Pixar’s Elemental Garners Over $400M Worldwide

Pixar’s animated film Elemental has endured the summer barrage of movies at the box office and collected more than $400 million dollars worldwide.

Elemental had a disappointingly slow start since its release on June 16-18 three-day weekend, earning a meager $29.6 million dollars, marking the film company’s weakest three-day weekend start since 1995’s Toy Story, which raked in $29 million (considered a small fortune back then) over a three-day Thanksgiving weekend.

However, the animation made a comeback, maintaining its position week after week and achieving one of Pixar’s highest multiples in the history of the North American box office. It surpassed DC’s summer release The Flash, which debuted on the same weekend and had a larger audience, but only managed to generate $107 million domestically and $268.3 million globally. In contrast, Elemental concluded with a domestic total of $146.2 million and $257.5 million internationally, resulting in a worldwide sum of $403.7 million.

Although this profit is lower than previous Pixar films, it is still an improvement compared to the ill-fated and controversial Lightyear from 2022, which stumbled to $218.8 million globally. This means that even though Elemental cost $200 million to produce before marketing, it will not be a significant financial loss.

Part of Elemental’s success overseas can be attributed to its exceptional performance in the South Korean market, where it has become a force to be reckoned with, amassing a staggering $44.8 million thus far. According to Disney, ticket sales are expected to reach 6 million yesterday, indicating that one out of every eight people in the country have purchased a ticket.

Among the milestones achieved in South Korea: Elemental is now the third highest-grossing animated film of all time, trailing only Walt Disney Animation’s two Frozen movies; it is the second highest-grossing release of 2023, surpassing all other films except for the local title Round Up; and it is the fifth highest-grossing Hollywood release during the pandemic era, following Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Finally, Elemental will open in its last major market, Japan, today, Friday, August 4, 2023.