The new Disney Pixar film Lightyear was released in theaters on June 17th and was not as successful at the box office as many thought it would be so far, according to Variety.
What's Happening:
- The Disney Pixar film Lightyear is a spin-off story from Pixar's Toy Story.
- It fell short of where many thought it would be, collecting $51 million from 4,255 North American theaters.
- The Disney Pixar film was expected to generate at least $70 million.
- With lots of competition, including Jurassic World Dominion and Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick, it was still thought that Lightyear would rate higher in the box office. This became one of the rare Pixar films that did not take the top spot on its opening weekend.
- Internationally, Lightyear earned $34.6 million from 43 markets, which took it globally to $85.6 million.
- Lightyear is the first Pixar movie to be in theaters in more than two years since March of 2022 with Onward.
- Recently, most Disney Pixar movies have been making their way directly to Disney+ instead of hitting the big screen.
- “This is a soft opening for a spin-off of one of the most successful animation series of all time,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. He notes: “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 spin-offs, the Lightyear story is narrower now.”