On Wednesday, June 18, a new Pixar film debuted in our theaters: did you know about it? If you read our review, perhaps, but it's clear that the latest from the iconic studio went unnoticed. One week was enough for Elio to earn a rather sad record: the worst launch for a Pixar film. According to figures shared by Variety on Monday, June 23, Elio only managed to gross $21 million in its first weekend in the United States and only $14 million worldwide. The feature film is therefore still far from recouping its production costs, estimated at $150 million.
But should we already cry commercial disaster? Not necessarily. In 2023, Elementary encountered the same difficulties and then set the record for the worst opening for a Pixar film with $29.6 million during its first weekend in American theaters. But the magic of word of mouth ended up transforming the failure into a real success with $496 million worldwide.
So, even if Elio clearly suffered from its lack of media exposure, the Pixar of summer 2025 is not yet a lost cause. Disney has likely decided to overshadow its own film – certainly following its postponement and change of creative team – but viewers are already starting to do this promotional work for themselves. On social media and on review platforms, the essentially positive feedback could well change the film's fate.
The impact of current live-action films
Besides the absence of Elio in the advertising sphere, other productions seem to be stealing the spotlight. While the remake of Lilo & Stitch is approaching a billion dollars at the box office (enough to cushion the loss in the event of a definitive failure of the Pixar film), a competing live-action film has also monopolized the attention of viewers in recent weeks. The release of Dragons the week before Elio is certainly one of the key factors explaining the lackluster start. The return of Harold and Toothless has already generated $358 million at the global box office barely two weeks after its release.
In times of crisis, moviegoing becomes a luxury, and some viewers will wait a few weeks before returning to theaters to discover Pixar's latest release. So there's no need to sound the alarm, but the start of Elio is still sad to see. The adventure of the young Earthling and his alien friend is one of the most beautiful tales imagined by the studio in recent years and is essential for introverted viewers looking for a production capable of representing them with accuracy and kindness. Audiences often criticize the lack of creativity in live action, and this is the perfect opportunity to support an original work in the face of two remakes.
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