Pixar suffers its worst box office opening ever as $150M movie Elio bombs with $21M debut
DreamWorks' live-action take on How to Train Your Dragon continued its run atop the box office, but a new Pixar film made franchise history... in the worst way.
How to Train Your Dragon dropped a decent 56.3% in its second frame to win with an estimated $37 million, followed by 28 Years Later with $30 million and Pixar's Elio with $21 million in second and third places, respectively.
Elio's box office debut was the worst opening weekend for any modern film in Pixar history, according to Variety.
The debut is not only below Elemental, which debuted in June 2023 with $29.6 million, but below Pixar's first film ever, 1995's Toy Story, which opened in November 1995 with $29.1 million.
Elio - which follows a young boy mistaken as an ambassador for Earth after he invited aliens to come visit - received a good marks from critics and moviegoers on Rotten Tomatoes, with ratings of 84% and 91% respectively.
The film earned only $14 million in overseas markets for an abysmal worldwide total of $35 million.
The film opened in 3,750 theaters, earning a middling $5,600 per-screen average, with the film's box office projections putting it between $25 million and $30 million, though fans clearly didn't show up as much as previously believed.
Elio was produced under a $150 million budget, and with a $35 million global debut, it seems unlikely that it could turn a profit, barring some kind of box office miracle.
'This is a weak opening for Pixar,' says David A. Gross, who runs the FranchiseRe movie consulting firm.
'These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar's remarkable standard, the opening is well below average,' Gross added.
How to Train Your Dragon remained perched at the top of the box office its second week in theaters, in spite of some tough new competition.
The live-action adventure starring Miles Thames, Nico Parker and Gerard Butler earned less than half of the $84 million it collected on its opening weekend, but garnered a respectable $37 million in ticket sales.
Fans of the franchise breathed fire into international showings, which earned an additional $53 million, for a global total so far of $358,189,295.
Second place went to the fright flick 28 Years Later, which earned $30 million from 3,444 theaters for a solid $8,710 per-screen average.
Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson star in the apocalyptic thriller about a group of survivors living on an island nearly three decades after a rage virus has infected most of the world.
It will be interesting to see how long this newcomer remains popular at the box office as critics have given the fright flick a strong 89-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas audiences gave it a much less enthusiastic 65-percent score.
28 Years Later is the sequel to 2002's 28 Days Later, with Alex Garland returning as scriptwriter and Danny Boyle reprising his role as director.
The thriller scared up some $45 million domestically and nearly $30 million overseas for a debut total of $74.9 million.
Disney's live action Lilo & Stitch dropped to fourth place, earning $9.7 million across the US.
The family friendly romp has been one of the most successful of 2025 so far with global earnings of $910.3 million, coming in behind A Minecraft Movie with $953.5 million and the Chinese animated fantasy film, Ne Zha 2, which has earned nearly $2 billion worldwide.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning rounded out the top five with $6.55 million domestically. The last film in the Tom Cruise lead franchise never found its footing at the box office after debuting in a distant second behind Lilo & Stitch.
International audiences have been more welcoming to the film, paying more than $362 million to see the nearly three hour long action flick for a global total of $540.8 million.
Second place went to the fright flick 28 Years Later. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars in the apocalyptic thriller which earned $45 million domestically and nearly $30 million overseas for a debut total of $74.9 million
Materialists, the romantic comedy starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans plummeted from third place to sixth its second weekend in theaters.
Critics loved the mature love story, but it hasn't caught on with audiences amidst all the competition from family friendly and action films.
Materialists collected nearly 50-percent than its opening weekend take, pulling in a mere $5.8 million.
The rom-com hasn't gained much traction around the planet either, making only an additional $7.5 million internationally.
Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas as an assassin bent on revenge, followed in seventh place.
The action thriller from the world of John Wick bowed this week with a little more then $4.5 million in ticket sales.
In spite of good reviews from audiences, Ballerina has not fared well with ticket buyers domestically, although on the international stage it's collected another $49.7 million for a worldwide total of more than $100 million so far.
Karate Kid: Legends starring the original 'Kid' Ralph Macchio along with martial arts master Jackie Chan waxed on at number eight with $2.4 million in ticket sales
Karate Kid: Legends starring Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio waxed on at number eight with $2.4 million in ticket sales.
Final Destination: Bloodlines crash landed at number nine with $1.88 million.
Newcomer Kuberaa, the latest offering from India, debuted at number 10. The morality tale about a beggar who undergoes a radical transformation to make his way in the world garnered $1.75 million.
Brad Pitt will speed into the box office race next weekend with the highly anticipated F1: The Movie, along with the scary M3gan 2.0, giving some competition the family friendly offerings that have made their mark on the summer blockbuster season.
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