Few American animation studios have achieved the reputation for consistently high quality that Pixar has. Their films have introduced beloved characters, timeless settings, and thought-provoking stories with existential, spiritual, and emotional themes. But that's not to say their critical success has always translated to high box office numbers. While mostly doing well as standard movies, some of their films can fall short of expectations from their audiences and their parent company, Disney. None of these are adjusted for inflation and are measured by worldwide gross.
While we must stress that not all Pixar films that flop at the worldwide box office gross are bad (some are even among their best work), there can be reasons why they don't always meet financial expectations. Sometimes, it happens due to an underwhelming story, others because of questionable scheduling, and other times, it's just bad luck. Thankfully, thanks to Pixar's illustrious reputation, many of these films are still fondly remembered by audiences and regarded as classics today.
10 'Cars' (2006)
Box Office: $461,991,867
It's the racing film meets small-town drama that kickstarted what is arguably the most successful Pixar franchise in terms of merchandising. Set in a world full of anthropomorphic talking planes, trains, and cars, the latest rookie racing sensation is Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). On his way to the race of his career, he winds up in a bypassed town called Radiator Springs, accidentally vandalizing and ruining the town's roads. While repairing his damage, he learns a healthy dose of humility and appreciation for life's small and simpler things.
While Cars received positive reviews and an enthusiastic reaction from audiences, it did receive a somewhat more mixed response from the critics. While not wholly lambasting the film, critics such as Roger Ebert deemed it an above-average kids' movie that didn't quite measure up to the string of masterpieces Pixar had released up to this point.
Cars
GAnimationAdventureComedyFamilySportRelease Date June 8, 2006 Director John Lasseter , Joe Ranft Cast Owen Wilson , Paul Newman , Bonnie Hunt , Larry the Cable Guy , Cheech Marin , Tony Shalhoub Runtime 117 Minutes9 'Toy Story' (1995) - $394.4 million
Box Office: $394,436,586
Toy Story is the Pixar film that started it all. In a world where toys come to life when their owners aren't looking, young boy Andy Davis' (John Morris) favorite toy is a cowboy named Woody (Tom Hanks). But at Andy's birthday party, he receives Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), an action figure who's convinced he's a real space ranger. When a jealous Woody accidentally knocks Buzz out of the house, he has to go on a whirlwind adventure to bring Buzz home while avoiding the wrath of toy-torturing kid Sid (Erik Von Detten).
It grossed $373 million in its original run, making a remarkable first impression for the first computer-animated film in history. It also became the second-highest-grossing film of 1995, beating out the likes of Batman Forever, Seven, Jumanji, Babe, and Apollo 13. Toy Story would later gross $21.4 million in re-release grosses, and while lower compared to Pixar's later films, it continues to be the template of what a Pixar movie could and should be.
Toy Story
GAnimationAdventureComedyFamilyFantasyRelease Date October 30, 1995 Director John Lasseter Cast Tom Hanks , Tim Allen , Don Rickles , Jim Varney , Wallace Shawn , John Ratzenberger Runtime 818 'Cars 3' (2017)
Box Office: $383,930,656
By the start of Cars 3, Lightning McQueen has gone from a rookie to a seven-time racing champion. But he soon faces a brutal crash after meeting new competition with technology and techniques that beat Lightning at his own game. Desperate to return to the racecourse, he accepts a deal to begin training with new technology under Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo). At first, being trained in new racing methods, he soon realizes it may be time for him to retire and train the next generation.
By the time Cars 3 came out, Cars had been one of Pixar's most lucrative franchises, with spin-offs, theme park attractions, and especially toys proving extremely popular with younger audiences. While this film was still a box office success, grossing $383.9 million against a $175 million budget, it is the lowest-grossing in the series, suggesting the franchise may have lost a bit of its luster.
