Latest news with #Elemental
Scoop
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Pendulum Release Raucous New Single 'Cannibal' With WARGASM
FORTHCOMING ALBUM INERTIA OUT 22 AUGUST FEATURING BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, JOEY VALENCE & BRAE, SCARLXRD, AWOLNATION & MORE 28 July 2025 Following a run of blistering, sweat drenched European summer shows, Pendulum release their new single 'Cannibal ft. WARGASM'. The track is the latest to be taken from their forthcoming new album Inertia, the band's first in 15 years, which comes August 22nd via Mushroom Music / Virgin Music Group. An explosive collaboration with electro-punk duo WARGASM, 'Cannibal' is an uncompromising assault on the senses. Made for the main stages, the synth driven track is chaotic, heavy and infectious. 'I'd been listening to them for ages, when we finally met, I asked about their influences - and as soon as they started talking, it felt familiar. Atari Teenage Riot, The Prodigy, all that stuff. Even though our sounds are pretty different, it was clear we came from the same place.' - Rob Swire Produced by Rob Swire and Owen Charles and recorded at Pendulum's London Studio, Inertia is a rampaging, 16-track emotional maelstrom and without doubt the band's most personal work to date. Featuring collaborations with Bullet For My Valentine, WARGASM, AWOLNATION, Scarlxrd, Joey Valence & Brae and Hybrid Minds across the album's tracklist, Inertia began to take shape in 2020 as Rob searched for what it is to be Pendulum in its current era. Stemming from 2021's Elemental and 2023's Anima EPs, which were the blueprint for the band's future, the band found their new direction. About Pendulum... Undoubtedly one of the biggest electronic bands of all time, Pendulum have 3 platinum albums to their name, including renowned debut Hold Your Colour and a UK #1 and #2 for Immersion and In Silico. The drum and bass/rock band from Perth, Australia have sold over a million albums in the UK alone, as well as selling out global arena tours and playing to thousands across main stage performances from Glastonbury and Download to Reading and Leeds on top of a headline slot at Ultra Miami in spring 2025. The band returned with their EP Elemental in 2021 along with the comeback of the live 2023 they followed up with their EP Anima, featuring Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine and acclaimed trap metal artist Scarlxrd. The band completed their biggest UK headline tour to date in 2024, including a stop at London's O2 Arena. Pendulum – Inertia Out Fri Aug 22 via Mushroom Music / Virgin Music Group 1. Driver 2. Come Alive 3. Save The Cat 4. Archangel 5. Nothing For Free 6. Cannibal (ft. WARGASM) 7. Constellations 8. Halo (ft. Bullet For My Valentine) 9. Louder Than Words (ft. Hybrid Minds) 10. Napalm (ft. Joey Valence & Brae) 11. The Endless Gaze 12. Guiding Lights (ft. AWOLNATION) 13. Colourfast 14. Silent Spinner 15. Mercy Killing (ft. Scarlxrd) 16. Cartagena
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What Pixar Should Learn From Its Elio Disaster
The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Early last year, Pixar appeared to be on the brink of an existential crisis. The coronavirus pandemic had thrown the business of kids' movies into particular turmoil: Many theatrical features were pushed to streaming, and their success on those platforms left studios wondering whether the appeal of at-home convenience would be impossible to reverse. Disney, Pixar's parent company, premiered the Pixar films Soul, Luca, and Turning Red on Disney+, and each was well received. But they were followed by the theatrically released expected smash Lightyear—a spin-off of the beloved Toy Story franchise—which underwhelmed at the box office. Elemental followed, weathering a low-grossing opening to become a sleeper hit. Discussing the studio's next film, Inside Out 2, the company's chief creative officer, Pete Docter, acknowledged the concerns: 'If this doesn't do well at the theater, I think it just means we're going to have to think even more radically about how we run our business.' He had nothing to worry about: Inside Out 2 was a financial sensation—by far the biggest hit of 2024. Yet here we are, one year later, and the question is bubbling back up: Is Pixar cooked? Its latest film, Elio, made only $20.8 million in its first weekend; the performance marked a record low for the company. (The number is smaller than what the first Toy Story earned 30 years ago.) In the weeks since its mid-June debut, Elio hasn't shown the strong box-office 'legs' that bolstered Elemental or proved that it has the earlier movie's major international appeal. It instead seems likely to earn less than $100 million domestically, based on its current performance. It would be the first Pixar movie not to clear that bar, pandemic releases aside. The debut of the studio's newest film used to be a seismic theatrical event, whether it was a sequel or