With a premiere week “Lightyear” has already been called a failure for Pixar. Perhaps it is a bit hasty, perhaps it is already an indication of what awaits the production of 200 million dollars. “Lightyear” arrived at the box office with high expectations. It is the fifth installment in the now “Toy Story” saga and the first Pixar film to hit theaters since 2020.
Projections for “Lightyear” predicted a debut between 70 and 80 million in the US, the main market to calculate the results of a film. Instead he made 51, placing himself below “Cars 3” which in 2017 debuted with 53 and which, so far, is one of the worst-performing films for the studio. The question of the first week at the box office is that, on average, a film loses 60% of the income of the previous week each week. That is, the lower the income in its debut, the less time on the billboard and the lower income. Now, CinemaScore, a company that raises the evaluation of films by the public, has indicated that they give it an A-. That’s good news, because while it’s not the best (“Top Gun: Maverick” was top-rated with an A+), it’s good enough to bode well for some word of mouth that will help make good news. comments and, therefore, assistance. In total, the film made almost 86 million dollars that first weekend, considering the global box office.
“Lightyear” hit theaters surrounded by controversy because of the “kissing scene.” The scene takes place between two women and was the subject of complaints from Pixar collaborators when they found out that it had been edited. The study ended up reintegrating it and this has been the reason why it is not exhibited in more than a dozen countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait and Palestine. Whether it hit the box office in the US, Mexico or other countries is a possibility, but perhaps not the only one.
The concept of “Lightyear” is perhaps a bit more complex to understand, although that has not been an obstacle for Pixar before in titles like “Soul” or “Inside Out”. “Lightyear” is not exactly a spin-off, as it has been called in general. I mean, it’s not a spin-off of a movie where a character gets the story from it. Instead, it’s the story, or rather movie, that one of the characters saw (Andy, the boy-teenager from “Toy Story”) that he made Buzz Lightyear buy. That explains why the voice of Tim Allen, one of the aspects that was also criticized, was changed to that of Chris Evans. Buzz Lightyear from “Lightyear” is a character in a movie, played by an actor from the human universe of “Toy Story”; Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story” is a toy, he is merchandise in that universe.
Pixar’s marketing usually focuses on the film’s story. In “Lightyear” he relapsed more into nostalgia and its connection to “Toy Story”, which caused both certain expectations and some confusion. The “Toy Story” films have elements that are largely, if not entirely, absent from “Lightyear.” “Lightyear” is a science fiction movie, with elements of time travel and, arguably, even a little darker. without getting older spoilers, the villain or antagonist is Buzz Lightyear himself, for example, and that makes his conflict no small thing. It’s a good narrative twist.
On the other hand, perhaps one more element to consider is the fact that the public has become accustomed to seeing Pixar at home, as part of the Disney+ offer, as happened with “Soul”, “Pixar” and “Red”. The window between the projection in theaters and the arrival on the streaming service is also smaller, now there are 45 instead of 90. Marvel and Disney’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” did generate the urgency or the “need” to see it in theaters. “Lightyear” No.
The way in which Disney approached to expand the universe of “Toy Story” is innovative and very proactive, giving rise to the studies on how they can do to continue developing or producing titles around their most successful properties. The marketing, however, failed. For the time being and unless it becomes a sleeper hit“Lightyear” does not fly “to infinity and beyond”.