Cars 3
GAnimationAdventureComedyFamilyRelease Date June 15, 2017 Director Brian Fee Cast Owen Wilson , Cristela Alonzo , Chris Cooper , Nathan Fillion , Larry the Cable Guy , Armie Hammer Runtime 1097 'A Bug's Life' (1998)
Box Office: $363,258,859
While Pixar's second film, A Bug's Life, was a critical and financial hit, it did not quite pull in the same numbers and positive reception that Toy Story did. Wannabe inventor Flick (Dave Foley) is an outcast living in a colony of ants oppressed by a nasty gang of grasshoppers. Desperate to prove his worth and save his colony, he finds a group of what he assumes are brave warriors who can help him drive the grasshoppers away for good - only to find they are actually just circus bugs.
As Den of Geek reports, much of the discussion among analysts and critics at the time focused on the remarkable, some might say questionable, similarities between A Bug's Life and Dreamworks' first animated feature Antz - though the former would end up making more money at the box office. While A Bug's Life may not be as widely discussed or franchised as much as the likes of Toy Story and Cars, it was still popular enough to inspire a land at Disney California Adventure, showing it still left a strong impression.
A Bug's Life
GAnimationAdventureComedyFamily Release Date November 25, 1998 Director John Lasseter , Andrew Stanton Cast Dave Foley , Kevin Spacey , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Hayden Panettiere , Phyllis Diller , Richard Kind Runtime 956 'The Good Dinosaur' (2015)
Box Office: $332,207,671
The Good Dinosaur, not unlike Lightyear, had an intriguing premise - that being what would happen if dinosaurs never went extinct and ended up co-existing with humans? Production began several years before release, with outlets such as IndieWire reporting of a Pixar movie about dinosaurs as early as 2011. Unfortunately, while the final film did have beautiful animation and effective themes, it did not exercise that premise to its true potential.
Instead of a film about dinosaurs co-existing with humans, it became a movie about a young dinosaur named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) who gets separated from his family and braves through the wilderness to find his way back home. All the while, he grows a bond with a small cave boy who behaves like a dog named Spot (Jack Bright). The Good Dinosaur's troubled production may have contributed to its final form becoming far more generic and unremarkable a setting than Pixar's previous work.
The Good Dinosaur
PGAnimationAdventureComedyFamilyFantasy Release Date November 14, 2015 Director Peter Sohn Cast Raymond Ochoa , Jeffrey Wright , Steve Zahn , A.J. Buckley , Anna Paquin , Sam Elliott5 'Lightyear' (2022)
Box Office: $226,425,420
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Lightyear was certainly an interesting attempt by Pixar to find a new outlet for the Toy Story franchise without simply making another sequel or even setting itself in the same continuity. The premise is that Buzz Lightyear's toy was based on a real movie that Andy went to see before his birthday. In that hypothetical movie, Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) is a space ranger marooned on a hostile alien planet. With his crew, he attempts to find a way home, but he encounters a new threat of robots led by Zurg (James Brolin).
One possible reason this film didn't do as well as expected was that despite being a Toy Story spin-off, it was so stylistically different from what came before that many connections were lost on audiences. It grossed $226.4 million against a $200 million budget. Analysts such as Deadline reported a combination of being released with strong competition, including Jurassic World: Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick, Pixar's last 3 films being moved directly to Disney+, and lack of connections to the rest of the Toy Story franchise in general led to its underperformance.
Lightyear
AnimationComedychildren Release Date June 17, 2022 Director Angus MacLane Cast Chris Evans , Taika Waititi , Keke Palmer4 'Onward' (2020)
Box Office: $141,940,042
Onward places its story in a modern-day world filled with unicorns, elves, and dragons; elf brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) receive a spell that will allow their dead father to come back to life for a single day. But when the spell goes awry, the brothers must embark on a quest through their hometown of New Mushroomton to find a gem that will complete the spell before it's too late.
