Kids these days might prefer tech to toys, but Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie still got it.
“Toy Story 5” ruled over the box office with $160 million from 4,425 North America theaters, landing on the higher end of expectations while securing the biggest domestic debut of the year over Universal’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131.7 million). The animated sequel also ranks as the largest start in Disney and Pixar’s beloved “Toy Story” franchise, supplanting the record set by 2019’s “Toy Story 4” with $120 million. And it scored the second-largest animated opening weekend in history, behind only 2018’s “Incredibles 2” with $182.7 million.
Overseas, “Toy Story” opened to $152 million for a sensational global tally of $312 million. It carries a $250 million budget, not including the global marketing expenses.
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“Toy Story 5” should remain the de facto choice among families, considering the sterling reviews (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (“A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls). Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, the fifth installment follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes addicted to her new favorite gadget, a kiddie smart tablet known as Lilypad. If that crew wasn’t enough pedigree, Taylor Swift wrote a new song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the soundtrack.
Although original animation has been challenged in recent years, animated sequels have exploded in popularity at the box office. Disney’s 2024 follow-up “Inside Out 2” and 2025’s “Zootopia 2,” for example, ended their runs with $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion respectively. If those films are any indication of the theatrical trajectory for “Toy Story 5,” the newest entry is likely to end up as the highest grossing in the franchise (that’s currently “Toy Story 4” with $1.07 billion), as well as one of the biggest movies of the year.
“Family moviegoing has been leading the industry since it came roaring back from the pandemic in 2023. A lot of the genre’s success is coming from sequels and live-action remakes,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “Pixar and Disney are particularly good at growing their series from episode to episode. It’s extremely impressive.”
In a distant second place, Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi adventure “Disclosure Day” added $17 million from 3,824 locations, a sharp 62% drop from its debut. Although not catastrophic, that kind of decline suggests the film isn’t resonating beyond the core demographic of older males, who grew up on Spielberg’s vast filmography. Younger generations, meanwhile, have been gravitating toward offerings from Gen Z filmmakers like Curry Barker’s “Obsession” and Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms.” So far, “Disclosure Day” has generated $78 million domestically and $82 million internationally, bringing the global total to $160 million after two weekends of release. Since the PG-13 movie cost $115 million (and exhibitors keep about half of revenues), “Disclosure Day” is estimated to need around $300 million globally to be profitable.
“Obsession,” now in its sixth weekend of release, was surprisingly not far from “Disclosure Day” on box office charts with $14.2 million from 3,053 theaters. Those ticket sales were down just 25% from the prior weekend, marking another scant decline for Focus Features’ low-budget horror sensation. “Obsession” has generated a sensational $215 million domestically and $333 million worldwide, making the film a wildly profitable success.
At No. 4, “Backrooms” had another solid turnout with $7.3 million from 2,851 locations in its fourth frame, a 35% dip. Another breakout horror hit, “Backrooms” has amassed a remarkable $175 million in North America and $300 million globally to date. It’s by far A24’s highest-grossing movie of all time, a distinction that previously belonged to “Marty Supreme” with $191 million.
Paramount’s “Scary Movie” rounded out the top five with $6.7 million from 2,725 venues, bringing domestic ticket sales to $97.4 million and $201.9 million worldwide. Produced by Miramax for $30 million, the sixth “Scary Movie” is already enjoying bloody-good profit margins.
Two other films launched alongside “Toy Story 5,” and just managed to crack the top 10 while playing in far fewer theaters. Neon’s festival breakout “Leviticus” opened at No. 8 with $2.74 million from 1,076 locations while A24’s R-rated “The Death of Robin Hood,” starring Hugh Jackman, was close behind in ninth place with $2.65 million from 1,782 locations.
“Leviticus” doesn’t have a grade on CinemaScore, though stellar reviews suggest the buzzy supernatural horror movie could remain a big screen draw through the summer season. Adrian Chiarella wrote and directed the low-budget film, which follows two teen boys who meet at conversion therapy.
“The Death of Robin Hood,” a revisionist take on the oft-rebooted folk legend, meanwhile, might struggle to stick around given the mixed reviews and tepid audience scores. The film, directed by Michael Sarnoski (“A Quiet Place: Day One”), holds a “C+” grade on CinemaScore and 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, neither of which bode well for box office longevity. A24 acquired domestic rights for around $4 million.
Elsewhere, Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe” and Disney’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” managed to hold steady — with drops of 37% and 15%, respectively — though nowhere near enough to salvage their overall grosses.
“Masters of the Universe” will leave theaters as one of the year’s biggest bombs. The adaptation of the ’80s Mattel toy has added $5.6 million from 2,517 venues in its third weekend, bringing revenues to $56 million in North America and $101.9 million worldwide against a $200 million budget.
“The Mandalorian and Grogu,” a spinoff of the popular Disney+ TV series, isn’t quite as big a dud but doesn’t instill a ton of confidence in “Star Wars” as a cinematic property. The film dropped to seventh place with $3.9 million in its fifth outing. The space opera spinoff has earned $172 million domestically and more than $320 million globally against a $165 million price tag.
This summer is poised to be the biggest post-COVID season, thanks to sleeper hits as well as new installments in reliable franchises. Revenues for the four-month stretch should easily top $4 billion for only the second time (2023, when “Barbenheimer” fever was alive and well, was the first) since the pandemic upended the movie theater business. Popcorn season is currently just 1.8% behind summer 2019, as well as 15% ahead of last summer, according to Rentrak. Next weekend sees the release of DC’s “Supergirl” and “Jackass: Best and Last,” with tentpoles like “Despicable Me” spinoff “Minions & Monsters,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on the horizon.
After last week’s breather, the box office is back to running ahead of the pre-pandemic average,” Gross says. “Business is excellent.”
