‘Elio’ Bombed on Streaming, Too
I guess nobody should be surprised, but the results are in.
According to Nielsen’s latest ratings, Elio has bombed on streaming, too.
Photo: Disney
Here’s what we know about the least successful Pixar movie ever.
About Disney+ Streaming Movies
Photo: @Chalabala | Twenty20
You already know the story by now.
During the pandemic, Disney movie executives faced an impossible dilemma.
Disney Digital Services
With few movie theaters open domestically and virtually none internationally, Disney pivoted.
The company encouraged fans to subscribe to Disney+, the only Disney business model performing well at that time.
Getty
As an enticement, Disney offered several of its would-be theatrical releases as Premier Access titles.
Guests could pay for them just as if they were regular digital releases, but they’d only own them on Disney+.
Forbes
Savvy consumers quickly deduced that they could simply wait a few weeks to watch the same titles for free.
Disney+ inevitably made these new releases a part of the main catalog after 60-90 days.
Photo: English Jargon
So, Disney trained its consumers not to spend money to watch its content.
The repercussions of this decision, which I confess to fully supporting, are still being felt to this day.
Photo: Marvel
Coincidentally or not, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled mightily during the 2020s.
Marvel appeared to get back on track with Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024.
Photo: Marvel
However, its trio of 2025 releases, including The Fantastic Four: First Steps, haven’t done as well.
Somehow, Marvel qualifies as a success story compared to Pixar, which has suffered even worse.
This Inside Out concept art features Shame standing next to Anxiety. Photo: Reddit
Ignoring Inside Out 2, an admitted outlier and the number one film of 2024, it’s been grim for Pixar.
In the run-up to Inside Out 2’s release, Pixar execs admitted that they may need to change everything if that film failed.
Image: Pixar
Thankfully, Inside Out 2 absolutely wrecked the box office, but Pixar’s fate was up in the air 18 months ago.
Elemental, a movie I loooove, scratched and clawed its way to nearly $500 million in 2023.
The most recent release…hasn’t been as successful.
About ‘Elio’
Photo: Disney
Here’s the review I published of Elio on the day of its theatrical release. I stand by it.
This movie absolutely charmed my wife and me, and we warmly recommend it to everyone.
Photo: Disney
Parents of small children, in particular, can safely play Elio on a loop for their kids.
This film demonstrates precisely the traits that critics have begged Disney to do in the 2020s.
Photo: Disney
We’re talking about a wholesome, sweet, utterly inoffensive story imbued with warmth and goodness.
And nobody cared. Seriously, Pixar launched this one to a collective yawn.
Photo: Disney
Elio claimed the worst box office opening of any Pixar film in the 2000s.
If anything, that statement undersells how problematic the performance was.
Photo: Disney
Inside Out 2 opened to $154 million, but let’s all agree that one shouldn’t count.
Elemental, originally painted as a box office disappointment, still managed $29.6 million.
Photo: Disney
Elio’s debut of $20.8 million was closer to Strange World, a disastrous Disney animated movie.
Admittedly, that film had a five-day release, but its total was $18.8 million.
Photo: Disney
Elio managed only 70 percent of the opening of Elemental, Pixar’s previous worst performer in the 2000s.
For whatever reason, fans haven’t demonstrated much passion for this story of a confused boy.
Photo: Disney
I wish people would give it a chance, as it’s free to watch for Disney+ subscribers right now.
In fact, it has been since September 17th, which is how we know Elio has bombed on streaming, too.
Photo: Disney
During its first five days on streaming, Elio gained a paltry 550 million viewer minutes.
For perspective, people watched more reruns of Bob’s Burgers and Family Guy.
Photo: Pixar
Long story short, barring something unforeseen, movie lovers have soundly rejected Elio.
So, Pixar’s next release, Hoppers, needs to perform MUCH better in March.
Photo: Pixar
Otherwise, Pixar’s about to have more nervous nights.
Streaming Ratings
Photo: Disney+
Okay, let’s quickly cover the Nielsen Streaming Ratings for the week of September 15th-21st, 2025.
As usual, Disney’s strongest performer was Bluey, with 753 million viewer minutes.
That’s lower than usual, as Bluey has steadily hovered above 800 million viewer minutes lately.
Still, the show appears likely to finish as THE most-streamed program of 2025, repeating its 2024 feat.
Photo: Hulu
Here are some of Disney’s other streaming hits:
- Bob’s Burgers – 673 million viewer minutes
- Law & Order – 612 million viewer minutes
- NCIS – 595 million viewer minutes
- Grey’s Anatomy – 565 million viewer minutes
- Family Guy – 558 million viewer minutes
- Only Murders in the Building – 443 million viewer minutes
- Lilo & Stitch (2025) – 270 million viewer minutes
- Terror Comes Knocking: The Marcela Borges Story – 200 million viewer minutes
Photo: Disney
A few notes here: Disney+ movies aren’t performing as well these days as they had in the past.
About six months ago, they started trending downward. Coincidentally or not, that’s around the same time as the Hulu integration.
Photo: Disney
So, Lilo & Stitch, the number one American release of 2025, isn’t doing that great, either.
We should remember that when evaluating Elio now and in the future.
Photo: Hulu
I’ll speak more about Only Murders in the Building in the coming weeks. It was midway through the season at this point.
Also, Alien: Earth still hadn’t been renewed when I wrote this on October 17th.
Photo: The New York Post
The fact that it didn’t stick around on the charts long after its season ended may factor into that.
I expect a renewal, but it’s worrisome that Disney/Hulu hasn’t said anything yet.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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