Star Wars holds a Guinness World Records title for the Most successful film merchandising franchise. In 2015, the total value of the Star Wars franchise was estimated at US$42 billion, making Star Wars the second-highest-grossing media franchise of all time. In 2012, The Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm for US$4.06 billion and earned the distribution rights to all subsequent Star Wars films, beginning with the release of The Force Awakens in 2015.