Pixar has made some of the most beloved and narratively fulfilling animated films for many years. The company is behind some of the biggest hits including the Toy Story franchise, A Bug’s Life, Monster’s Inc, and Inside Out. However, the past few years have not been great for the company with Elemental and Lightyear becoming box office disappointments.
There was decent hype around Lightyear as it was a spin-off of the Toy Story franchise centering on the beloved character Buzz Lightyear, who is turned into an actual human and not a toy. Unfortunately, the film didn’t connect with audiences and was a huge bomb. The creative head of Pixar, Pete Docter reflected on its failure and how they overestimated the audience’s nerd level.
Pixar Head Believes The Studio Went Ahead Of Itself With Lightyear
The Toy Story franchise is undoubtedly Pixar’s crown jewel franchise that has entertained audiences since the 90s. Throughout its four films, audiences have come to love Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and all the others that are a part of Andy’s room. Thus when Pixar decided to do a solo film centered on Buzz Lightyear, it sounded like a great idea initially.
Tim Allen was replaced by Chris Evans as the voice of Lightyear in the 2022 animated film Lightyear where he has to save the universe from an impending threat. Despite some excitement from fans of the franchise, the film failed to live up to audiences’ expectations and became a box office flop. It grossed only $226 million against a $200 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
In a recent interview with Time, Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer talked about Lightyear‘s failure and why it did not connect with fans. Docter stated that they went too deep into the lore of Buzz Lightyear and thought that fans would be as equally excited as they were in his journey. They learned their lesson that fans are interested in seeing the toys together and not in a separate solo film. Docter said,
We took a long moment of self-scrutiny after that didn’t deliver. I think we overestimated the audience’s nerd level of being like, “Oh, that kid in the first Toy Story bought a toy, and it was based on a movie. And this is that movie.” That’s probably a few layers too deep. Because I think people are going, ‘Well, where’s Mr. Potato Head? Where’s Woody?’
It’s great to see a studio head taking full responsibility for a film’s failure and not blaming it on audiences for not understanding and supporting the movie they made. The studio learned its lesson and is trying to win back audiences with its latest offering Inside Out 2. The studio is also bringing back the Toy Story franchise with a fifth installment.
Pixar Will Re-Strategize Its Business Plans If Inside Out 2 Fails at The Box Office
The year has been tough for big tentpole films as many films have failed at the box office. Except for Dune: Part Two, other big-budget offerings like The Fall Guy and Furiosa have all flopped at the box office, bringing in a lot of unpredictability and uncertainty in the industry.
The box office tracking of Inside Out 2 is promising and is expected to bring in a big positive change at the domestic box office. Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter stated that the studio would have to think more radically about their future plans and how to run the company if Inside Out 2 fails at the box office. Docter told Time,
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.
After a disastrous May, June started on a great note with Bad Boys: Ride or Die overperforming in its opening weekend. Inside Out 2 is projected to have a $135 million global opening (via Deadline), a great follow-up to Bad Boys 4‘s $105 million opening (via Deadline). Inside Out 2 hits theatres on June 14, 2024.
Fans can watch 2022’s Lightyear on Disney+.
