'Toy Story 5' rakes in the biggest box-office debut of the year with a
franchise-best $160 million
[June 22, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — “Toy Story” still has a friend in moviegoers.
The fifth installment in the Pixar series debuted with $160 million in
domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily
setting a new franchise record and notching the biggest opening weekend
of the year.
Launching 31 years after the original “Toy Story” first landed in
theaters, “Toy Story 5” far surpassed the previous series-best debut:
$120 million for “Toy Story 4” in 2019. Internationally, it was just as
successful, with $152 million in opening-weekend sales, for a worldwide
haul of $312 million.
The “Toy Story” franchise is one of the most profitable for The Walt
Disney Co. Before “Toy Story 5” launched, the movies had collectively
grossed more than $3 billion, while also pulling in billions from
merchandising.
Though the series seemed to reach a conclusion with 2010’s “Toy Story
3,” the decision to revive the franchise almost a decade later — while
controversial — has been extremely lucrative. “Toy Story 4” exceeded $1
billion in ticket sales, and “Toy Story 5” is all but certain to as
well.
Among animated films, only 2018's “Incredibles 2” had a bigger opening
weekend ($182.7 million) than “Toy Story 5.”
These toys aren't cheap
Keeping the “Toy Story” movies going has gotten more expensive, though.
The fifth movie cost $250 million to make, not including marketing. It
returns a voice cast led by Tom Hanks (as Woody), Tim Allen (as Buzz
Lightyear) and Joan Cusack (as Jessie).
In the sequel, the toys are pushed aside when Bonnie gets a new tablet.
It’s directed by Andrew Stanton, the Pixar veteran who helmed “Finding
Nemo” (2003) and “WALL-E” (2008). “Toy Story 5” also features a new song
by Taylor Swift, “I Knew It, I Knew You.”
Reviews have been very good and audiences gave “Toy Story 5” an “A”
CinemaScore, suggesting it should remain a force in theaters for weeks.
After its chart-topping debut, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”
slipped to second place with $17 million in its second weekend. That’s
not the hold that Universal Pictures was hoping for. Dropping 61% from
its first weekend suggests “Disclosure Day” might not find the legs
Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller needs to break out this summer.
Still, the $115 million budgeted movie, starring Emily Blunt, Josh
O’Connor and Colman Domingo, has grossed $160.4 million globally in two
weeks. “Disclosure Day” stands a good chance of remaining the top
adult-oriented option in theaters in the coming weeks.
“Toy Story 5” faced little competition from newcomers.
‘Robin Hood’ misses the bullseye
A24’s “The Death of Robin Hood,” a violent revisionist approach to the
old legend, flopped with $2.6 million on 1,762 screens. The film,
starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Michael Sarnoski, was modestly
budgeted at $20 million. But after finding mixed reviews, audiences
didn’t go for the movie, either. It earned a “C+” CinemaScore.
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This image released by Disney shows characters Bullseye, left, and
Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, in a scene from Disney and Pixar's
"Toy Story 5." (Disney/Pixar via AP)
 Neon’s “Leviticus” came out just
ahead of “The Death of Robin Hood,” with $2.7 million from 1,076
theaters. Written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, the buzzy
low-budget horror film is about two teen boys who meet at conversion
therapy. It's a fine start for an indie with a small budget of $3.5
million and good word-of-mouth. But “Leviticus” also faced unusually
strong competition in the still-potent horror hits “Obsession” and
“Backrooms.”
The top horror choice remained “Obsession,” the
microbudget phenomenon by 26-year-old Curry Barker. In its sixth
weekend, it nearly equaled its $17 million opening weekend from
mid-May. The Focus Features release, which cost less than $1 million
to make, added $14.2 million to bring its domestic total to $215.8
million and its global haul to $333.3 million.
With “Toy Story 5” and “Obsession” driving sales, the summer box
office is up 15% from the 2025 summer, according to Rentrak. More
impressively, summer ticket sales are nearly equal to the 2019
summer at the same point, not accounting for inflation. The summer
to date is just 1.9% down from that year.
Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, expects
that Hollywood is heading for its best summer since before the
pandemic. And the success is coming from both expected and
unexpected places.
“To me, this is a hybrid summer and this could be the new blueprint
for how you build the perfect summer box-office beast,” says
Dergarabedian. “You throw in a mix of very eclectic films and not
just the usual suspects — the big franchise films, the known brands
— but also films like ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ and original films
like ‘Disclosure Day.’”
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors
in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Toy Story 5,” $160 million.
2. “Disclosure Day,” $17 million.
3. “Obsession,” $14.2 million.
4. “Backrooms,” $7.3 million.
5. “Scary Movie,” $6.7 million.
6. “Masters of the Universe,” $5.6 million.
7. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $3.9 million.
8. “Leviticus,” $2.7 million.
9. “The Death of Robin Hood,” $2.6 million.
10. “Michael,” $2.2 million.
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