Opening Weekend Forecast: £2-3 million
Theatrical Total Forecast: £9-12 million
U.K.-based cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean has released their predicted opening range for Disney/Pixar title Hoppers, opening in the U.K./Ireland market this weekend.
Pixar is coming into its latest release with a dampened brand thanks to a softening interest in their original properties, several of which in recent years have gone straight to streaming. Last year’s Elio was at best underwhelming with a box office haul of just £5.3 million.
However, despite its current struggles, Pixar still has a proven record of churning out high-quality, well-received family hits. Inside Out 2, for example, was a runaway success with £59.5 million in receipts in 2024. And the marketing for Hoppers looks promising, showcasing vibrant animation, well-timed humor, and a great concept involving a human moving their consciousness to a lifelike beaver robot so she can communicate with other animals. Cute and cuddly creatures are a sure-fire way to excite any child, as shown by the behemoth success of Zootropolis 2 (£34 million)—and Hoppers is filled to the brim with them. And a strong Pixar film can still win over audiences even if it’s not a sequel; that was the case with 2023’s Elemental, which rode great word-of-mouth past its weak £3 million opening to a blockbuster £18.5 million final haul.
However, that film came out in the summer, with schools out and parents scrambling to occupy their children. In contrast, Hoppers arrives in-between the half-term and Easter breaks in a month not known for high-grossing family titles. Take Disney’s Snow White remake, which bombed this time last year. Pixar’s last March release was 2020’s Onward, which opened to £3.5 million before the pandemic shut the industry down.
This is why, despite our confidence in the film itself, we have capped our prediction at the £9 – £12 million range.
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