Walt Disney Pictures released under this brand. "Pirates of the Caribbean" is the studio's most successful franchise, with two of its sequels, released in and , earning over $1 billion in worldwide box office gross. The studio's predecessor (and the modern-day The Walt Disney Company's as a whole) was founded as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, by filmmaker Walt Disney and his business partner and brother, Roy, in 1923. The creation of Mickey Mouse and subsequent short films and merchandise generated revenue for the studio which was renamed as The Walt Disney Studio at the Hyperion Studio in 1926. In 1929, it was
The Walt Disney Company its joint venture with Hearst Communications for A+E Networks, and ESPN Inc. It is the only division with two leaders or "co-chairs": the presidents of ESPN and Disney-ABC Television Group. Walt Disney dropped his Chairman title in 1960 to focus more on the creative aspects of the company, becoming the "executive producer in charge of all production." After a four-year vacancy, Roy O. Disney assumed the Chairmanship. Disney ranked No. 55 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Walt Disney or