an original story; the Pixar imprimatur was enough. The company has made icons out of a curmudgeonly old man, a garbage-compacting robot, and a rat obsessed with French cuisine. But its status as an instant star-maker seems to have dimmed; name recognition alone is no longer carrying the day. Elio hit theaters after a tumultuous creative process that saw the director, Adrian Molina, leaving the project and the script getting reworked. The film follows a quirky, outer-space-obsessed preteen who, after the death of his parents, dreams of being abducted by aliens. This goal comes to fruition, leading him on a bunch of wacky adventures with an assemblage of blobby cosmic creatures. While the science-fiction angle was always present, reports suggested that other elements were lost over time: Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) was initially supposed to be more 'queer-coded,' according to The Hollywood Reporter, to reflect Molina's own identity. Elio's mother was still alive, to be voiced by America Ferrera. The character's parents were written out in the reworked script, and Elio's disaffection became primarily rooted in loneliness rather than any sense of feeling 'different.' [Read: What the success of Inside Out 2 means for Hollywood] These creative shifts arose after an initial test screening reportedly ended with zero participants saying they'd want to see it in theaters. The changes didn't leave Elio unwatchable. It's a perfectly serviceable and cute diversion for kids, busy with playfully designed aliens; it's got some laser-blasting action that could appeal to preteens too. The protagonist does, however, come across as a little purposeless. The loss of Elio's parents is barely explained; his relationship with his aunt, Olga (Zoe Saldaña), is pleasant but lightweight. Elio's journey just doesn't have enough motivation to convince the audience that it's worth undertaking: After joining the extraterrestrials, he does little but bounce from quest to quest, pretending to be a high-ranking ambassador from Earth. Writing human characters has never been Pixar's forte, unless they're very cartoonish, and Elio suffers from that weakness. The studio has a rich history of introducing intense creative revisions in the middle of making a film. The original director of Ratatouille left the project, and the veteran hand Brad Bird took over; the end result was an artistic high point for Pixar. Brave was set to be the studio's first movie with both a female protagonist and a female director, Brenda Chapman; Pixar then removed Chapman midway through production, and the final film was a muddled effort. Still, the company's relative success with on-the-fly changes might have convinced higher-ups that Elio could be salvaged. Or maybe Docter, who is also one of Pixar's most successful filmmakers, saw Elio's box-office potential as a minor consideration after the sensation that was Inside Out 2. The company now has three more giant sequels on the horizon: Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Coco 2, the last co-directed by Molina. Despite returning to its familiar franchises, the company isn't giving up on original storytelling. Several projects not based on preexisting properties are in the works; each one is animal-centric, a more typical mode for Pixar. But the fact that Elio underwent such extensive tweaks does suggest internal trepidation—and that Pixar could be shying away from more novel, personal works in favor of safer material. [Read: Pixar's talking blobs are becoming more and more unsatisfying] Elio's failure to resonate with audiences likely won't help matters. Would the movie have ever worked, however? I somehow doubt it. Pixar movies tend to thrive on the basis of their worlds; the galactic landscape—which emerged unscathed from all the tweaking—felt far too thinly sketched to me, even setting aside the low-stakes adventure taking place within it. Then again, my favorite Pixar film in recent years shares more in common with Elio than with Inside Out. Turning Red is a relatively grounded coming-of-age piece about a teenage girl. (She later turns into a giant red panda.) The director of Turning Red, Domee Shi, was brought in to salvage Elio after Molina stepped aside. But the latter film's rudderlessness emphasizes how crucial Shi's intimate connection to Turning Red was in making it so special—just as Molina's personal touch could have helped Elio feel more purposeful. The executives at Disney are likely pleased with the seeming priority shift. Big sequels and tales about cute animals tend to be an easy bet, as evidenced by Disney's own animated-movie track record. Pixar won't get by forever reheating its leftovers, though: It needs to foster filmmakers with specific points of view, such as Shi, to become the creative bedrock of its next generation. So much of the animation world is tilting toward adapting recognizable brands over inventive storytelling, with rivals such as Illumination finding success with Super Mario Bros.; Warner Bros. is threatening audiences with a ghastly looking update of The Cat in the Hat. Pixar has long stood out by bringing something less trifling to theatergoing families. Elio's failure in theaters may sting, but hopefully it won't entirely deter that mission. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Pixar's Must-See Era Is Over
