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New Disney Plus Series Based Off Box Office Flop

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

The box office has not been kind to Disney over the past year. The studio and its subsidiaries have released a series of flops (or box office bombs) that cost the Walt Disney Company over $1 billion. The unfortunate trend began with Lightyear (2022).

RELATED: Two ‘Lightyear’ Executives Are Among the 75 Pixar Employees Fired by Disney

A Year of Flops

lightyear

Credit: Disney

It continued for the next dozen or so movies, including Black Panther Wakanda Forever (2022), Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania (2023), The Little Mermaid (2023), Strange World (2023), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), and The Haunted Mansion (2023).

RELATED: Disney Loses BILLIONS at the Box Office

indiana jones and the dial of destiny 5 harrison ford box office loss

Credit: Lucasfilm

But there was another one…Elemental (2023).

ember fire element elemental disney/pixar leah lewis

Credit: Pixar Animation

The Disney Pixar film failed to make much of a splash at theaters. Although initially, its numbers did seem pretty dire, it has managed to have some legs, causing it to recoup some of its costs. When all is said and done…it may just break even.

RELATED: ‘Elemental’ Pixar’s Worst Opening In Modern History

Elementals‘ Series

But its lackluster performance has yet to stop talk of Disney creating a new streaming series on Disney Plus called Elementals. In an interview on the Puck News Podcast, Jeff Brock (Senior Box Office Analyst from Exhibitor Relations), the success of Elemental (2023) is brought up, and with it the rumor that Disney is looking to extend the series.

elemental ember element city pixar flop peter sohn

Credit: Pixar Animation

If true, it would be an odd decision for the Walt Disney Company. However, just because a movie or IP doesn’t do well doesn’t mean studios will abandon story ideas for a series or franchise. We’ve seen other studios do this (not just Disney).

RELATED: ‘Elemental’ Surprises Overseas

Hands from Elemental

Credit: Disney Pixar

It’s also possible that Disney Pixar had plans for an Elemental 2 but is pulling the breaks on a theatrical release and instead looking at a streaming series. But fans of Elemental characters such as Ember, voiced by Leah Lewis, Wade, voiced by Mamoudou Athie, or other characters throughout Element City, maybe in for a surprise next year!

About Steven Wilk

Steven has a complicated relationship with Disney. As a child, he visited Walt Disney World every few years with his family. But he never understood why kids his age (and older) were so scared of Snow White or Alien Encounter. He is a former participant of the Disney College Program (left early…long story), and he also previously worked in Children’s publishing, where he adapted multiple Disney movies and TV shows. He has many controversial opinions about Disney…like having a positive view of Michael Eisner, believing Return of the Jedi is superior to The Empire Strikes Back, and that Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge should have never been built (at least not at Hollywood Studios). Every year for the past two decades, Steven has visited either Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani or went on a Disney Cruise. He’s happy to share any and all knowledge of the Disney destinations (and he likes using parenthesis a lot…as well as ellipses…)