Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ bounds to No. 1 as Warner Bros.' ‘The Bride!’ is on
life support
[March 09, 2026]
Disney and Pixar’s environmental adventure “Hoppers” topped the North
American box office this weekend with $46 million in domestic ticket
sales in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
After adding another $42 million from international showings, the film
celebrated an $88 million global launch in total, the biggest for an
original animated film since “Coco” came out in 2017.
But it wasn’t all good news for big studio fare at the multiplex: Maggie
Gyllenhaal’s R-rated reimagining of the Bride of Frankenstein story is
flailing. A Warner Bros. release, “The Bride!” starring Jessie Buckley
and Christian Bale, debuted to an estimated $7.3 million from 3,304
domestic locations. It cost around $80 million to produce, not including
marketing and promotion expenses.
The two movies were hardly competing with one another for viewers — one
being a PG-rated family pic, the other an audacious, R-rated,
genre-blending ride. “Hoppers” arrived to a slew of good reviews, while
critical responses to “The Bride!” were mixed to negative and its
audience scores weren’t much better.
“Hoppers” win was much needed for Disney and Pixar following last year’s
“Elio,” which was Pixar's worst opening ever. The studio’s only major
successes lately have been sequels and franchises, while “Hoppers” is a
win for original fare. It also opened higher than 2023’s “Elemental,”
which eventually went on to become a sleeper hit (“Elio” did not).
“Hoppers” had a reported $150 million production budget and opened in
4,000 locations. Directed by Daniel Chong, the movie is about a
19-year-old environmentalist who infiltrates the animal world in the
body of a beaver. It features the voices of Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan,
Jon Hamm and Kathy Najimy.
“Hoppers” got a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 75% “definitely
recommend” from PostTrak polling and an A CinemaScore, suggesting it
should have a long and profitable run in theaters.
“This is a fantastic original film from the incredible team at Pixar,
and it’s wonderful to see audiences coming out with their friends and
families to enjoy it together,” said Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney
Entertainment, in a statement. He also congratulated the filmmaking team
on “a tremendous launch.”
“The Bride!” had a bit of a bumpy path to theaters, with edits being
made after reportedly poor test screenings. Its release date was pushed
back from September, possibly to give it some space versus Guillermo del
Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which played in theaters last fall before hitting
Netflix.
Men made up a slight majority of the audience for “The Bride!” at 53%.
The movie currently carries a “rotten” 59% on Rotten Tomatoes and a
lackluster C+ CinemaScore. Only 43% of that audience said they would
“definitely recommend.”
And it doesn’t seem like international audiences will be much help: It
made only $6.3 million outside of the U.S. and Canada, bringing its
global debut to $13.6 million.
“Unfortunately, we came in light,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, who oversees
domestic distribution for Warner Bros., in a text message. “We have a
tailored approach to our slate, investing strategically in talent, IP
and original storytelling. It spans genres and budget levels and allows
us to back bold, distinctive filmmakers … and sometimes things just
don’t work out.”
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This image released by Warner Bros Entertainment shows Jessie
Buckley in a scene from "The Bride!" (Warner Bros Entertainment via
AP)
Warner Bros.' other recent release, “Wuthering Heights,” meanwhile, has
surpassed $213 million globally. And next week, the studio, which is
staring down new ownership under Paramount, is expected to sweep the
Oscars between “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”
“We’re coming off an incredible run of nine No. 1 openings in a row, and
in an increasingly ‘risk-averse’ business like ours, we believe the
business is better served with studios taking bold swings on originals
like this one,” Goldstein said. “Even the 1927 Yankees had 44 losses
that season.”
Paramount’s “Scream 7” landed in second place in its second weekend with
$17.3 million, down a whopping 73% and bringing its domestic total to
$93.4 million and its global total to $149.5 million. Sony's “GOAT” came
in fourth place with $6.6 million while “Wuthering Heights” rounded out
the top five with $3.8 million.
“When there’s this many holdovers in the top 10, it says we haven’t had
enough horsepower in the newcomers to really get things moving,” said
Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends.
But he anticipates that will change when the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi
adventure “Project Hail Mary” hits theaters on March 20.
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 Comscore:
1. “Hoppers,” $46 million.
2. “Scream 7,” $17.3 million.
3. “The Bride!” $7.3 million.
4. “GOAT,” $6.6 million.
5. “Wuthering Heights,” $3.8 million.
6. “Crime 101,” $2.1 million.
7. “Send Help,” $1.6 million.
8. “I Can Only Imagine 2,” $1.5 million.
9. “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” $1.5 million.
10. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castlee,” $1.3 million.
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