Pixar’s long-awaited sequel follows the recent 2015 title, which grossed $859 million at the global box office before later winning top animated feature at the Oscars.
This is a big win for Disney, as both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation have clearly suffered more losses than wins in recent years, with the studios suffering multiple management changes and a pandemic that has disrupted the entire business. Have given.
In 2022, Pixar’s “Toy Story” prequel “Lightyear” fell well short of analysts’ expectations, earning only $51 million in its domestic debut before earning a modest $118 million in theaters ahead of the imminent launch of Disney+ .
Coming soon, the media giant’s animated film “Strange World” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid has grossed $200 million, after receiving disappointing reviews. It was one of the worst flops of 2022.
And Pixar’s “Elemental” handed the studio its worst opening weekend ever in terms of performance, both of which couldn’t end the future thanks to disappointing showings. Similarly, Disney’s animated title “Wish” was a disappointment as it failed to make $20 million during its three-day opener Thanksgiving weekend.
Trade watchers attributed the failure to poor advertising and marketing plans, as well as target audience hesitations regarding which titles were theatrical exclusives and which were streaming-only releases on the corporate’s Disney+ platform.
The festival has become extra intense, especially during the animation period, as NBCUniversal (CMCSA) and Sony (SONY) debuted strong titles due out in the future – including the $1 billion “Super Mario Bros. Movie”. and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”. Verse.
Disney executives have taken notice, with CEO Bob Iger emphasizing a strategy of quality over quantity at the box office.
“We are focusing closely on the key manufacturers and franchises that fuel all of our companies and reducing total production so that we can be exposed to lesser functions and strengthen specialty, untapped and attractive latest IP. To carry forward our struggle regarding the beginning.” he said late last year.
For Pixar, that means about three movies every two years, plus every other movie will either be a sequel or spinoff, Pixar president Jim Morris told Bloomberg.
The studio will also return to its theatrical-first model while also developing separate series based on existing IP for Disney+.
Morris said, “I hope we don’t lose another feature film on Disney+ now.” “If we do additional things for Disney+, it has to draw a line, and then it draws a blank line between what we do for theaters and what we do for streaming.”
As part of the revamp, Pixar laid off 14% of its 1,300 employees last month, eliminating about 175 positions. A person familiar with the matter told Yahoo Finance that this was largely due to the return of the streaming series.
Still, more will have to be seen to know if Disney has truly got its mojo back.
“Generally speaking, the efficiency of either movie doesn’t impact our long-term outlook,” Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin told Yahoo Finance. Dolgin, who has a Hold rating on the stock and a price target of $115, added the need to prove more would indicate a “significant” change in expectations for Disney’s future box office results, and therefore, This has a potential impact on the company’s growth.
The next big test will come this fall with the animated “Moana” sequel, which will be released in theaters in November. Marvel’s “Deadpool” sequel is set to arrive in July.
alexandra canal Is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. follow him on x @allie_canal, linkedin, And email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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