Disney and Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Hits Theaters Amid Animation Struggles

Disney and Pixar are releasing its 27th feature film, “Elemental,” in theaters today and there is major pressure to succeed.

According to CNBC, “Elemental” is Disney’s chance to prove it’s still the king of animation. Disney ticket sales for animated films have slowed throughout the past couple of years, while Universal’s Illumination and DreamWorks animation have been dominating the box office.

Disney’s Pixar studio is trying to recover, specifically, from the letdown of the “Lightyear” release last year. According to data from Comscore, the film collected just $226.7 million at the global box office last year, a fraction of what previous Pixar films have generated from ticket sales.

Industry analysts have predicted that “Elemental” will debut between $35 million and $45 million domestically, which hits in the midrange for a typical Pixar release.

As for the top grossing animated films released in 2022 and 2023, Disney can be found near the bottom. Universal takes the top three spots with Super Mario Bros. Movie collecting $1.3 billion, Minions: The Rise of Gru collecting $942.5M and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish collecting $483.8M, per CNBC.