Early last year, Pixar appeared to be on the brink of an existential crisis. The coronavirus pandemic had thrown the business of kids' movies into particular turmoil: Many theatrical features were pushed to streaming, and their success on those platforms left studios wondering whether the appeal of at-home convenience would be impossible to reverse. Disney, Pixar's parent company, premiered the Pixar films Soul, Luca, and Turning Red on Disney+, and each was well received. But they were followed by the theatrically released expected smash Lightyear —a spin-off of the beloved Toy Story franchise—which underwhelmed at the box office. Elemental followed, weathering a low-grossing opening to become a sleeper hit. Discussing the studio's next film, Inside Out 2, the company's chief creative officer, Pete Docter, acknowledged the concerns: 'If this doesn't do well at the theater, I think it just means we're going to have to think even more radically about how we run our business.' He had nothing to worry about: Inside Out 2 was a financial sensation —by far the biggest hit of 2024. Yet here we are, one year later, and the question is bubbling back up: Is Pixar cooked? Its latest film, Elio, made only $20.8 million in its first weekend; the performance marked a record low for the company. (The number is smaller than what the first Toy Story earned 30 years ago.) In the weeks since its mid-June debut, Elio hasn't shown the strong box-office 'legs' that bolstered Elemental or proved that it has the earlier movie's major international appeal. It instead seems likely to earn less than $100 million domestically, based on its current performance. It would be the first Pixar movie not to clear that bar, pandemic releases aside. The debut of the studio's newest film used to be a seismic theatrical event, whether it was a sequel or an original story; the Pixar imprimatur was enough. The company has made icons out of a curmudgeonly old man, a garbage-compacting robot, and a rat obsessed with French cuisine. But its status as an instant star-maker seems to have dimmed; name recognition alone is no longer carrying the day. Elio hit theaters after a tumultuous creative process that saw the director, Adrian Molina, leaving the project and the script getting reworked. The filmfollows a quirky, outer-space-obsessed preteen who, after the death of his parents, dreams of being abducted by aliens. This goal comes to fruition, leading him on a bunch of wacky adventures with an assemblage of blobby cosmic creatures. While the science-fiction angle was always present, reports suggested that other elements were lost over time: Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) was initially supposed to be more 'queer-coded,' according to The Hollywood Reporter, to reflect Molina's own identity. Elio's mother was still alive, to be voiced by America Ferrera. The character's parents were written out in the reworked script, and Elio's disaffection became primarily rooted in loneliness rather than any sense of feeling 'different.' These creative shifts arose after an initial test screening reportedly ended with zero participants saying they'd want to see it in theaters. The changes didn't leave Elio unwatchable. It's a perfectly serviceable and cute diversion for kids, busy with playfully designed aliens; it's got some laser-blasting action that could appeal to preteens too. The protagonist does, however, come across as a little purposeless. The loss of Elio's parents is barely explained; his relationship with his aunt, Olga (Zoe Saldaña), is pleasant but lightweight. Elio's journey just doesn't have enough motivation to convince the audience that it's worth undertaking: After joining the extraterrestrials, he does little but bounce from quest to quest, pretending to be a high-ranking ambassador from Earth. Writing human characters has never been Pixar's forte, unless they're very cartoonish, and Elio suffers from that weakness. The studio has a rich history of introducing intense creative revisions in the middle of making a film. The original director of Ratatouille left the project, and the veteran hand Brad Bird took over; the end result was an artistic high point for Pixar. Brave was set to be the studio's first movie with both a female protagonist and a female director, Brenda Chapman; Pixar then removed Chapman midway through production, and the final film was a muddled effort. Still, the company's relative success with on-the-fly changes might have convinced higher-ups that Elio could be salvaged. Or maybe Docter, who is also one of Pixar's