The business of Mickey Mouse: How Disney’s original creation has helped company reach its $171 billion worth over 95 years as character’s copyright expires in January

Mickey Mouse is more than just the beloved Disney mascot: He's a big earner and has helped build the company's $171 billion net worth over the past 100 years.

And with the copyright for the first version of the cartoon mouse – from the 1928 film Steamboat Willie – set to expire in January, part of him is about to become public property.

It's almost impossible to estimate exactly how much Mickey has brought in for the entertainment giant over the past century, as he is inextricably linked to the company's overall success.

But Forbes estimates that in recent years he has directly earned more than $5.8 billion annually from box office sales, TV series, merchandise, theme parks, partnerships and promotion of the Disney brand.

Here we revisit the long history of America's favorite mouse.

Movies

The story of Mickey Mouse actually begins with a rabbit named Oswald, a character Walt Disney created in the 1920s.

Disney lost ownership of Oswald to another production company and had to quickly come up with a replacement character – and thus, in collaboration with animator Ub Iwerks, Mickey Mouse was born.

Mickey appeared in his first short film, Steamboat Willie, in 1928. It debuted in New York and was an instant hit, launching the beginning of his legacy.

According to a 2018 estimate, Mickey's total box office revenue for his films was $226.7 million, with VHS and DVD sales adding another $323 million.

A series of Steamboat Willie shorts followed within months and by the end of the year Mickey Mouse was a household name.

In 1935, Mickey received his first makeover, with animator Fred Moore giving him a more pear-shaped body, pupils, white gloves, and a shortened nose.

By then, Disney was producing about twelve Mickey Mouse shorts a year – Mickey played football, hunted, was a tailor, and even conducted a symphony, all with his beloved group of friends.

In 1940 he appeared in a feature film, Fantasia, which combined animation with classical music.

A remake of 1999's Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 grossed $90.9 million worldwide at the box office.

But when other Disney characters – such as Sleeping Beauty and Bambi – took center stage, Mickey was forced out of the spotlight and between his last 1953 cartoon short, The Simple Things, and the 1983 special Mickey's Christmas Carol, he was out of work.

TV

In addition to starring on the big screen, Mickey Mouse has also appeared in several TV series.

In the 1950s, Disney launched The Mickey Mouse Club, the hit television show that launched the careers of teen stars from Annette Funicello to Justin Timberlake.

The series ran from 1955 to 1958 and was then relaunched from 1989 to 1995, with Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Ryan Gosling all appearing on the show.

The latest version of the show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, has been a Disney Channel staple since 2006.

Parks

Mickey Mouse is also a major draw and mainstay at Disney's line of resorts and theme parks.

There are 12 Disney theme parks spread across six Disney Resorts in America, Europe and Asia.

In 2023, they generated $32.5 billion in revenue, up from $28.7 billion in 2022.

The first park opened in California in 1955, with the iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle.

He even has his own ride at Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, and another version that just opened at Disneyland's California Adventure.

Visitors can board a train that takes them through a 'world where the rules of physics don't apply', where Mickey and Minnie try to 'save the day'.

In addition to his ride, Mickey walks around the resorts greeting guests, posing for photos and appearing in shows and musicals.

And while the cartoon mouse can't be paid, the actors who play him can, earning an estimated $14.94 per hour, according to Indeed.com.

Merchandise and toys

Although the movies, TV shows and resorts are a big part of Mickey Mouse's success, Walt Disney's real genius was marketing.

By 1930, Walt had created a merchandise line to go along with the shorts and founded the Mickey Mouse Club, a fan club for children.

Within five years, mouse ears, toys and games were in mass production and the company was making more than $1 million a year – $19 million in today's terms – from merchandise sales.

In the early days, the products were mainly aimed at children, including Mickey Mouse wallpaper, cuddly toys and trains.

But Mickey's audience grew up with him, and over the next twenty years the products matured to match his audience with radios, phonographs and hot water bottles.

A 1947 New York Times article estimated that products featuring Disney characters generated $100 million in revenue from merchandise for children and adults.

Today, Mickey Mouse's iconic outline has appeared on everything from clothing to cars and kitchen gadgets.

In 2018, the Wall Street Journal estimated that Mickey Mouse and his friends – Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck – made $3 billion in merchandise.