The underwhelming box-office debut of Pixar’s “Elemental” has some observers wondering whether the animation studio is past its prime. The film, which earned $30 million in the U.S. and Canada — the second-lowest opening-weekend haul of any Pixar film — is the latest in a string of disappointments for the Disney-owned brand that made “Toy Story” and “Finding Nemo.” As Variety notes, the pandemic may have trained families to wait and stream Pixar movies at home, while cash-strapped audiences have been eschewing original films in favor of big-name franchises.

• Last month, Pixar laid off employees for the first time in 10 years as part of Disney’s efforts to slash $5.5 billion in costs.

By Saundra Latham, Editor at LinkedIn News

After ‘Elemental’ Bombs, Can Pixar Restore Its Box Office Touch?

Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter recently told the press that he doesn’t “think of Pixar as making children’s programming.”

By the look of box office returns for the studio’s recent animated offerings, it would appear that kids have taken notice — and haven’t been so inclined to watch those movies in theaters.

Over the weekend, “Elemental” collapsed at the domestic box office with a $29.5 million opening, by far the worst debut in Pixar’s 28-year history. Even forgettable Pixar adventures, like 2015’s “The Good Dinosaur” ($39 million), 2020’s “Onward” ($39 million) and last year’s massive money-loser “Lightyear” ($51 million), managed to fill more seats in their opening weekends.

The film didn’t rebound much at the international box office with $15 million from select markets, bringing its global tally to a disastrous $44.5 million.

There’s a bigger issue for Pixar: it’s not just youngsters, but general audiences, too, who are rejecting the studio’s theatrical movies. At this rate, the $200 million-budgeted “Elemental” is shaping up to be its third consecutive misfire following “Lightyear” and “Onward.” It’s a depressing streak for the animation empire that spent decades as the gold standard of family films, and one that has industry analysts wondering: Can Pixar restore its former box office glory?

“It’s going to be difficult, but it’s not a mountain they can’t climb,” says Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “It’ll just be perilous.”

Pixar has been struggling since the pandemic, when its corporate overlords at Disney used the pedigree of the animation brand to prop up its new streaming service. During that period, new offerings “Soul,” “Luca” and “Turning Red” were sent directly to Disney+ and family audiences became accustomed to expect those movies at home.

“It’s more expensive for a family of four to go to a theater when they know they can wait and it’ll come out on the platform,” Docter has since admitted to Variety. Now, the studio is attempting to reverse course. In an effort to remind the public that Pixar is once again making movies for multiplexes, Disney shelled out to send “Elemental” to the Cannes Film Festival, where it was greeted with a five-minute standing ovation. “We’re trying to make sure people realize there’s a great deal you’re missing by not seeing it on the big screen,” Docter added.

“In fairness,” says Shawn Robbins, the chief analyst at Box Office Pro, “the shifting of consumer behavior is less on the Pixar team itself and more on the former Disney leadership that siphoned three of the animation hub’s films to streaming as part of a broader strategy.”

In that time, though, family audiences became more discerning about the kinds of movies that they felt are worth leaving the house for. Brand recognition has been a big part in the success of recent family films, such as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

For original films like “Elemental,” it’s been an especially unforgiving movie market. Directed by Peter Sohn, the story is set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature and revolves around a fire element named Ember and water element called Wade. (Surprise — they have more in common than meets the eye!)

“‘Elemental’ is not based on established IP,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Of the recent animation titles, this is clearly the most challenging to open.”