Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie have done it again. Toy Story 5, released on 19 June, has racked up the animated franchise's best ever opening weekend with ticket sales of more than $300m (£227m) globally. The fifth instalment follows the beloved toys as they face their toughest rival yet – a tablet computer.
The strong performance is a return to form for Disney and Pixar after a series of challenges in recent years. Overall box office revenues have declined since the Covid-19 pandemic, as studios struggled to draw people back to cinemas amid a shift towards streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. Big-budget blockbusters in particular have suffered.
“Toy Story 5 earned over $300m globally in its opening weekend, the franchise's best ever, marking a comeback for Disney and Pixar.”
Toy Story 5 grossed over $160m in North America and more than $150m internationally in its first weekend in cinemas. It is estimated to be this year's second-biggest opening weekend globally, after The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is currently the highest grossing film of the year, taking in more than $1bn.
But the road to this success has been rocky. Some of Pixar's more recent titles, like the alien adventure Elio and the Toy Story spin-off Lightyear, bombed at the box office. Disney's latest big-budget Star Wars spin-off, The Mandalorian and Grogu, has yet to double its $165m cost.
With an estimated production budget of $250m, Toy Story 5 will need to make at least twice that amount to cover additional marketing and other expenses. Historically, Pixar films have recouped their budgets – often comfortably – with many titles bringing in three times as much as they cost to make and promote. A handful of its films, especially sequels like The Incredibles 2 and Inside Out 2, have crossed the $1bn mark.
The Toy Story series remains one of Pixar's most lucrative franchises, having raked in more than $3bn at the global box office since audiences were introduced to Woody and Buzz in 1995. The original movie, set in a world where toys come to life, revolutionised the use of computer-generated graphics and propelled Pixar into the ranks of leading animation studios. The series' third and fourth instalments each made more than $1bn at the box office.
Will Toy Story 5 join the billion-dollar club? Its opening weekend suggests a strong start, but the industry's shifting landscape means nothing is guaranteed.