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‘Elemental’ Quietly Earns Biggest Audience Since ‘Toy Story’

elemental's box office toy story disney pixar film leah lewis fire walt disney company pixar history animated film ticket sales
Credit: Pixar Animation Studios

Critics and audiences devoted to box office numbers quickly wrote off Disney/ Pixar’s newest animated film Elemental after the movie had an underwhelming opening weekend. In fact, Elemental had one of the worst opening weekends in Pixar history, leading writers like me fearing Disney/Pixar had lost its spark. However, it’s a true Pixar-like underdog story regarding Elemental‘s box office numbers in the end.

Since the film hit theaters in mid-June, The Walt Disney Company reports Elemental has made five times its domestic box office of $30 million. Disney notes that this is “so rare that no Pixar movie has had a multiple that high since the one that started it all: 1995’s Toy Story.” Globally, Elemental has made over $420 million.

elemental's box office toy story disney pixar film leah lewis fire walt disney company pixar history animated film ticket sales

Credit: Pixar Animation Studios

Disney’s EVP of Theatrical Distribution, Tony Chambers, noted the lackluster opening weekend but felt “really pleased that audiences have discovered what a great movie it is.”

Elemental‘s Slow Burn to Success and International Boost

Directed by Peter Sohn and modeled after his life growing up in an immigrant family, Elemental stars the voice talents of Leah Lewis as Ember and Mamoudou Athie as Wade. Here’s how The Walt Disney Company thinks Elemental achieved its slow burn:

Many of the highest-grossing animated films in recent years have been sequels or based on established franchises. Elemental is the first original animated film from any studio to reach the $400 million mark since 2017.

It’s been a hit with moviegoers with a 93% audience score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and it carries an “A” CinemaScore, which undoubtedly led to strong word of mouth. It’s also been a solid choice for moviegoers of all ages during a summer in which family films have been hard to find.

elemental's box office toy story disney pixar film leah lewis fire walt disney company pixar history animated film ticket sales

Credit: Pixar Animation Studios

Lastly, international audiences were big fans of the film! Mexico, France, and the UK all pulled big numbers, but South Korea alone hit $48 million. That translates to “one out of every eight people in Korea have seen it.” Elemental is the most-viewed Pixar film that country, estimating “6 million admissions.”

While big opening weekends may get the headlines, Elemental shows that a true box office success story is about how a film finishes rather than where it begins.

Tony Chambers continues,

Recently it’s been more challenging for original animated and live action IP to break through. But you can’t create a franchise without taking a swing, and no other studio has taken more swings than Disney.

What are your thoughts? Have you seen Elemental in theaters, or are you waiting for it to hit Disney Plus? Tell us your opinion of Ember and Wade’s adventures in Element City and which element you’re most like!

About Lana Porter

Lana has never lost a Disney Trivia night. Maybe it’s the hundreds of times she’s been to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, her love for Disney’s ’90’s era hand-animated musicals, or the fact that she’s often likened to cartoon characters, but Disney and its magic have a special place in her heart. Her favorite Disney experiences include the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, eating Mickey Bars on the PeopleMover, and crying during the Magic Kingdom fireworks show. One day she hopes to be chosen as the rebel spy on Star Tours. When Lana isn’t Park Hopping, she’s at home reading books of all topics, watching her favs on Disney+, or snuggling her two cats, which she swears are not named after Disney characters. She loves surprising people with her knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but admits she is still catching up with Star Wars. She is happy to combine her excitement for writing with her love for Disney-style storytelling and share what she can with the world!