Pixar control is intensifying while Elio Crash landed

It is hard to believe that almost a decade has passed since Pixar CoconutAn original fantastic thread infused with music on a Mexican boy who goes to Land of the Dead, nearly 800 million dollars at the world box office reported to classify n ° 11 on the list of most profitable films of the year. It was in 2017, at a time when we could have predicted that it would be quickly followed by a spectacular slowdown in appetite for the original animated price.

For Pixar, this slowdown has struck a new tilting point with the beginnings of Elio During the weekend from June 20 to 22. Original summer lepole, about an orphan boy whose wish to be removed by extraterrestrials is reality, made its debut at 20.8 million dollars lamentable at the national level and $ 14 million abroad in what is by far a record opening for the legendary animation studio co-founded by the deceased Steve Jobs and then acquired by Disney.

Publicly, Disney leaders put a courageous face and suggest that Elio can bounce back and find your stride, just like Pixar’s original animated film Elementary Done in 2023 on the point of bringing nearly $ 500 million worldwide after a start of $ 29.6 million, and not adjusted for inflation. Elio Has exit scores of the stellar public and even stronger criticisms. But internally, no one jokes or tries to mobilize the results. Eventually, Elio may not even break $ 300 million.

This does not mean that Disney and Pixar wave the white flag of surrender and banish the original narration to the hinterland. If anything, Elio highlights a course correction which was already underway, the sources indicate The Hollywood Reporter.

Pixar deliberately pivoted a more balanced mixture of suites and fresh IP. Disney leadership, including the head of film studios Alan Bergman, pleaded for a strategic return to franchise entries in order to support the original long -term narration. They do not consider new intellectual property as unique, but as potential franchises. Upside down And Coconut are only two examples of new franchises that have started as original.

In June 2024, the record Inside out 2 made its debut to a huge $ 154 million on its way to become the most profitable photo of the year, the first title for Pixar and the best animated film of all time with more than $ 1.69 billion in world ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation. CoconutAs for him, caused an attraction of the park, with a series of films in preparation.

Elio The sixth original pixar movie had been released since 2020 after Ahead,, Soul,, Luca,, Becoming red And Elementary.

The next Pixar list includes the original film Death And Toy story 5The two sets for the release in 2026, followed by the original Gatto in June 2027 and the un dated Incredibles 3 And Coco 2. Of 30 theatrical versions of Pixar, only 9 were sequences and one, Lighta prequel. It hardly makes a machine as a result of Pixar – even at his own risk.

Pixar has always been tight about the construction of franchises. While Toy story 2 was his third film, it took more than a decade to go out Toy story 3and five years to do Cars 2. The gap between the seminal Find Nemo and continued Find Dory was a dozen years. And in 2016, Pixar President Jim Morris said that after 2018 Toy story 4 in 2018 and 2019 Incredibles 2 – which would both earn more than a billion dollars worldwide – the studio would return to its roots, excluding Inside out 2. He was not joking.

Walt Disney Studios Animation, Blockbuster House Frozen And Moana Franchises, also continues a healthy mixture and has published four original films in recent years despite the slowdown: Charm,, Raya and the last dragon,, Strange world And Wish.

Rivals Illumination Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation, both belonging to Universal, are undoubtedly more focused on the franchise. A third of illumination titles are part of the magnitude of several billion dollars Despicable Me And Minion series, while he quickly turned Sing And The secret life of animals in franchises. He is also in Dr Seuss Business and now, Mario. DWA, the company founded by former chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, has enjoyed a regime of Shrek,, How to train your dragon And If Fu Panda.

During the pandemic years – even when the cinemas were back and participation – the regime led by the CEO of Elside, Bob Chapek, decided to send three Pixar titles directly to Disney + at the national level – Becoming red,, Luca And the Oscar winner Soul (The three were considered to be streaming tubes). The controversial decision was criticized for the training of families to wait to watch younger family films at home; A debate that goes to date, in particular with regard to unused titles such as Elio. They could have been right. Among all the original animated films of any Hollywood studio, only three opened northern $ 20 million at the national level at the post-country-country time; Elio2021 Charm ($ 27.1 million) and 2023 Elementary(29.6 million dollars), all of the Disney Empire.

This does not mean that PG films did not work. In fact, they fueled a large part of the post-federation recovery. But they were live adaptations of animated films – do not look for more summer blockbusters 2025 Lilo & Stitch Disney and How to train your dragon universal; Live properties based on brand intellectual property such as Warner Bros. ‘ A minecraft filmThe most profitable film of 2025 to date with more than $ 954 million in ticket sales, or the adaptation of the animated video game The film Super Mario Bros Mariowho won a superb $ 1.36 billion in 2023. And the list of the best world fats from last year was directed by Inside out 2while Moana 2 took third place with $ 1.05 billion, followed by illumination Despicable me 4 ($ 959 million).

Live adaptations of classic animated films such as Dragon Or Consumption Play both with families and General Zers or Millennials, thanks to the factor of nostalgia. Elio It lacked such an advantage and has trouble connecting with a large audience, probably due to very young and being considered strictly a photo “for children”, which goes against the Pixar brand, according to box office experts. Anyway, he got lost following How to train your dragon And Lilo & Stitchwho has now crossed $ 900 million in world ticket sales (sales of goods are in the billions).

“In particular, although the films classified PG were the hero of the box office in the post-pandemic era, a PG note does not necessarily guarantee a weekend of massive opening unless of course that the film classified PG has experienced an IP or is part of a well-known franchise or brand like PG like PG Minecraft“Explains Paul Dergarabedian.Elio will have to rely on a big word of mouth based on incredible rotten scores rotten to keep the film in good place in the next two weeks. “”

Add a source of closure of the film, “although its opening numbers do not reflect its ambition, the film recalls the type of creative swing that the studio always believes, and that the industry still needs. As Pixar advances, while abandoning the abundant characters originally. In the end, the goal remains the same: telling stories as resonate.”