Pixar’s Latest Original Movie Has Recovered Only Half of Its Budget at Global Box Office So Far

It seemed like Pixar was back on its feet last year, when it delivered the $1.7 billion-grossing blockbuster Inside Out 2. The movie emerged as the highest-grossing animated hit of all time, and one of the 10 highest-grossing movies ever made, period. It came at a particularly difficult time for the legendary animation house, during which several employees had been laid off and significant losses at the box office had been suffered. However, despite the success of Inside Out 2, it now seems like the studio is back to square one, with its latest release, Elio, bombing out of the gate.

After completing a week of release in theaters worldwide, Elio has made only around $40 million domestically and another $30 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global haul of $72 million. Considering its hefty reported budget of $150 million, the movie has little chance of recovering. A few years ago, its fellow Pixar film Elemental bounced back after a similarly disappointing debut, and ended up grossing nearly $500 million worldwide. However, this looks unlikely for Elio, which had a heftier second-weekend drop compared to that film.

That said, it has now overtaken the $43 million lifetime global haul of Luca, which was released in select territories during the pandemic. The movie would need to generate a little over $200 million globally to overtake Lightyear, Pixar’s first full-fledged post-pandemic release, which wasn’t hobbled by closures and other restrictions. But with only one bona fide hit in the last five years, the animation house cannot be faulted for pivoting to franchise titles going forward. It has Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Coco 2 in the works. Before that, however, Pixar will release another original title, Hoppers, in 2026.

‘Elio’s Positive Reviews Might Help It Bounce Back

Elio opened to positive reviews, and is currently sitting at an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The folks that saw it also seemed to like it, giving it a 91% rating on the aggregator website. In his review, Collider’s Ross Bonaime wrote that the movie “might not quite hit as hard as something like Up, Inside Out, or Toy Story 3, it’s still proof that Pixar can tell original stories in a way that speaks to a larger audience.” You can watch Elio in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.