We have some very bad news for animation fans: Pixar is going through the worst period in its history since its foundation. The studio that brought us Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and Coco is facing a disastrous time, and the clearest example of this is the box office performance of Elemental since its release.
Peter Sohn’s film managed to raise only 27 million euros in its first weekend, a huge disaster considering its 200 million budget. Over the following weeks, it has managed to recover a bit more of its budget, but it is far from being as profitable as previous Pixar films.
Elemental has the lowest figures for the studio since the release of Toy Story, but in fact, the film suffered due to its Wednesday release, and by the weekend it had already reached 55 million. And although it will have a second life on Disney Plus, it is clear that it will fall far short of Disney’s expectations.
Pixar… on the verge of its end?
But what is the reason behind this unprecedented debacle in Pixar? It is largely due to the decision to release many of the studio’s recent films on Disney Plus. Neither Soul, Red, Luca, nor others have been released in theaters, and this has caused people to lose that connection with the idea of watching Pixar movies on the big screen.
This is essential, as the younger audience consumes much more cinema at home than in theaters, and by making it clear that many of their releases go directly to Disney Plus and the rest arrive in just two months, many parents choose to wait or overlook some of their releases.
But that’s not the only problem they seem to be facing. Despite continuing to produce high-quality films, there seems to be a kind of detachment towards the new Pixar movies in general. Lightyear was also a huge failure, and although they cannot be measured in terms of box office performance as they were released directly on streaming platforms, Red and Onward didn’t quite hit the mark either.
This seems to be a bubble that not only affects Pixar but Disney as a whole. Even their most recognizable brands like Marvel and Star Wars are not performing at the same level, and it goes without saying that their animated films are following the same path as Pixar’s. It is undoubtedly a crucial moment for the company, which has gone from conquering the world to gradually crumbling.
However, this has happened to Pixar before. Before becoming the most acclaimed animation studio of the 21st century, it suffered years of massive losses… and there is only one person who knew how to rise to the occasion and keep betting on it: Steve Jobs.
Recovering Steve Jobs
Pixar was founded in 1986 as an innovative company whose digital techniques helped big films utilize unique special effects and create incredible things using computer animation. It operated this way for years, even before it was called Pixar, and it was Steve Jobs who forever changed the course of the company.
When Jobs was ousted from Apple, he founded NeXT and purchased the graphics division of George Lucas’ production company, the proto-Pixar. It only cost him $10 million, but his vision for it was much grander: a fully computer-generated animation studio. During the early years, Pixar incurred significant losses, but Jobs was confident that eventually, everything would turn out well.
“I kept putting more money into Pixar, and the only bright spot were John Lasseter’s short films. He would say to me, ‘Can I have $300,000 to make a short?’ And I would say, ‘Okay, go ahead.’ That was the only fun part. Everything else wasn’t working,” explained the CEO of Apple at the time.
Soon, his idea was to create the first computer-animated feature film, and as soon as they had it ready (Toy Story), he took the company public to boost its stock value. And he became a millionaire. In 2002, he sold Pixar to Disney for $2 billion (remember, it cost him $10 million), and it became one of the best deals of his life.
But how could Jobs’ principles be applied today? With the world constantly changing, it’s not entirely clear. However, what he made clear was the need to invest in the future rather than immediate profit, and that is exactly the opposite of what Disney has done with its streaming platform.
Indeed, by investing heavily in acquiring subscribers, Disney has neglected the cinemas and the historical box office profits. And that, of course, has led to a situation where no one expects their new releases in theaters anymore… and everyone waits for them to arrive on their televisions. While this strategy may have worked initially, it is becoming increasingly clear that they need to reconsider if they want to avoid bankruptcy.
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