While the execution wasn't always perfect, it had a unique setting and a heartfelt story that made it a memorable watch. However, Onward suffered from one primary problem that contributed to its box office failure and something that would drastically alter the studio's releases afterward - the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. With nobody allowed to go to movie theaters for the then-foreseeable future, Onward was released on Disney+ after just two weeks in theatres, rendering its initial development as Pixar's next big hit dead in its tracks.
Onward
AnimationAdventureFamilyRelease Date March 6, 2020 Director Dan Scanlon Cast Tom Holland , Chris Pratt2 , Octavia Spencer , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Ali Wong , John Ratzenberger Runtime 102 Minutes3 'Soul' (2020)
Box Office: $121,977,458
As a result of the pandemic, Pixar's subsequent three films were released free to watch on Disney+ over the next two years. The first of these, Soul, was the highest-grossing among the three. Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) is a music teacher and aspiring jazz musician who, after years of struggling to find success, might finally be getting his big break. And then he dies. But his spirit avoids passing into the great beyond and instead travels to the great before - a place where souls get developed before they are born. Joe now must get back to his life with the help of 22 (Tina Fey), a snarky soul who's avoided going to earth for thousands of years.
While Soul bared the brunt of being released direct to streaming during the pandemic, it became the second-highest-streamed film the weekend of its release - beaten out only by Wonder Woman 1984. Unfortunately, it didn't make the top ten when it was finally released to theaters in 2024, grossing $122 million on a $150 million budget.
Soul
PGAnimationComedyfamilyRelease Date December 25, 2020 Director Pete Docter , Kemp Powers Cast Jamie Foxx , Tina Fey , Graham Norton , Rachel House , Alice Braga , Richard Ayoade Runtime 100 minutes2 'Luca' (2021)
Box Office: $49,750,471
Luca (Jacob Tremblay) is a young sea monster living off the coast of 1950s Italy who spends his days farming fish. Despite his parents dissuading him from having any contact with the surface, Luca can't help but be fascinated with the human objects he finds in the depths. When he meets new friends and fellow sea monster Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), he finds he can turn human whenever he's dry. The two begin to hang out together at the seaside village of Portorossa, making friends and enemies and learning some harsh yet beautiful life lessons along the way.
Released directly to Disney+, Luca received rave reviews for its distinctive animation designs, relatable characters, and simple yet emotionally effective story. While it heavily under-performed when it was released to theaters in 2024, grossing $49.8 million against an unreported budget, it proved extremely popular with audiences, becoming the most streamed movie in 2021, as reported by Deadline.
Luca
PGAnimationAdventureComedyRelease Date June 18, 2021 Director Enrico Casarosa Cast Jacob Tremblay , Jack Dylan Grazer , Saverio Raimondo , Emma Berman , Maya Rudolph , Jim Gaffigan , Marco Barricelli Runtime 95 minutes1 'Turning Red' (2022) - $21.5 million
Box Office: $21,521,622
Chinese-Canadian pre-teen Meilin 'Mei' Lee (Rosalie Chang) is navigating the usual troubles of being a 13-year-old girl in 2002. Boy crushes, overprotective mothers, and figuring out how to manage a family condition that causes her to turn into a giant red panda when her emotions lose control. At first she treats it like a horrible curse that she must seal away for her own good. Eventually, Mei, unlike her mother, grandmother and aunties, begins to find a new sense of identity and self-love in her panda form.
The last of three Pixar films moved to Disney+ instead of a theatrical release; when Turning Red came to theatres in 2024, it faired the worst when it came to the international box office - bombing at a staggering $21.5 million against a $175 million budget. A good part of the reason why Luca, Turning Red, and Soul fared so poorly at the box office was that, despite being popular films when released to streaming, most audiences had already seen these films by the time they were released to theaters.
Turning Red
PGAnimationAdventureComedyRelease Date March 11, 2022 Director Domee Shi Cast Rosalie Chiang , Sandra Oh , James Hong Runtime 100 minutesncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kubDDxKyrZp%2BipMC0tc2gZKmhqJa%2FbrnOr6Ceq18%3D