‘Elemental’ Star Blasts Early Media Coverage of the Film “I’m Really Sick of What the Industry Does”
In a year that brought us the duel box-office juggernaut that was Barbenheimer, the most impressive story of the 2023 box office may have actually been Elemental.
The latest offering from Pixar opened to a disastrous first weekend at the box office, bringing in a measly $29.6 million.
Photo: Disney/Pixar
Critics and box office observers alike were quick to dismisss the film ass another pixar box office flop. Then, something intersting happened- Elemental found its audiance.
A Historic Comeback
While Elemental certaintly did not open to the fanfare that Disney and Pixar had hoped for, the audiances who did see the film loved it.
Photo:Disney/Pixar
Fueled by strong word of mouth, as well as good audiance ratings on Rotten Toamtoes and CineamaScore, family audiances began to flock to see the latest Pixar movie.
When Elemental crossed the $150 million mark at the domestic box office, it became the first Pixar film to earn 5x its opening weekend total since Toy Story.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, the film film became Pixar’s most successful film ever.
Photo: Pixar
When the dust finally settled, Elemental grossed over $496.4 million at the box office. It would then become a hit for Disney+ on streaming. Despite the media’s rush to label the film a bomb, Elemental was a roaring success.
‘Elemental’ Star Blasts Early Media Coverage
In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Wendi McLendon-Convey who played Gale Cumulus in the film took a victory lap, blasting the industries initial response to Elemental.
“I mean, it was so gratifying because I’m really sick and tired of what the industry does, which is if you didn’t have the greatest opening weekend, your project was a big fat flop. No, give things room to breathe, let things sort of play out before you declare it a flop. That’s so ridiculous,” she began.
Photo: Looper via Pixar
“So it was very satisfying, because I just love the story, and I especially love the very last scene when they have that father-daughter bow. That just gutted me. And it really irritated me to read, “Eh, it’s a big fat flop for Pixar.” As time went on, and it turned out, “Oh, wait, this isn’t a flop, it’s actually doing pretty well.” That was gratifying for all of us. Like, can we stop with these sensationalistic negative headlines? My god. The business is all over the place right now. Can we just like bet on things winning? Wouldn’t that be helpful?”
A Victory Lap For Pixar
McLendon-Covey is right in her assesment of how Elemental was covered. The media was quick to lable Elemental a bomb because it fit into the overarching narrative that Pixar was struggling.
Pixar’s Elemental
Still, the kind of comeback that Elemenatal made was in many ways historic. Other films that struggled thier opening weekend like say, The Marvels, never recovered.
Photo: Disney/Pixar
Whether or not the media coverage was fair McLendon-Covey and her castmates should take pride in the film’s success. Elemental is now firmly established in the Marvel canon.
