Elemental Box Office Sees Heated Comeback After Recording Pixar’s 2nd Worst Opening Weekend Debut
Pixar’s latest film, Elemental, has made a strong comeback at the box office after a disappointing opening weekend. The movie is only the second Pixar release since movie theaters shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Lightyear being the studio’s only other theatrical release during this time. Following Lightyear‘s underwhelming box office performance, the pressure was on Elemental to be a triumphant return to form, yet it had one of the worst debuts in Pixar history.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie’s second weekend in theaters is shaping up to be a different story as it battles for the top spot at the box office against Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The two animated films are expected to gross between $17 million and $19 million this weekend. For Elemental, this is only a 39 percent decline from last weekend, which is much better than expected. This is a stark contrast from The Flash‘s worse-than-expected drop of 70 percent after both The Flash and Elemental opened last weekend.
What Elemental’s Box Office Performance Means For Pixar
Elemental‘s unexpected box office success is a pleasant surprise for Pixar and can teach the studio valuable lessons for future releases. Pixar’s releases may no longer dominate at the box office during their opening weekend as they once did, especially if they are original stories not part of an established franchise. Without the familiarity of an established franchise, families did not rush to the theater during the opening weekend, but Elemental‘s comeback suggests that more families are discovering the movie through good word of mouth.
This is somewhat reminiscent of Charm, which also had a disappointing performance at the box office, but when it arrived on Disney+, good word of mouth quickly spread and the movie became a hit. Although not a Pixar movie, Elemental beginning to follow a similar trajectory shows that success for new Disney animated movies takes more time than it did in a pre-pandemic world and may be more about the long game than it is about how the film performs out of the gate.
To get families into the theater during opening weekend, Disney and Pixar may need to take a more creative approach with their marketing. Simply dropping a trailer does not hold the weight it once did. They need to find a way to excite families and children to see their newest offerings beyond the fact that it is simply the next Disney and Pixar movie. Between Elemental‘s vibrant animation and heartfelt tone, the family-friendly movie is picking up steam, but more compelling marketing could have led to a stronger box office debut.
Source: THR
Pixar’s Elemental sparks a comeback at the box office after a disappointing performance during its opening weekend. Elemental is only the second Pixar movie to release in theaters since movie theaters shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, with Lightyear being the animation studio’s only other theatrical release during this time. Following Lightyear‘s disappointing box office performance, the pressure was on Elemental to be a triumphant return to form, yet Elemental had one of the worst-performing debuts in Pixar history.
According to The Hollywood Reporterthe movie’s second weekend in theaters is shaping up to be a different story as it battles for the top spot at the box office against Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The two animated films are expected to gross between $17 million and $19 million this weekend. For Elementalthis is only a 39 percent decline from last weekend, which is much better than expected. This is a stark contrast from The Flash‘s worse-than-expected drop of 70 percent after both The Flash and Elemental opened last weekend.
What Elemental’s Box Office Performance Means For Pixar
Elemental‘s surprising box office comeback is a pleasant surprise for Pixar and can teach the studio valuable lessons for future releases. Pixar’s releases may no longer dominate at the box office during their opening weekend as they once did, especially if they are original stories not part of an established franchise. Without the familiarity of an established franchise, families did not rush to the theater during the opening weekend, but Elemental‘s comeback suggests that more families are discovering the movie through good word of mouth.
This is somewhat reminiscent of Charmwhich also had a disappointing performance at the box office, but when it arrived on Disney+, good word of mouth spread quickly, and that’s when the movie became a hit. Charm is not a Pixar movie, but with Elemental beginning to follow a similar trajectory, it shows that success for new Disney animated movies takes more time than it did in a pre-pandemic world and may be more about the long game than it is about how the film performs out of the gate.
To get families into the theater during opening weekend, Disney and Pixar may need to take a more creative approach with their marketing as simply dropping a trailer does not hold the weight it once did. They need to find a way to excite families and children to see their newest offerings beyond the fact that it is simply the next Disney and Pixar movie. Between Elemental‘s vibrant animation and heartfelt tone, the family-friendly movie is picking up steam, but more compelling marketing could’ve led to a stronger box office debut.
Source: THR
