It’s only been one weekend, but Toy Story 5 is already a box office success. More importantly, Toy Story 5 just exposed a flaw in a popular Hollywood narrative.
Audiences have spoken, and they are more enthusiastic about Woody and Buzz than they were in 1995. Toy Story 5 opened to $160 million domestically, smashing the previous franchise record of $120 million earned by Toy Story 4. Toy Story 5 now holds Pixar’s second-highest domestic opening weekend ever, behind 2018’s Incredibles 2 ($182 million).
With a global opening of $312 million, Toy Story 5 is off to an excellent start and could realistically cross $1 billion before its theatrical run ends. Besides generating a profit for Disney, Toy Story 5’s financial success proves the movie is the antithesis of a popular Hollywood ideology that has gained steam over the last five years.
Why Toy Story 5 challenges the franchise fatigue narrative
In general, the box office has been down since the COVID-19 pandemic. Why haven’t audiences returned to theaters at pre-pandemic numbers? One of the narratives going around is franchise fatigue.
“Audiences want fresh ideas and new stories” is a sentiment you’ve probably heard ad nauseam. There is some truth to the franchise fatigue when it comes to superhero movies. From 2021 through 2023, Marvel flooded the system with an abundance of movies in theaters and shows on Disney+. This strategy backfired, leading to several financial disasters, including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. Marvel eventually reversed course and started releasing fewer movies and shows per year.
Comic book movies might have experienced franchise fatigue, but animation has not suffered. In fact, animated franchises are thriving right now. Disney has released three of the 12 highest-grossing animated movies of all time in the last three years — Zootopia 2 ($1.9 billion), Inside Out 2 ($1.7 billion), and Moana 2 ($1.1 billion). All three are sequels to movies that were released in the 2010s.
It’s not just Disney animation reaping the rewards of the franchise boom. Universal is experiencing success with The Super Mario Bros. 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed $1.4 billion, and 2026’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has crossed $1 billion worldwide. If Toy Story 5 is any indication of what’s to come, 2028’s Incredibles 3 could be a financial juggernaut for Pixar.
Not every animated franchise needs a sequel this decade. However, audiences have shown they will show up for the beloved franchise with memorable characters.
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