It has been an interesting few years for Pixar Animation Studios. It all started in 2020, the pandemic came and turned the moviegoing world upside down.

Onward was the first Pixar feature to be affected. Released in March 2020, The film’s theatrical run was cut short as cinemas worldwide closed their doors to prevent the spread of the virus. To adapt to the circumstances, Disney, Pixar’s parent company, adjusted its distribution strategy for Onward. In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, Disney made the decision to release Onward on digital platforms for purchase and on Disney+ for streaming much earlier than originally planned.

Months later, the pandemic remained an issue; However, movie theaters were finding ways to open doors [ultimately to no avail]. Pixar’s next original feature Soul was scheduled to be theatrically released on June 19 and November 20. However, the feature was postponed due to the pandemic. The was released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ on December 25, 2020 (alongside the SparkShort known as Burrow), and in theaters in countries without the streaming service. A move that would spark a little controversy.

June 2021, the studio released Luca, but like Soul before it, the film would get a Disney+ release. Fast forward almost a year later, in March 2022, Turning Red would see the same fate, despite theaters opening their doors [at a slow pace].

A few months later, Lightyear became the first Pixar film to be released in theaters worldwide since Onward in March 2020. However, Pixar’s return was not met with the normal response we would normally see from the iconic studio. The film grossed $226.4 million worldwide against a $200 million production budget, becoming a box office failure and losing the studio an estimated $106 million.

Now, we are in 2023 and Pixar had a rough start, as their latest pic Elemental grossed a disappointing $29.5 million, finishing in second and marking the second lowest three-day opening weekend for a Pixar film, behind the $29.1 million ($56 million with inflation) opening of Toy Story in 1995. Some say the slow start was due to viewers now accustomed to waiting for Pixar movies to drop on Disney+ due to the pandemic. Despite opening below projections, the film was ultimately considered by analysts to be a sleeper hit and would gross $495 million worldwide, and while the film broke even, Disney+ is expected to help put it in the green and would indicate some good signs for their future theatrical releases.

What’s next for Pixar?

Next year, Pixar is revisiting emotions with Inside Out 2. The first film grossed over $850 million at the global box office and the characters have become a popular mainstay at Disney parks around the world. While the studio is developing a new original, Elio, which recently moved to 2025. I hear Pixar is looking to revisit their biggest hits to help get them on track. Toy Story 5 is currently in development and will likely debut in 2025 as well. Additionally, I have heard multiple times that the studio is considering going back to two billion movies with Incredibles 3 as well as a third Finding Nemo film (a title I heard at one time was Finding Marlin). While I can NOT confirm the latter two movies will happen, what is certain is that Pixar is finding ways to become one of the top studios in Hollywood once again.