most successful filmmakers, saw Elio 's box-office potential as a minor consideration after the sensation that was Inside Out 2. The company now has three more giant sequels on the horizon: Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Coco 2, the last co-directed by Molina. Despite returning to its familiar franchises, the company isn't giving up on original storytelling. Several projects not based on preexisting properties are in the works; each one is animal-centric, a more typical mode for Pixar. But the fact that Elio underwent such extensive tweaks does suggest internal trepidation—and that Pixar could be shying away from more novel, personal works in favor of safer material. Elio 's failure to resonate with audiences likely won't help matters. Would the movie have ever worked, however? I somehow doubt it. Pixar movies tend to thrive on the basis of their worlds; the galactic landscape—which emerged unscathed from all the tweaking—felt far too thinly sketched to me, even setting aside the low-stakes adventure taking place within it. Then again, my favorite Pixar film in recent years shares more in common with Elio than with Inside Out. Turning Red is a relatively grounded coming-of-age piece about a teenage girl. (She later turns into a giant red panda.) The director of Turning Red, Domee Shi, was brought in to salvage Elio after Molina stepped aside. But the latter film's rudderlessness emphasizes how crucial Shi's intimate connection to Turning Red was in making it so special—just as Molina's personal touch could have helped Elio feel more purposeful. The executives at Disney are likely pleased with the seeming priority shift. Big sequels and tales about cute animals tend to be an easy bet, as evidenced by Disney's own animated-movie track record. Pixar won't get by forever reheating its leftovers, though: It needs to foster filmmakers with specific points of view, such as Shi, to become the creative bedrock of its next generation. So much of the animation world is tilting toward adapting recognizable brands over inventive storytelling, with rivals such as Illumination finding success with Super Mario Bros.; Warner Bros. is threatening audiences with a ghastly looking update of The Cat in the Hat. Pixar has long stood out by bringing something less trifling to theatergoing families. Elio 's failure in theaters may sting, but hopefully it won't entirely deter that mission.
The Star
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Pixar has its worst box-office opening ever with 'Elio'
Pixar knew that Elio (pic), an original space adventure, would most likely struggle in its first weekend at the box office. Animated movies based on original stories have become harder sells in theatres, even for the once-unstoppable Pixar. At a time when streaming services have proliferated and the broader economy is unsettled, families want assurance that spending the money for tickets will be worth it. But the turnout for Elio was worse – much worse – than even Pixar had expected. The film cost at least US$250mil to make and market. It collected an estimated US$21mil from the evening of June 19 to June 22 at theatres in North America, according to Comscore, which compiles box-office data. It was Pixar's worst opening-weekend result. The previous bottom was Elemental , which arrived to US$30mil in 2023. In May, when the Elio marketing campaign began to hit high gear, Pixar and its corporate owner, Disney, had hoped that it would, in the worst-case scenario, match the Elemental number. Instead, it fell 30% short. In wide release overseas, Elio collected an additional US$14mil, on a par with the initial international results for Elemental . Quality did not appear to be a factor. Reviews for Elio were mostly positive, and ticket buyers gave the movie an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score stood at 91% positive on June 22. On June 22, Disney said it hoped a broader audience would find Elio over the coming weeks. The company pointed to Elemental , which overcame weak initial sales to ultimately collect nearly US$500mil worldwide. – ©2025 The New York Times Company
CNBC
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
Pixar's 'Elio' is emblematic of a bigger headwind for Hollywood
