Part 8/16:
Following Pixar, Disney expanded its empire through acquisitions: Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion, and Lucasfilm in 2012 for another $4 billion. These buys gave Disney control over the most lucrative properties in modern pop culture—Spider-Man, X-Men, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The strategy worked spectacularly; The Avengers grossed over $1.5 billion in 2012, and franchise fatigue was temporarily masked by box office records and soaring stock prices.