Pixar isn’t invincible after all.
Despite its ties to the studio’s beloved Toy Story franchise, Lightyear opened with just $51 million at the domestic box office, Variety reports. While it does mark the best opening for an animated film since the pandemic started, it fell well short of industry expectations.
In fact, it failed to top the box office altogether. That honor went to Jurassic World: Dominion, which made $58.6 million, making it the number one film in the country for the second year in a row.
It should come as no surprise that Disney and Pixar had high expectations for Lightyear, a space adventure featuring Chris Evans voicing the title character, whose toy version was voiced by Tim Allen in the Toy Story films. Those movies were all huge box office hits, so it’s no wonder industry expectations were high for the first film in the Toy Story Extended Universe.
Lightyear was also the studio’s first theatrical release since 2020’s Onward. It’s last few offerings were immediately made available on Disney+, so perhaps audiences have grown accustomed to getting their Pixar fix in the comfort of their own home.
“This is a soft opening for a spinoff of one of the most successful animation series of all time,” David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research told Variety.”Toy Story defied gravity at the box office during its 27-year run, each episode topping the last, the last two clearing a billion dollars worldwide. But like all spinoffs, the Lightyear story is narrower now.”