Disney's Pixar animation studio had its worst opening ever over the weekend — and its problems aren't unique. "Elio," the story of a young boy who is mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the universe, tallied just $21 million in ticket sales during its first three days in theaters, a record low for the studio. The underwhelming performance fits a recent pattern among Pixar's releases. While franchise films have lured in moviegoers, the studio's original fare has had far less success in recent years. Just look at 2023's "Elemental," which brought in the previous lowest-opening haul of $29.6 million, compared to 2024's "Inside Out 2," the studio's second-highest opener at $154.2 million in domestic ticket sales, according to data from Comscore. But, it's not just Pixar that has seen its original storylines fall flat. Disney's other animation arm, Walt Disney Animation, and even rival animation studios within Universal and Paramount, have seen sequels outperform new stories like "Elio" that aren't tied to previous works. This phenomenon has also held across the board with live-action films, as well. "A survey of animated film performance post-pandemic shows that the gap between original [intellectual property] and sequel film performances has grown enormously wide, which is a potential problem for studios looking to grow their IP portfolio," Doug Creutz, analyst at TD Cowen, wrote in a note to investors published Monday. In the wake of the pandemic, studios have sought to deliver films that audiences are already familiar with, including sequels and stories based on books or comics. That's contributed to a flood of franchise content from studios with massive media libraries. Of nearly 30 animated wide releases since 2022, less than a third can be categorized as original, Comscore data shows. Disney has long been an animated feature empire, since its very first title "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937. It's been a dominating force in the industry for decades, with only a few hiccups along the way. Part of that strength came from the acquisition of Pixar in 2006. At the time, Walt Disney Animation was coming off several years of misses — "Treasure Planet," "Brother Bear," "Home on the Range" and "Chicken Little" among them — while Pixar had delivered hit after hit with titles like "Monsters Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Over the next decade, the two animation engines churned out popular original films like "Frozen," "Wreck-It Ralph," "Zootopia," "Inside Out" and "Coco." At the same time, Disney began to tap back into successful, well-known stories. However, in the wake of the pandemic, its animation arm, especially Pixar, struggled. With ongoing restrictions and worries about emerging Covid variants, parents kept their kids at home, and Disney sent "Soul," "Luca" and "Turning Red" directly to its newly minted streaming service Disney+. For a while, industry experts blamed this strategy for Disney's inability to lure in audiences to see non-franchise movies in theaters. There were also some who felt the company had become too socially conscious with its storytelling and alienated a segment of potential moviegoers. However, at the same time, competition in the animation industry was on the rise from Universal, Sony, Warner Bros. and Paramount. Families had more content to choose from, not just on the big screen, but at home from streaming services. So, parents became pickier about what titles they'd take their kids to and which ones they'd wait to enter the home market. "Elio" opened on June 20, just weeks after the live-action remakes of Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" and Universal's "How to Train Your Dragon." Those films were still drawing audiences by the time the new Pixar film entered the fray. This heightened competition and the shift in consumer habits has led Hollywood as a whole to rely even more heavily on existing stories with built-in fan bases. "For audiences, sequels are comfort food," said Peter Csathy, chairman of Creative Media. "It's the anti-'Forrest Gump' effect, you always know what you're going to get." The movie industry has long relied on franchise films to drive revenue at the box office, but that trend has expanded exponentially in recent years. Since 2016, no more than five films in the top 20 highest-grossing domestic releases each year have been original titles. In fact, in 2024, none of the top 20 films were original storylines. "For Disney and the other major traditional studios, animation sequels are the one safe bet in a world filled with growing existential threats, as they face forever-altered streaming economics, new big tech Hollywood moguls, and now the great unknown of generative AI," Csathy said. "The media landscape has never been murkier. Wall Street has never been more demanding. So sequels to animation success stories are the one remaining safe haven. Sure bets for a highly unsure time." The saving grace for original fare like "Elio" is the potential for a second wind. The films could still have long runs in theaters, collecting ticket sales in the weeks and months after opening weekend, and thrive on streaming platforms down the line. Belated fandom then opens up further opportunities for future installments, tie-ins or merchandising. Look at "Encanto," which hit theaters during the pandemic. The film had limited theatrical success because it arrived in theaters at a time of great uncertainty around public health safety, but became popular in the home market. So much so, that Disney is incorporating the film in updates its making to its Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida.
