Disney, Toy Story 4 Top Box Office
You might not know it by some of the headlines (and the dip in Disney stock prices); however, and despite falling short of predictions, Toy Story 4 pulled in a franchise-best opening weekend. That makes for yet another big opening weekend for the Walt Disney Studios this summer.
Big Toy Story 4 Box Office
“Avengers: Endgame” is the story of the year, within striking distance of “Avatar’s” mark as the top-grossing movie worldwide of all time. “Aladdin” has flown high as well, bearing down on $300 million in North American ticket sales.
Performing Below Expectations?
This weekend’s box office is all about Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” which opened on 4,575 screens to $47 million on Friday and is now expected to earn an opening weekend of $120-125 million, according to industry estimates.
While that’s below the $140 million projected by Disney before the weekend and well behind the animation record of $182 million set by “Incredibles 2” last year, it would be the third highest opening weekend of 2019 so far. It will also stand as either the third or fourth largest opening ever for an animated feature, depending on whether it takes the No. 3 spot from “Shrek the Third,” which opened to $121 million in 2007.
The final opening weekend figure could be a few notches higher than current estimates, as Saturday and Sunday matinees could perform above expectations thanks to the film’s sterling word of mouth. “Toy Story 4” has received near-unanimous praise from critics and audiences with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score and an A on CinemaScore, matching the reception received in 2010 by “Toy Story 3,” which opened to $110 million.
Update: Toy Story 4 garnered $118 M at the box office over its opening weekend.
Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 topped the weekend box office and did so with the franchise’s largest opening weekend yet, but even it seems to have been bitten by the summer’s sequel slump as it too delivered well below studio and industry expectations. On top of that, UA Releasing’s Child’s Play finished in second place while also missing forecasted pre-weekend expectations while Lionsgate and Summit’s Anna fell just shy of a spot in the top ten.
Proper Perspective
Meanwhile, Forbes’ Scott Mendelson put Toy Story 4’s box office in perspective:
So, as we discuss what feels like a slightly disappointing opening weekend for Toy Story 4, we should remember that the last movie performed likewise at the start and flourished after its “great-but-not-record-breaking” Fri-Sun debut. With rave reviews, white-hot buzz and little in the way of big animated movies between now and Frozen II in November, there’s little reason not to presume rock-solid legs over the rest of the summer. Will it match the $415 million domestic total of Toy Story 3? Maybe not, but that wasn’t the bar for success.
Hey, as far as I am concerned, my family has walked out of Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, and Toy Story 4 with smiles on their collective faces. So, no matter the numbers I call that success.
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.