Toy Story 5 opens with record-breaking $300m global weekend

Disney's "Toy Story 5" has shattered franchise records, achieving the biggest opening weekend in its history with global ticket sales exceeding $300 million. The fifth installment, released on June 19, sees beloved characters Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear confronting a modern adversary: a digital tablet.

This robust box office performance signals a significant comeback for Disney and Pixar, following a period marked by various challenges. "Toy Story 5" ranks as the second-highest global opening weekend of the year, trailing only "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," which has already surpassed $1 billion in earnings and holds the title for the highest-grossing film of the year.

"Toy Story 5" generated over $160 million in North America and more than $150 million internationally during its debut weekend. With an estimated production budget of $250 million, the film will need to earn at least double that amount to cover marketing and other associated costs. Historically, Pixar films, particularly sequels like "The Incredibles 2" and "Inside Out 2," have proven highly profitable, often tripling their production and promotional budgets and several crossing the $1 billion mark.

However, recent years have seen some setbacks for the studio, with titles such as the alien adventure "Elio" and the "Toy Story" spin-off "Lightyear" underperforming at the box office. Even the big-budget Star Wars spin-off "The Mandalorian and Grogu" has yet to recoup its $165 million cost. Overall box office revenues have faced a decline since the Covid-19 pandemic, as the industry grapples with a shift towards streaming services and challenges in drawing audiences back to cinemas, especially for big-budget blockbusters.

Despite these industry-wide shifts, the "Toy Story" series remains one of Pixar's most valuable franchises, having accumulated over $3 billion globally since its inception in 1995. The original film revolutionized computer-generated graphics, and its third and fourth installments each surpassed $1 billion in worldwide earnings.