Pixar's box office failure: Elio has worst start in studio's history amid How to Train Your Dragon dominance
Pixar's new animated film Elio is off to the worst start in the studio's history. In its opening weekend, it grossed a meagre $35 million at the global box office, with only $21 million coming from the US domestic market and an alarmingly low $14 million from the international market. This is the worst three-day total in Pixar's history, with Elemental doing even better, which opened with $44.5 million in 2023. For comparison, last year's Pixar hit Inside Out 2 grossed a staggering $295 million in its opening weekend.
Here's What We Know
Nevertheless, Pixar and its parent company Disney hope that Elio will follow in the footsteps of The Incredibles, as the latter, despite a modest start, managed to collect almost $500 million at the global box office. Elio is favoured by the fact that it has not yet been released in China, Japan and Spain, and will be released in cinemas during the summer holidays, which may increase its chances. In addition, the film has been well received by critics, which adds to the optimism.
Elio's early failures could have been exacerbated by the continued success of another family film, How to Train Your Dragon. This hit has already grossed $350 million worldwide in its second weekend of release and remains number one in the US.
Elio also has to compete with Disney's own live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch, which after five weekends has grossed $910.3 million worldwide and looks set to become the first film of 2025 to break the $1 billion mark.
Other notable releases include 28 Years Later, a zombie horror sequel directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. The film had a very good start, grossing $60 million at the global box office. The $30 million in the US domestic market is the largest for a Boyle-directed film, and the $30 million in international grosses exceeds the performance of Sinners.
Source: Box Office Mojo
