Upcoming Pixar Film ‘Elemental’ Expected To Have Worst Opening Weekend In Company’s History
John F. Trent
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The upcoming Pixar film Elemental is predicted to have the company’s worst opening weekend in its entire history.
IT’S “ELEMENTAL” — In a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Variety reports the film is tracking to have a $35 million opening weekend. Box Office tracking website Box Office Pro predicted back in May the the film would gross anywhere between $28 million and $39 million in its opening weekend and go on to gross between $89 million and $155 million in its entire theatrical run at the domestic box office.
More recently, Box Office Pro predicted the film would have an opening weekend between $31 million and $41 million. They would specifically claim it would only earn $33 million.
WELCOME TO ELEMENT CITY – Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” takes fire, water, earth and air and imagines what it would be like if they were alive and living in the same city – a place called Element City. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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Even if the film hits the $41 million mark it will have the worst opening of any Pixar-produced film ever. According to The-Numbers, the three Pixar films with the worst opening weekend box offices are Toy Story with $29.1 million, Onward with $39.1 million, and The Good Dinosaur with $39.1 million.
However, if you adjust for inflation that Toy Story opening weekend gross comes to $58.1 million. Onward’s opening weekend clocks in at $45.9 million. And The Good Dinosaur’s opening weekend grosses come in at $50.2 million.
ELEMENTAL, Disney and Pixar’s all-new, original feature film releasing June 16, 2023, features the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively. In a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, this fiery young woman and go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. “Elemental” is directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The poor opening weekend means the film is likely to be a box office bomb given The Hollywood Reporter notes that most Pixar films “are believed to cost around $200 million to produce.”
If the film has a $200 million production budget it needs to make around $500 million to break even on the conservative side using a 2.5x factor. It could need to make $600 million if you use a 3x factor.
FIRE AND WATER – Set in a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Featuring the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively, “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
According to the film’s production notes the film is “set in Element City, where Fire-, Water-, Earth- and Air- residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in and the person she wants to be.”
The film’s director Peter Sohn revealed he self-inserted himself and his wife into the characters, “I started layering in my relationship with my wife—I’m Korean and she’s American, half Italian. I hid the relationship from my parents at first because they—in an old-school way—wanted me to marry someone Korean. My grandmother’s dying words were literally ‘Marry Korean!'”
Sohn would go on to claim the movie is “about understanding our parents as people. From that understanding comes an appreciation for the sacrifices that they make for their kids. My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s, so I was born there and raised with Korean traditions, language, culture in the very American New York City. That led to some culture clashes along the way between first and second generation. I took for granted the trials and tribulations they must’ve experienced.”
LIGHTHEARTED FUN — In Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental,” go-with-the-flow guy Wade (Mamoudou Athie) ushers fiery young woman Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) out of her comfort zone to experience Elemental City like never before. Directed by Peter Sohn (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Party Cloudy” short) and produced by Denise Ream (“The Good Dinosaur,” “Cars 2”), Disney and Pixar’s “Elemental” releases on June 16, 2023. © 2023 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Elemental arrives in theaters on June 16, 2023.
What do you make of these box office predictions for Elemental?
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