Pixar has just suffered its worst-ever opening-weekend box office bomb after its latest animated film, Elio, grossed just $21 million domestically. The space-themed family adventure, which follows an orphaned boy who gets abducted by friendly aliens, was overshadowed by stiff competition from competitor Dreamworks, whose live-action remake of family-favorite How to Train Your Dragon continued to dominate with $37 million in its second weekend. Danny Boyle’s cult-classic horror sequel 28 Years Later, meanwhile, also overperformed expectations to rake in $30 million domestically and $60 million worldwide. The underwhelming performance of Elio continues a worrying trend for Pixar, whose original films have struggled to match the success of its sequels in recent years. While the Disney-owned studio’s Inside Out 2 grossed over $1.7bn globally last year, fresh ideas proved to be a harder sell. However, Disney said on Sunday they are hoping Elio will follow the same trajectory as 2023’s Elemental—Pixar’s previous record-holder for the worst opening weekend, taking just $30 million—which became a sleeper hit and eventually made $500 million globally.
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