Pixar Needs to Break This 8-Year Box Office Cold Streak In 2026

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Pixar, a key part of Disney, hasn’t been performing as strongly at the box office lately as it used to. The studio is famous for creating popular and well-loved franchises like *Toy Story*, *Monsters, Inc.*, *The Incredibles*, and *Inside Out*. While Pixar is still known for making high-quality animated movies for families, that reputation hasn’t been consistently reflected in ticket sales, especially with its new, original films.

Pixar hasn’t released a completely original film – one that wasn’t part of an existing series – that earned over $500 million worldwide in eight years. The last one was *Coco*, which made over $800 million globally, and a sequel, *Coco 2*, is currently in development.

Pixar has created many original films since then, such as *Onward, Soul, Luca, Turning Red, Elemental,* and *Elio*, but none of them have earned over $500 million at the box office. However, Pixar’s sequels-including *Inside Out 2, Toy Story 4,* and *The Incredibles 2*-have all easily surpassed that amount.

Pixar is seeing a decline in performance. Its previous original films, like *Brave*, *Up*, *WALL-E*, and *Ratatouille*, all earned over $500 million worldwide. While Pixar has traditionally balanced creating new stories with making sequels, recent box office numbers suggest that sequels are now the safer bet for big profits.

Several things might be contributing to the recent struggles of Pixar’s original films. A major factor is the global pandemic, which prevented movies like *Onward*, *Soul*, *Luca*, and *Turning Red* from having a traditional theatrical release. Instead, these films went straight to Disney+, which significantly hurt their potential to earn large amounts of money in theaters.

The launch of Disney+ also plays a role. The streaming service provides families with a more budget-friendly and convenient option for watching Pixar movies at home, which is especially important with rising costs of living globally. While Disney doesn’t share viewership numbers for its streaming content, it’s difficult to know how well these films performed on Disney+.

People are generally more accustomed to seeing sequels from Pixar, which likely makes them more eager to buy tickets and see them in theaters, resulting in higher profits for those films.

Can Pixar Turn Things Around at the Box Office in 2026?

Pixar only released one movie in 2025, the science fiction film *Elio*, but it didn’t perform well in theaters, earning a little over $150 million globally. Looking ahead to 2026, Pixar has a chance to improve its performance.

Pixar’s upcoming film, Hoppers, scheduled for release in 2026, is a funny science fiction story about scientists who develop a way to put human minds into realistic animal robots. This allows them to talk to animals. The movie is directed by Daniel Chong, who has worked on Pixar films like Turning Red, Elemental, and Lightyear, and also the Cartoon Network show We Bare Bears.

As a big Pixar fan, I’m so glad people are finally going back to the movies! It feels like each new Pixar film has a real shot at doing as well as they used to before the pandemic. But honestly, I know a lot of people, myself included sometimes, who prefer to wait and watch them at home on Disney+. That’s still a bit of a challenge for them, even with people returning to theaters.

As a huge Pixar fan, I’m really excited for *Toy Story 5* coming out later this year! It feels like a return to what made Pixar so great, and I’m predicting it’ll be their biggest hit of the year – I wouldn’t be surprised if it easily makes over $500 million at the box office.

A lot depends on whether *Hoppers* does well. Pixar’s recent original films haven’t been big hits – none of *Luca*, *Turning Red*, or *Onward* are getting sequels – and a similar lack of investment could happen with *Hoppers* if it doesn’t perform strongly. However, if *Hoppers* is a success, it could become Pixar’s next big, original franchise.

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2025-09-29 08:35