“It’s a fun summer,” says Sean McNulty.
It’s hard not to be optimistic about theatrical distribution through this point in the calendar, with revenue for the summer box office so far on par with the bonanza that was summer 2019 (unadjusted for inflation), which ended with more than $4 billion.
This past weekend, it was Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 that continued the good vibes — with a set of eye-popping numbers, including the biggest opening of the year in North America ($160 million) and the second largest debut for an animated movie ever (after Disney and Pixar’s The Incredibles 2 in 2018).
“This is a movie franchise hitting its peak — in its fifth edition — by a mile,” Sean notes, as Toy Story 5 had the biggest opening weekend ever for the franchise, topping 2019’s Toy Story 4.
“It’s a big win for Disney; there’s no two ways about it,” adds Sonny Bunch, The Bulwark’s culture editor.
The first Toy Story premiered in 1995, introducing audiences to Woody and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, respectively). Over the years, the franchise has added several new characters, including Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack), who first appeared in Toy Story 2 and takes center stage in this year’s entry.
“This is a multigenerational movie. When I saw the first movie, I wasn’t that much older than Andy (the toy owner from the original movie). I’m not that young — the series has been going on for 30 years,” Sonny says. “You have almost four generations of people who are interested in this. There’s a reason Toy Story is very popular.”
But Toy Story 5, which is well on its way to $1 billion in global grosses despite some forthcoming competition from Minions & Monsters and the live-action Moana, is just the tip of an encouraging iceberg at the box office, with young horror (Obsession and Backrooms), auteur sci-fi (Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day) and comedy (Scary Movie) keeping the top-10 robust.
“It’s great to see all these different types of movies right now,” Sonny says.
