The studio’s low point reflects a global trend in which original ideas struggle against franchises and remakes
Pixar has had its worst box office opening ever with Elio, its new, alien-themed children’s animation, taking just an estimated US$21m in North America and $14m internationally, despite generally positive reviews.
Elio, about an orphaned boy whose dream of being abducted by (friendly) aliens comes true, struggled against the competition: Disney’s live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon, which ate the competition with $37m in its second weekend; and Danny Boyle’s zombie threequel 28 Years Later, which landed 23 years after his cult classic 28 Days Later and took $30m in North America and $60m globally.
Pixar, the powerhouse studio behind Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, had been bracing for modest results for Elio as it weathers an industry-wide trend of original animations struggling to perform against franchises and remakes.
While Pixar has found success with its own franchises – most recently Inside Out 2, which grossed an estimated $155m in its opening weekend and a total of $1.7bn globally in 2024 – it has found original ideas a harder sell.
