Long Range Forecast: Can HOPPERS Get Pixar Back On Track?

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Long Range Forecast — March 6, 2026

Hoppers | Disney/Pixar

Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $40M – $50M

Disney and Pixar know how to sell talking animals, but Pixar’s had a rough go of it these last few years—particularly when it comes to launching new IP, which Hoppers is their latest example of.

Pixar has long had a better track record, box office-wise, with their sequels than their original films, with the 7 lowest wide openings for the animation studio belonging to new IP. Last summer’s Elio gave Pixar its lowest-ever theatrically exclusive wide release with $20.8M, a gross that would grow to $72.9M over the course of the film’s domestic run. Less recently, Onward opened to $39.11M before its theatrical run was cut short by Covid less than two weeks in, 2021’s Raya and the Last Dragon got a day-and-date release, and the next three films on Pixar’s schedule–originals Soul, Turning Red, and Luca—all opened on Disney+.

While a low opening weekend is by no means a death knell, particularly when it comes to animated family films—holdovers brought 2023’s Elemental to $154.4M—there’s no denying that Pixar has had trouble launching franchises of late. Their big win of the post-pandemic era, 2024’s Inside Out 2, made more in the domestic market ($652.9M) than Elio, Lightyear (2022), Onward, and Elemental combined.

Pixar’s Lowest Theatrically Exclusive Domestic Openings

• Elio (2025): $20.8M
• Toy Story (1995): $29.1M
• Elemental (2023): $29.6M
• A Bug’s Life (1998): $33.2M (Thanksgiving three-day)
• Onward (2020): $39.11M
• The Good Dinosaur (2015): $39.15M
• Ratatouille (2007): $47M

Disney/Pixar has mixed things up a bit for Hoppers; the new film is only Pixar’s second Q1 theatrical release, following Onward, which like Hoppers came out in the first week of March. This move away from a typical June release for Hoppers could bode well if word-of-mouth is solid, though you can expect positive momentum to come to a halt by the time Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie debuts four weeks later, on April 3.

Looking outside Pixar, animated titles to come out the first week of March over the last decade are 2024’s Kung Fu Panda 4 ($57.9M) and 2016’s Zootopia ($75M).

Tracking Updates [As Of 1/30/26]