The latest example is “Elio,” a sci-fi-fueled tearjerker about a young boy who is obsessed with being abducted by aliens. It didn’t just underperform at the box office this weekend; it wound up being Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever, taking in $21 million domestically and $14 million overseas for a paltry $35 million globally.<\/p>\n
The beloved animation house under the Disney umbrella was given all the tools for “Elio” to find success: a healthy $150 million budget and a release on over 3,700 screens. But by Sunday, it had landed in a disappointing third place at the box office, with Sony’s zombie horror “28 Years Later<\/a>” coming in second and Universal’s live-action remake “How to Train Your Dragon” coming in first for the second weekend straight.<\/p>\n “Elio.”<\/p>\n Pixar<\/p>\n “The truth is, Pixar has had a difficult time launching original films lately, as sequels have been all the rage,” Jeff Bock, the senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider.<\/p>\n Pixar was in the same spot around this time two years ago, when its original title, “Elemental,” bombed at the box office<\/a>, opening in June 2023 to $29.6 million domestically, then the lowest opening ever for Pixar.<\/p>\n That film’s poor performance was blamed on audiences being programmed to stay home to see Pixar titles, as previous releases like “Luca<\/a>” and “Turning Red<\/a>” went straight to Disney+ instead of theaters.<\/p>\n That’s no longer the chatter these days, as Pixar’s big release last year, “Inside Out 2,<\/a>” wasn’t just a colossal box office sensation \u2014 it took in over $1 billion globally during its theatrical run \u2014 but showed that what audiences really want from Pixar are sequels to their beloved legacy IP.<\/p>\n “Expect many more Roman numerals in the near future from Pixar, as nostalgia has never been more lucrative for studios,” Block said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n