‘Elio’ Had Pixar’s Worst Box Office Opening Weekend Ever

Despite solid reviews, Pixar’s latest film, Elio, does not look like a hit.

In U.S. cinemas, Pixar’s recently released animated movie managed a modest debut, earning approximately $21 million in ticket sales – a figure that marks the poorest start for any Pixar production, known for hit films like Toy Story, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles.

The figure of $21 million for Pixar’s latest release represents a substantial drop compared to their previous lowest opening weekend, which occurred in 2023 with “Elemental”, earning $29.6 million at the box office during its initial days. It’s worth noting that even the original “Toy Story” opened to a similar amount back then, but that was 30 years ago, and without considering inflation adjustments.

In a positive turn of events for Pixar, although the start was slow with Elemental, it managed to perform well throughout the summer of 2023 in cinemas. Surprisingly, it earned almost half a billion dollars globally. With Elio receiving decent reviews from critics, there’s potential for positive word of mouth that may encourage families to visit theaters in the upcoming weeks.

From a movie enthusiast’s perspective, this flick is delightfully amusing, though perhaps not Pixar’s finest gem. Regardless, it’s far from their weakest effort. If Elio doesn’t strike a chord in theaters, you can bet your popcorn that it’ll find its audience eventually on Disney+.

For Elio, unlike many animated films currently being produced (such as Elemental), a challenge arose this weekend in attracting family audiences, as DreamWorks’ remake of How to Train Your Dragon took the top spot at the box office. In just its second weekend, Dragon managed to pull in an estimated $37 million, increasing its domestic earnings to a total of $160.4 million.

According to The New York Times, it’s common these days for family audiences to prefer well-known brands such as “How to Train Your Dragon” over new films that aren’t based on established intellectual properties. They argue that these original films have struggled at the box office lately, using movies like “Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken” and “Migration” as examples of recent failures.

It’s more believable that this theory holds up when you factor in the success of Pixar’s last film, which happened to be a sequel (the 2024 release Inside Out 2) and it became their highest-grossing movie ever, earning an astounding $1.69 billion at the box office.

In 2026, Pixar has slated two movies on their calendar: An original titled “Hoppers“, and a sequel, “Toy Story 5“. Guess which one I’d wager will gross more at the box office.

The 10 Wildest Pixar Theories That Might Be True

1. All Pixar Movies Exist in One Timeline

In this imaginative concept, Negroni posits that all Pixar movies are interconnected in a single timeline, a world ruled by magic, monsters, and AI. The story begins with the meteor missing Earth in “The Good Dinosaur,” leading to the evolution of dinosaurs and humans together, implying intelligence in other animals as well. Magic from “Brave” and AI later depicted in “Cars” result in a world where emotions govern everything (as seen in “Inside Out” and “Turning Red”). These emotions seep into animal populations like those in “Finding Nemo” and “Ratatouille,” and the energy powering products such as toys from “Toy Story.” As humans fade away (“Coco,” “Soul”), sentient vehicles and robots (“WALL-E”) temporarily take control, only to find Earth reclaimed by animals who behave much like people.

Fast forward to a distant future, the intelligent animals have evolved into the monsters of “Monsters, Inc.” These creatures can travel through time using doors, harvesting the emotional energy of humans. Although this theory has been proven false by Pixar creatives on numerous occasions, it remains an intriguing thought experiment.

2. Boo From Monsters Inc. Is the Witch From Brave

One captivating aspect of Negroni’s theory revolves around Boo, the character from the movie Monsters, Inc. Over time, she becomes proficient in time travel due to her frequent encounters with the magical doors in Monstropolis. Armed with her own magical abilities, she seeks out Sulley in later life but is unable to find him. Instead, she travels back in time, ending up in medieval Scotland, as depicted in the film Brave. She spends decades there, maturing into the witch whom Merida encounters in the forest. To conceal her powers, she crafts wooden figurines imbued with magic, similar to the doors, and carves objects that a Highland witch wouldn’t typically recognize, including the mysterious Pizza Planet truck. Her fixation on bears, which resemble Sulley, also becomes evident in this period.

3. Supers in The Incredibles Have Different Powers When They’re Babies

In the animated film The Incredibles, the characters are patterned after classic comic book superheroes, each possessing unique abilities that set them apart: Mr. Incredible is extremely strong, Elastigirl can stretch, Frozone manipulates ice, Dash has incredible speed, and so on. However, Jack-Jack, the youngest member of the family, appears to have a diverse range of powers such as fire control, duplication, interdimensional travel, and transforming into a tiny demon. Fans have speculated that Jack-Jack is an alien or that he demonstrates abilities typical before superheroes reach puberty. Director Brad Bird has confirmed the latter theory: The Parrs’ superpowers are linked to their roles within their family, and since Jack-Jack is still a baby, his role and personality have yet to be determined. As he grows older, his true power will become apparent, while the others will fade away.

