Elemental (Pixar - June 2023)

[TP2000]

I don't think anyone is calling Elemental a financial success. HOWEVER, suppose Elemental continues to leg out well and continues to be well received in theaters and on Disney Plus. In that case, it may help repair the Pixar brand in the eyes of of the public after the damage caused to the brand by the mediocre Lightyear and polarizing Turning Red (I liked it, but you can't deny many hate it). While Elemental may pay for the sins of Lightyear, Elio might financially benefit from the goodwill brought in by Elemental.

That's an optimistic scenario that is commendable.

But I don't think the way to fix Pixar's woes is to make an expensive movie that very few people see and fails financially.

I think the way to fix Pixar's woes is to return to making expensive movies that American families in huge numbers want to see and thus succeeds financially.

Obviously they can't go on making Toy Story 5 and such forever, but so much has changed for Pixar in just 5 short years. How much longer can they go on spending $200 Million on one film per year and stay in business?

The trajectory graph lines on these three movies shown below (adjusted for 2023 inflation from the zero inflation late 2010's) are even more illustrative than the hard financial data. Pixar movies used to BLAST OFF at the box office on opening weekend as American families flooded the theaters for the Pixar brand instinctively.

That doesn't happen any more for Pixar. They've gotten themselves into a very tough spot culturally and financially.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Hey, if Ruby Gillman opens to about a third of what Elemental made in its first weekend, do we all declare that Universal is doomed? I mean, Fast X didn't do great and Mario was a co-production so it doesn't count.

 

[Disney Analyst]

So Flash and Transformers may not even make it in the top 5??

 

[TsWade2]

So Flash and Transformers may not even make it in the top 5??

No surprise there.

 

[Disney Analyst]

 

[TsWade2]

Well, I’m still not convinced it’ll do well at the box office, but this is indeed positive news.

 

[TP2000]

Well, I’m still not convinced it’ll do well at the box office, but this is indeed positive news.

Elemental won't make as much as Lightyear, but now at least it will be much closer to Lightyear and can't be compared to Strange World.

So that's a win. For somebody.

 

[wtyy21]

This is the positive news for Elemental despite initial underperform opening weekend. However, the achivement may be surpassed by a of Disney-Lucasfilm-Paramount co-production film set to released this friday and expected a big opening weekend for the film.

Let's hope Elemental kept its positive box office performance against the competition from a male-driven film.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Elemental won't make as much as Lightyear, but now at least it will be much closer to Lightyear and can't be compared to Strange World.

So that's a win. For somebody.

Why yes, a Pixar original being extremely well liked and exhibiting strong legs as the brand struggles to rebuild after years of damaging release decisions in an incredibly unstable box office environment is good news. It's good news for anyone who likes Pixar in particular or original animation in general.

Of course, we'll all be watching Ruby Gillman closely this weekend, right? Because we genuinely want to gain a full understanding of the post-covid entertainment landscape and aren't just trying to push a context-free narrative largely based on culture war grievances, of course,

 

[mickEblu]

Why yes, a Pixar original being extremely well liked and exhibiting strong legs as the brand struggles to rebuild after years of damaging release decisions in an incredibly unstable box office environment is good news. It's good news for anyone who likes Pixar in particular or original animation in general.

Of course, we'll all be watching Ruby Gillman closely this weekend, right? Because we genuinely want to gain a full understanding of the post-covid entertainment landscape and aren't just trying to push a context-free narrative largely based on culture war grievances, of course,

Ruby Gillman looks terrible though so I’m not sure it’ll be a good apples to apples comparison.

 

[TsWade2]

Ruby Gillman looks terrible though so I’m not sure it’ll be a good apples to apples comparison.

Well that's weird. I mean, they did very well with The Bad Guys and Puss In Boots Last Wish.

 

[mickEblu]

Well that's weird. I mean, they did very well with The Bad Guys and Puss In Boots Last Wish.

Puss in Boots was pretty good. Didn’t see Bad Guys. Why is it weird though? Just because they made a couple good movies, they can’t put out a stinker? And who knows, maybe it’ll be good. Looks terrible though IMO.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Puss in Boots was pretty good. Didn’t see Bad Guys. Why is it weird though? Just because they made a couple good movies, they can’t put out a stinker? And who knows, maybe it’ll be good. Looks terrible though IMO.

Puss in Boats 2 and Bad Guys were absolutely excellent, far and away the best films Dreamworks has produced. I loved them.

They both opened worse then Elemental

I don’t think Gillman looks bad. It’s just an incredibly rough environment for original animation.

 

[Tha Realest]

Puss in Boats 2 and Bad Guys were absolutely excellent, far and away the best films Dreamworks has produced. I loved them.

They both opened worse then Elemental

Puss in Boots cost $100M to produce vs Elemental’s $200M, and pulled $500M at the box office.

The Bad Guys was produced for $70-$80M,
And made $250M at the WW box office.

Elemental has made $126M worldwide to date.

Are you seeing the problem yet?

 

[TsWade2]

Wowie! That is a very smart move!

 

[TP2000]

Pixar "insiders" are now blaming bad marketing, Disney+, and Bob Chapek for Elemental's struggles at the box office.

Pixar is scrambling to win back its audience

Sources within Pixar and industry experts told Insider that Disney+ and a lack of tough love are to blame for the slump at Disney's animation house.

www.insider.com

 

[TsWade2]

Enough already! We’re getting off topic. We’re suppose to talk about Elemental, not Iger! Just, let it go, dude!

 

[Ghost93]

Elemental made more on Friday in its third week than Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken made on its opening day. Yay?

 

[TP2000]

Elemental made more on Friday in its third week than Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken made on its opening day. Yay?

Thank goodness for small favors.

Universal will probably lost money on this one, even though it only had a $70 Million production budget (one third of Elemental's budget).

 

[Phroobar]

Thank goodness for small favors.

Universal will probably lost money on this one, even though it only had a $70 Million production budget (one third of Elemental's budget).

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I don't think Universal caries about that one. It is like a leftover that didn't get released during covid. Mario made up for it.

What is making up for TLM and Elemental's losses? It ain't Indy.