est. 1924
Winnie-the-Pooh
began as a book
$50.2Bestimated lifetime revenue
Shelf EmpireRetail and merchandise makes up 99% of the revenue we could break down. We use this label at 60% or more.
- Retail & merch99%
- Other1.2%
No. 3 of 99, ranked by estimated lifetime revenue
What we know
Sources checked to
- Estimated lifetime revenue
- $50.2BMoney taken in before costs. This is not profit or company value.
- Biggest source of revenue
- Retail & merch 99%of the revenue we can break down
- Verified rights holder
- The Walt Disney Company
- Where it began
- 1924 · a book
- How sure is this estimate?
- Solid estimateThe sources are strong across all five checks.
- Where the number comes from
- scored 2 out of 4
- What the number measures
- scored 3 out of 4
- How recent the estimate is
- scored 4 out of 4
- How much of the total is itemised
- scored 4 out of 4
- Double-counting risk
- scored 4 out of 4
Rights and ownership
Verified current rights holder: The Walt Disney Company
Holds master franchise control.
See all verified rights (1)
| Right | Holder | Territory | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master franchise controlDisney franchise (original 1926 book text now public domain) | The Walt Disney Company | Worldwide | 1961 |
How the money mix changed
began as a book, 1924
Publishing
biggest revenue source in this data
Retail & merch
100% of the revenue we can break down now comes from outside publishing
More ways to compare it
We calculate these numbers from the records above. The formulas are on the Receipts page. If the data is not strong enough, we leave a number out.
- Share from merchandise
- 99%
- How varied the revenue is
- 3 / 100
- Revenue beyond where it started
- 100%
- Average revenue per year
- $492M per year
- lifetime average, not the current yearly rate
- Online interest compared with revenue
- not shown: search-interest data was unavailable at snapshot time
One more story
A. A. Milne sold the US merchandising rights in 1930 to a literary agent named Stephen Slesinger for a $1,000 advance — a licence that outlived them both and kept Disney's lawyers occupied from 1991 to 2009. The bear himself entered the US public domain in January 2022. The horror films started thirteen months later.
Sources and calculationsshow detailshide details
| Channel | Value | Share | Confidence | Source | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & merch | $49.7B | 99% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Other | $585M | 1.2% | solid estimate | List of highest-grossing media franchises — Wikipedia | 2026-09-03 |
| Total | $50.2B | 100% |
estimated lifetime revenue · checked 2026-09-03