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"Lightyear," a spinoff story set in Pixar's
"Toy Story" universe, fell short of that boundless milestone in
its box office debut, collecting a lackluster $51 million from
4,255 North American theaters. Family audiences, the movie's
prime demographic, have been largely absent since COVID. But
even so, those ticket sales are disappointing for a brand as
recognizable as Pixar, the home of "The Incredibles," Finding
Nemo" and "Up." It's particularly problematic given that "Lightyear"
cost $200 million to produce and tens of millions more to
market.
Heading into the weekend, the Disney film was expected to
generate at least $70 million. But its ambitions were thwarted
by heightened competition from Universal's behemoth "Jurassic
World Dominion" and Paramount's high-flying "Top Gun: Maverick,"
as well as little intrigue to watch a slightly esoteric origin
story about Buzz Lightyear, one that had only a tenuous
connection to the four films in the popular kid-friendly
franchise. With its wobbly liftoff, "Lightyear" landed in second
place, becoming one of the rare Pixar films to not take the top
spot at the domestic box office.
Notably, "Lightyear" is the first Pixar movie to play on the big
screen in more than two years -- since "Onward" in March 2020.
During the pandemic, three Pixar movies -- "Soul," "Luca" and
"Turning Red" -- skipped theaters to land directly on Disney+,
leaving some box office analyst to question if consumers have
been trained to watch Pixar movies at home. Other industry
experts question if Disney is relying too heavily on brand
recognition and not enough on execution. "Lightyear" landed an
"A-" CinemaScore, indicating that audiences enjoyed the movie.
"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 24 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."
Even with a colossal 60% decline, "Jurassic World Dominion"
managed to capture the box office crown again. Universal's
prehistoric sequel generated $58.6 million from 4,697 cinemas in
its second weekend of release, bringing its domestic total to
$259 million.
In third place, "Top Gun: Maverick" continues to fly high with a
mammoth $44 million from 4,035 venues in North America. Those
box office returns, a scant $15% drop from its prior outing, are
especially significant because the film has been playing in
theaters for a month. Only one film, "Avatar" with $50 million
in its fourth weekend of release, has generated more at this
point in its theatrical run. To date, sequel to 1986's "Top Gun"
has grossed $466 million in the U.S. and Canada and $885 million
globally, making the film the biggest blockbuster in Tom
Cruise's decades-long career.
Disney's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" took the
No. 4 slot with $4.2 million from 2,455 locations. After seven
weekends on the big screen, the Marvel comic book sequel has
amassed an impressive $405.1 million in North America. However,
the "Strange" sequel is no longer the highest-grossing movie of
the year in the U.S. That title that now belongs to Pete
"Maverick" Mitchell.
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