Now that the dust is settling on Pixar’s box office bombElio, reports suggest that the movie hada tumultuous productionthat saw it being retooled essentially from the ground up, with original directorAdrian Molinaopting to drop out. The finished versionreceived positive reviews, but nobody showed up to watch it. Or, at least, not as many folks as Disney would’ve liked. The studio possibly preempted this, as it restricted publicity costs on the movie ahead of its release a couple of weeks ago. This was seen as an unexpected move, seeing as Pixar had delivered its biggest-ever hit —Inside Out 2— only last year.
That film’s $1.7 billion global haul was seen as the kiss of life that the studio so desperately needed after a difficult post-pandemic run. During that time, films such asTurning Red,Soul, andLucaskipped theatrical releases altogether. Employees were reportedly laid off, and huge losses were incurred. And now, things are back to square one for the once-invincible studio behind iconic animated films such asToy Story,Up, andCoco. With $55 million domestically and $41 million from overseas markets,Elio’scumulative global haul stands at just $96 million. Produced ona reported budget of $150 million, the movie still hasn’t overtaken the $120 million thatSoulmade without a proper theatrical release domestically.
Not counting the studio’s early-pandemic releases,Elioispoised to become the lowest-grossing Pixar release in history. Even the massive bombLightyear, which received a proper theatrical release a couple of years ago, was able to pass the $200 million mark worldwide. Around the same time, the original filmElementalbounced back from a disappointing debut and found the legs to generate nearly $500 million worldwide. But a comeback like that seems impossible forElioat this stage in its run, withHow to Train Your Dragonclipping its wings.
Pixar Is Playing Safe Going Forward
It makes sense thatPixar is pivoting to franchise-based projectsin the coming years, withToy Story 5,Incredibles 3, andCoco 2lined up. However, the next Pixar film on the lineup is another original title,Hoppers.Elioopened to positive reviews, and is currently sitting at an 83% score onRotten Tomatoes. The film’s audience score on the aggregator website is even better, at 91%.In his review, Collider’sRoss Bonaimewrote that the movie is “proof that Pixar can tell original stories in a way that speaks to a larger audience.”
You can watchElioin theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Elio struggles to fit in until he is transported by aliens and becomes the chosen one to be Earth’s galactic ambassador while his mother Olga works on the top secret project to decode alien messages.
