Pixar is heavily depending on Inside Out 2’s box office performance to push the company out of the unfortunate dump they fell into after the failure of several animated movies in the past few years.
However, the studio deciding to release the film in theaters instead of just going for the streaming platform is a huge gamble that would make or break its reputation. Indeed, such is the complicated situation of Pixar.
With Inside Out 2, Pixar Now Focuses On Sequels And Spinoffs
Inside Out 2 is slated to premiere worldwide in theaters in a few days, and Pixar is getting more anxious day by day as they await the result of their new strategy. Instead of helming a new and original animated movie, they went for a sequel that they believe fans will love.
Speaking with Time Magazine, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter revealed Inside Out 2 is a decision made to address the losses of the company due to the failed projects they released a few years ago. “Part of our strategy is to try to balance our output with more sequels.”
He knew fans were going to ask why could they not create original stories, but the problem was that people refused to see them because they weren’t familiar. “With sequels, people think, ‘Oh, I’ve seen that. I know that I like it.’ Sequels are very valuable that way,” he stated.
The choice to release Inside Out 2 in theaters is reminiscent of the time Pixar brought Lightyear and Elemental to the big screen. Both films failed to perform and ultimately cost the studio massive losses.
Chris Evan’s Lightyear had the perfect ingredient to make a profit – a spinoff to Toy Story and a theatrical release. What ill fortune that occurred to the franchise was beyond explanation.
Docter said the lesson they learned from Lightyear’s fiasco was that they “overestimated the audience’s nerd level.” What he meant is that the studio presumed the fans would instantly understand what Lightyear was about.
This and other failed projects in the past five years should have served as a learning curve for Pixar. “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,” added Pixar’s CCO.
Pixar Has High Hopes For Inside Out 2’s Theatrical Release
Pixar has the option to premiere Inside Out 2 on streaming platforms, but since they are trying to make up for the financial loss, they had to go big. Eric Handler, managing director at Roth MKM told CNBC that “the best way to maximize the profit of a movie is to bring it to theaters first.”
The dilemma now is how Pixar will motivate fans to go to movie theaters when they know the films will sooner or later arrive on streaming platforms.
Inside Out 2 is designed to make families want to go see it on the big screen because of its lighthearted theme. It was also perfectly scheduled for a summer release. It’s crazy to think that the future of Pixar now hinges on the success of one sequel movie.
Inside Out 2 hits theaters on June 14.
