"Much" is a bit of an exaggeration (still made $850 WW, 58% of its gross was OS; hardly an easy feat, and is unequivocally a success), but Illumination's films tend to do well overseas and have very slim budgets that make the margin of success much smaller.
The difference between Disney and Universal with project selection is that Disney finds an IP to match their tech and Universal finds the tech to match their IP. There are exceptions, like Frozen Ever After and (to some extent) Forbidden Journey, but I think that Universal is gleaming towards the IP in this case.
Let's not forget that there is a Ratatouille trackless ride in Paris that will most likely be cloned for Epcot in 2020. That's the fourth-lowest grossing Pixar movie. The highest animated movie of all time got an uber-low capacity retheme in the same park. A Bug's Life, Pixar's second-lowest grossing pic, has an entire theme park land at DCA. The Little Mermaid attraction took 23 years to make, Beauty and the Beast is finally getting a ride itself. Aladdin is represented by a SPINNER.
Meanwhile, Tron, Disney's two cult low-grossing films has a big E-ticket attraction in Shanghai. Universal capitalizes on franchises that they know people want. Disney does... well, really whatever the hell they want it seems.