Pixar fires back at fans, critics on social media after ‘Elio' flops

San Francisco Chronicle​

13 hours ago

Pixar is clearly frustrated by the dismal box office performance of its latest feature ' Elio,' and is starting to hit back at its critics on social media.
The Emeryville-based animation studio, owned by Disney, recently posted a video to Instagram that follows a new internet trend where people share hard truths off-screen and then pretend they don't know where the source of the statement is.
In this case, an unidentified woman sitting in a car is looking off screen when she says, 'Stop complaining that Disney doesn't make original stories if you don't show up to movie theaters and support them in the first place.'
After a sound effect 'alerts' the woman that she is being filmed, she looks at the camera and says, 'Oh, my gosh, I thought I was the only one in my car!'
She then holds up a poster for ' Elio ' and says, 'Anyways, there's a new original story from Disney Pixar ... called 'Elio,' you should go and support it.'
'Elio' opened in theaters on June 20, and so far is the worst performing Pixar movie in its history despite strong reviews, including by the Chronicle. As of Monday, June 30, the film holds an 83% approval rating by critics and 91% from audiences on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.
But that hasn't translated to ticket sales. After two weekends in theaters, the $150 million film about a lonely boy who becomes a galactic ambassador for Earth has grossed about $42 million domestically and $72 million globally.
At issue is criticism leveled at the animation giant that it makes too many sequels and not enough movies based on new stories. Last year's ' Inside Out 2 ' took in $1.7 billion at the global box office and briefly became the highest-grossing animated film of all time. Next year's slate includes ' Toy Story 5,' with ' Incredibles 3 ' also in the works.
But original films have struggled since ' Onward ' was released in theaters in 2020 on the cusp of the pandemic. ' Soul ' (late 2020), ' Luca ' (2021) and ' Turning Red ' (2022) all went straight to streaming on Disney+, while ' Lightyear ' (2022), an offshoot of the 'Toy Story' series, underperformed in theaters.
' Elemental ' (2023), an original film, also had a weak box office opening but hung around in theaters and eventually became a sleeper hit. With this new social media post, Pixar is hoping that 'Elio' can do the same.