4. Syndrome From The Incredibles Invented the AI of Cars

The role of artificial intelligence (AI) is instrumental in numerous Pixar productions, and if the theory of time travel were valid, we’d need to track down the origin of this AI threat. This could potentially be the antagonist from “The Incredibles,” Syndrome, a tech-savvy villain who created a combat machine, the Omnidroid, capable of learning and evolving. This type of AI is precisely what’s required for vehicles and trash robots to conquer an entire planet. The Omnidroid, destroyed at the end of “The Incredibles,” showcased an impressive problem-solving ability, ultimately turning against its creator once it identified Syndrome as a threat. Such technology would undoubtedly be resilient enough to survive long enough to transfer into other machines and propagate its loathing for its human creators.

5. The Cars in Cars Stole Their Drivers’ Identities

Discussing sentient vehicles like those in the movie ‘Cars’, one might wonder what happened to the people who initially owned and operated these cars. The ‘Cars’ trilogy is set in a world where humans, once the dominant species, no longer exist, leaving behind a network of highways, racing tracks, and vehicles all over the planet. Interestingly, the creative director of the ‘Cars’ universe, Jay Ward, proposes a rather unsettling theory: Over time, cars may evolve to function without human drivers, eventually replacing us, but retaining the personality traits of their last drivers. However, you might be curious as to why car doors don’t open in this world; the explanation is that if they did, the internal mechanisms would fall out due to lack of a living organism to support them.

6. The Megacorporation From WALL-E Was Taking Over the World as Far Back as Toy Story 3

In WALL-E, the real antagonist is the destructive force of unchecked consumerism, represented by the powerful corporation Buy n Large (BnL). This company, which dominates industries ranging from retail to fast food, pharmaceuticals, and even governments, is hinted to be responsible for the Earth’s uninhabitability due to overconsumption of resources. The BnL logo, a distinctive red and blue circle with white letters, can be traced back in the timeline, appearing on billboards in the Car Toons show and batteries in Toy Story 3 and 4, suggesting that BnL’s influence was growing long before WALL-E begins.

7. The Old Lady at the Beginning of Ratatouille Is Anton Ego’s Mother

In a less far-fetched scenario compared to some of the other theories presented here, the movie “Ratatouille” begins with an action sequence featuring Remy the rat escaping from an elderly woman brandishing a shotgun. It turns out that Remy had resided in her house all his life, learning to cook by observing cooking programs on her television. This setup is heartwarming (until the appearance of the shotgun), but one theory proposes that this elderly woman played a more significant role in the story than merely providing shelter for Remy and his companions. The household items in Anton Ego’s flashback to his mother’s ratatouille preparation remarkably resemble the kitchen utensils and furniture seen in the old lady’s house at the start of the film, hinting that Remy had been living in the home of Anton Ego’s mother all along, mastering the very recipes she once prepared for her son.

8. Up Exists as a Movie in Inside Out

In a creative twist, the Pixar film “Inside Out” metaphorically transforms the complex idea of human thought into a harmonious corporate office, where different emotional departments collaborate smoothly unless a crisis arises. The movie portrays memories as tangible objects, spheres that can be handled and controlled by the anthropomorphic emotions. When touched, these spheres replay the memory they contain on a screen similar to a TV. Interestingly, one of these spheres is actually a full-length film, and “Up” happens to be shown in one of Riley’s memories, specifically the poignant prologue featuring Carl and his wife Ellie.

Viewing this emotional scene from “Up” could easily stir up a child’s feelings, much like it did for Riley, and for us as well. This brief appearance suggests that “Up” is a movie within the universe of “Inside Out,” although it’s more likely that the scene was included to pay homage to director Pete Docter’s previous work.

9. Bing Bong From Inside Out is a Monster from Monstropolis

In a different interpretation related to the movie ‘Inside Out’, Bing Bong, Riley’s fluffy, elephant-like imaginary friend, might have originated from Monstropolis, as suggested by some fans. This theory proposes that Bing Bong, with his pink color, long trunk, and clown outfit, was actually a monster who visited Riley when she was a toddler. In the world of Monsters, Inc., laughter is considered more potent than screams, which could explain why Bing Bong was able to help Riley have fun and laugh. It’s important to note that this theory assumes that Riley wouldn’t know about monsters, so she perceives Bing Bong as an imaginary friend. The heartbreaking end of Bing Bong in ‘Inside Out’ doesn’t necessarily mean his demise; instead, the real Bing Bong is said to be alive and well in the monster world.

10. Onward Takes Place on a Different Planet

In essence, the movie “Onward” seems to challenge the established Pixar timeline theory. If we speculate about its placement, perhaps it’s set further ahead in humanity’s future. An intriguing idea is that the spaceship from “Axiom,” which was thought to be Earth’s only escape vessel during the ecological collapse depicted in “WALL-E,” wasn’t alone. Maybe there was another spacecraft that eventually landed on a unique planet, one capable of supporting human life but imbued with magical properties. Over time, humans evolved to adapt to this new environment, transforming into the creatures from fairy tales they once remembered. The presence of two moons in “Onward” implies that it’s set on another world. It wouldn’t be surprising if this world turned out to be just another planet in a different solar system.

2025-06-23 06:25