy Faces Questions
Marvel and Star Wars were positioned as two of the pillars of Disney streaming, making their absence from Nielsen’s Top 10 in any category remarkable. Yet Disney’s broader lack of representation across the charts may be even more concerning for investors. Whether the issue stems from franchise fatigue, declining content quality, or ineffective marketing remains open to debate.
Daredevil and Kingpin in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 – Disney+
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What Nielsen’s rankings clearly suggest, however, is that audiences are increasingly gravitating toward comfort viewing, familiar legacy programming, and proven television brands instead of Disney’s newer franchise originals. For a company built around some of the world’s most recognizable entertainment brands, that may be the most troubling signal of all.
Are you surprised that Disney franchises are missing from the latest Nielsen charts? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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