Blender has a ton of competitors. They're all commercial and have corporate backing. If anything, blender is the "little guy". It is utterly amazing what Ton has managed to do with Blender.
I would think Maya is the most influential of all of them. Blender is popular among hobbyists and people who aren't able to shell out a few thousand every year, but Maya dominates in the commercial world. Plus many animators are using Unreal Engine just for traditional animation now
Blender is absolutely an underdog in commercial studios. It is used, but it’s the minority tool for professional settings. There are still several areas blender is lacking compared to maya or 3dsmax.
Blender has a ton of competitors. They're all commercial and have corporate backing. If anything, blender is the "little guy". It is utterly amazing what Ton has managed to do with Blender.