Disney Pixar have produced some of the most memorable films that have ever hit the silver screen. They are well loved by kids of all ages, they capture our imagination and have allowed us as an audience to witness ground-breaking animation. We sit with our popcorn and occasionally a tear comes to our eye as the storylines of these films pull on our heartstrings. As successful as the studio is, have there ever been any Disney Pixar movies that have flopped? Let’s take a look!
What is the Pixar Universe?
Who Are Disney Pixar?
If you’ve been living under a rock, let’s first look at who exactly Disney Pixar are. The company was founded in 1979 as part of Lucasfilm before spinning off on it’s own in 1986. Twenty years later in 2006, Disney purchased Pixar for a valuation of $7.4 billion. By then Pixar already had six feature length animated films released, which began with Toy Story in 1995. It’s seventh film, Cars, hit cinema screens in the year of the Disney purchase.
The Most Successful
Before we discuss the films that flopped, we must first look at the most successful of the Disney Pixar movies. Interestingly, all but one of the top five most successful films are sequels. At number 5 we have Finding Nemo which made $936 Million. In fourth, it’s sequel Finding Dory which made $1.02 Billion 13 years after the original. Toy Story 3 is in third spot with $1.06 Billion just behind Toy Story 4 which made $1.07 Billion. In top spot though, is The Incredibles 2 which made $1.2 Billion. I loved this one, it was a great follow up to a stellar original.
The Top Five Flops
The Disney Pixar movies that have been considered flops have been unsuccessful for different reasons. Let’s have a look at the five films which have brought in the least amount of money for the company.
5. Cars 3
In fifth place we have Cars 3. The first sequel to the popular Cars film wasn’t that great. Which then set up the third part of the trilogy where people didn’t seem that bothered. The wrapping up of the series was don in style and the third film was certainly an improvement on the second outing. Even so, it only brought in $383 Million.
4. A Bug’s Life
Hitting the screens in 1998, it was the second Pixar outing. A lot was expected because of the success of Toy Story, three years earlier. However, it was considered a firm stepping stone for the company as they figured their way through those first few tricky years of film releases. It made $363 Million, which in 1998, wasn’t actually that bad!
3. The Good Dinosaur
Released in 2015, in third place of our Disney Pixar Movies that flopped is The Good Dinosaur. It was a cute film which never really captured the attention of the audience. Whilst it brought in $332 Million for the company, it lost over $85 Million in marketing costs. Ouch!
2. Onward
We now get to the final two films in our list. The least successful in terms of bringing in cold hard cash. Unfortunately both of these films were affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. In second place is Onward, released in 2020. With two popular stars in Tom Holland and Chris Pratt voicing onscreen brothers, the theatrical run was cut short as cinemas were forced to close. Those early figures didn’t look fantastic anyway though, so it maybe saved face by having an excuse. It only brought in $103 Million.
1. Soul
Soul was also released in 2020, but didn’t even make it to the cinemas. It was a highly anticipated film, with the first African American lead of a Pixar film and a stellar cast. However, it was released straight to Disney+ on Christmas Day, due to cinemas being closed. It made $7 Million and will likely go down as the lowest ever grossing Pixar film, regardless of how good the story was. It was a situation of circumstance. One positive though, it pushed more people to sign up to Disney’s streaming service over the Christmas holidays!
The Lessons For Life
I suppose there is a lesson here that we can apply to our own lives and businesses. Just because you are successful, it doesn’t mean you will continue to be. There are external things that can impact you and your future plans. Things that we may never and thought about. Onward & Soul are actually pretty good films, they were just victims of circumstance.
Disney Pixar movies are generally fantastic and we shouldn’t just look at how much money they make. Some of the best things in life make no money at all! They make us laugh, they make us cry, they make us reminisce. I remember watching Toy Story 3 on the flight to Tokyo for our honeymoon, and crying my eyes out surrounded by loads of Japanese people. These films touch us, impact us and make us think. Don’t forget to check out all those Pixar Shorts too, which are some of the best stories out there!
