Today In Good Movie News: Elemental Just Passed Encanto At The Box Office
Disney was, before the pandemic, the unquestioned king of theatrical animation, in no small part thanks to the regular success of Pixar films. Even originals from Pixar were absolutely bankable bets that helped ensure that every other studio was usually gunning for second place in this arena. But post-Covid, things look radically different. "Elemental" hit theaters last month, and it simply isn't going to make enough money to be a theatrical hit. That said, the movie has demonstrated great legs, and it actually recently passed the global gross of Disney's "Encanto."
Released in 2021, "Encanto" was an original from Walt Disney Animation that was widely acclaimed but was still very much fighting against the pandemic. The film ended up topping out with $256.7 million worldwide. After it left theaters though, the musical became a smash hit on Disney+, and the soundtrack dominated the charts, with "We Don't Talk About Bruno" becoming a breakout hit. But from a pure dollars and cents standpoint, that global gross was a disappointment relative to the movie's reported $150 million budget.
"Elemental," meanwhile, now sits at $259 million globally, per Box Office Mojo, following another week of moviegoers turning up to see the film. Following its relatively disappointing $29 million opening weekend, the film has managed to hold very well week-to-week, which should be taken as a sign that Pixar originals can still be theatrically viable. It will just take some serious patience on Disney's part to allow audiences to readjust their expectations.
Rebuilding Pixar's theatrical viability
Pixar movies don't come cheap — it's just the nature of the beast as it currently exists. That being the case, "Elemental" carries a huge $200 million budget. So even though it passed "Encanto" and has a great shot at passing $300 million worldwide, it's not going to come close to turning a profit. It also doesn't have a big hit song from the soundtrack to lean on. But the fact that audiences have responded following that relatively weak opening weekend is encouraging. It could lead to some momentum with Pixar again following the pandemic.
As has been well-documented, Disney sent three original Pixar movies — "Luca," "Soul," and "Turning Red" — directly to Disney+ between 2020 and early 2022. This essentially taught audiences that Pixar movies are free, save for the cost of a monthly Disney+ subscription. Even Disney CEO Bob Iger recently acknowledged this strategy did some damage, saying the following:
"There were three Pixar releases in a row that went direct to streaming, in part because of — mostly because of COVID. And I think that may have created an expectation in the audience that they're going to eventually be on streaming and probably quickly, and there wasn't an urgency."
In what can be described as a circumstantial victory, Pixar is holding strong in the face of what looked to be a terrible situation. This can serve as a place to build back from. Disney needs to make its theatrical animation viable again. This is a sign that things are trending (ever so slightly) in the right direction.
"Elemental" is in theaters now.