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Business|With ‘Elio,’ Pixar Has Its Worst Box Office Opening Ever
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/business/elio-pixar-box-office.html
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The original space adventure sold about $21 million in tickets at domestic theaters from Thursday night through Sunday, putting new pressure on the once-unstoppable studio.
June 22, 2025Updated 3:56 p.m. ET
Pixar knew that “Elio,” an original space adventure, would most likely struggle in its first weekend at the box office.
Animated movies based on original stories have become harder sells in theaters, even for the once-unstoppable Pixar. At a time when streaming services have proliferated and the broader economy is unsettled, families want assurance that spending the money for tickets will be worth it.
But the turnout for “Elio” was worse — much worse — than even Pixar had expected. The film, which cost at least $250 million to make and market, collected an estimated $21 million from Thursday evening through Sunday at theaters in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data.
It was Pixar’s worst opening-weekend result ever. The previous bottom was “Elemental,” which arrived to $30 million in 2023.
A month ago, when the “Elio” marketing campaign began to hit high gear, Pixar and its corporate owner, Disney, had hoped that “Elio” would, in the worst-case scenario, match the “Elemental” number. Instead, it fell 30 percent short.
In wide release overseas, “Elio” collected an additional $14 million, on a par with the initial international results for “Elemental.”
