Holiday weekends and vacation periods are traditionally big for the movie business. It's why all the big blockbusters are released for Easter vacation, Memorial Day Weekend for summer, and during Christmas. That basic business tenet of the movie business is also why stinkers and low-budget weaklings are quietly released in the middle of September or the end of February.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to use
"it opened on a holiday weekend" as another reason why Lightyear bombed. But I do agree that Lightyear's problems were likely a combination of several things.
This latest article from The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting bit of facts and data on its demographic pull at the box office.
Apparently Lightyear did not pull in family demographics well at all. If a movie studio is in the business of making "family films" like Pixar certainly is, they better darn well ensure their movies appeal to large numbers of American families!
January, 2022: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 = 60% Ticket sales to parents & children
June, 2022: Lightyear = 38% Ticket sales to parents & children
The 'Toy Story' spinoff is suffering at theaters thanks to brand confusion, fierce competition and far-right politicians.
www.hollywoodreporter.com