For years, Disney executives, Wall Street analysts, and entertainment media predicted Disney+ would eventually become Netflix’s greatest rival—if not outright surpass it. The Walt Disney Company spent billions of dollars producing original content built around some of the biggest intellectual properties in entertainment, including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney Animation.
According to newly released data from Luminate, however, that strategy has produced surprisingly little engagement.
The company’s 2026 Midyear Entertainment Report found that Netflix accounted for 57% of all U.S. streaming original viewing time during the first half of 2026. Disney+, meanwhile, captured just 2%, placing it behind every other major premium streaming platform measured in the report.
The findings paint a stark picture of just how dramatically the streaming landscape has shifted.
Netflix Towers Over the Competition
Luminate’s report measures share of U.S. streaming original viewing time, offering a look at where audiences are actually spending their time rather than simply counting subscribers.
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The results were as follows:
- Netflix: 57%
- Prime Video: 11%
- Hulu: 7%
- Paramount+: 7%
- Peacock: 5%
- Apple TV+: 5%
- HBO Max: 4%
- Disney+: 2%
- Other: 1%
Perhaps even more remarkable than Netflix’s dominance is Disney’s placement.
Despite spending enormous sums developing original series based on globally recognized franchises, Disney+ generated less original viewing than Peacock, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Hulu, and Prime Video.
Luminate’s 2026 H1 Streaming Originals Viewing
Netflix laps its Original content competition with 57% of viewership time. #Netflix @ValliantRenegad pic.twitter.com/DZz5nmGIRW— MAC (@NowItsKnown) July 15, 2026
While Disney owns Hulu, Luminate tracks Hulu Originals separately from Disney+ Originals, meaning the 7% attributed to Hulu does not boost Disney+’s 2% share. As a result, Disney+’s flagship streaming service ranked behind every other major premium platform measured in the report.
For a company that built its streaming strategy around Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, the results are difficult to ignore.
Billions Spent for Just 2% of Viewing
Disney has invested heavily in streaming originals over the past several years.
Marvel Studios expanded into television with series including WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, Echo, Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, and Ironheart.
Lucasfilm likewise produced a steady stream of Star Wars programming including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, and Skeleton Crew, alongside numerous animated projects.
Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.
Disney also funded Pixar originals, Disney Animation productions, National Geographic programming, and exclusive films intended to drive subscriptions.
Collectively, those productions represent billions of dollars in investment.
Yet according to Luminate’s latest data, all of that spending translated into just 2% of America’s original streaming viewing time during the first half of 2026.
Meanwhile, Netflix—which lacks Disney’s stable of legacy franchises—captured 57%.
A Strategy Bob Iger Had Already Begun Reversing
The report also reinforces concerns the former Disney CEO Bob Iger had acknowledged publicly over the past two years.
Following disappointing financial results across several Disney+ originals, Iger repeatedly stated the company had produced too much content and pledged to prioritize quality over quantity. Marvel Studios has already slowed its Disney+ release schedule, while Lucasfilm has become considerably more selective about new live-action series.
Bob Iger via New York Times Events YouTube
Those moves were widely interpreted as cost-cutting measures.
Luminate’s report suggests they may also reflect changing audience behavior. Rather than flocking to every new Marvel or Star Wars release, viewers appear to be spending their time elsewhere.
More Evidence the Streaming Wars Have Been Decided
Perhaps the most significant takeaway isn’t simply that Netflix remains on top.
It’s how far ahead it remains.
For years, conventional wisdom suggested the streaming market would become increasingly fragmented as Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Apple, and Amazon invested billions in exclusive content.
(L-R): Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) and the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) in Lucasfilm’s THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
Instead, Netflix now accounts for more original viewing than every other major streaming platform combined.
At the same time, Disney—the company many once viewed as Netflix’s inevitable successor—has fallen to the bottom of the list among the industry’s largest premium streaming services.
Subscriber totals remain an important metric for Wall Street, but viewing time arguably offers an even clearer picture of consumer behavior.
Vecna confronts Will in Stranger Things 5 – Netflix
If Luminate’s data is any indication, audiences aren’t simply subscribing to streaming services—they’re overwhelmingly choosing Netflix when it comes to original programming.
For Disney, a company that built Disney+ around some of the most valuable entertainment brands in history, that may be the most troubling statistic of all.
How do you feel about this collapse of Disney+ originals? Sound off and let us know!
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