Pixar Hoppers Opens to $88 Million, Studio's Best Box Office Since Coco

Pixar needed a win. It got one.

The studio's latest original film, Hoppers, debuted at number one globally with $88 million in its opening weekend, making it the biggest launch for an original Pixar title since Coco in 2017. Domestically, it pulled in $46 million from 4,000 theaters. Overseas, it added another $42 million from 41 international markets.

The numbers not only beat pre-release projections of $35 to $40 million, they sent a clear message: audiences still show up for Pixar when the film is good.

Pixar Hoppers Box Office Win Ends Years of Original Film Struggles

The studio had been struggling with original stories for years. Its 2023 film Elemental opened to just $29.6 million, one of the weakest debuts in Pixar history. Last year's Elio fared even worse commercially, grossing only $154 million worldwide against a $150 million budget. Both were critically decent but failed to generate the kind of word-of-mouth that once made Pixar films cultural events.

The studio's genuine franchise hits, Inside Out 2 in 2024 and the Toy Story films, kept the lights on. But sequels were never the point. Pixar's identity has always been built on original stories, and that part of the business had quietly gone dark.

Hoppers changes that. It carries a 97 percent Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, matching Coco's approval rating and making it the best-reviewed Pixar film since that 2017 release. For context, Coco opened to $50.8 million domestically before going on to earn $823 million worldwide. Hoppers is not there yet, but the trajectory looks similar.

Box office analysts are already projecting a long theatrical run. With spring school holidays approaching over the next few weeks, family films with strong word-of-mouth tend to hold their numbers well, sometimes improving week over week. Hoppers is set up for exactly that kind of run. Comparable films like Sony's GOAT and Universal's The Wild Robot posted modest debuts before sticking around in theaters for weeks and eventually building to strong final tallies. Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman called Hoppers a "fantastic original film" and praised director Daniel Chong and producer Nicole Paradis Grindle for what he described as a tremendous launch.

The film features a voice cast that includes Jon Hamm, Bobby Moynihan, and Piper Curda. Reviews have highlighted its sharp, weird humor as a major draw for both kids and adults, the kind of layered comedy that plays in a crowded theater and still lands at home on a rewatch. Chong, best known as the creator of the animated TV series We Bare Bears, brings a distinct sensibility to the project that critics say sets it apart from the studio's more recent output.

Pixar's Upcoming Slate After Hoppers

The studio has a packed road ahead. Toy Story 5 is due later in 2026, followed by Gatto in 2027. Incredibles 3 and Coco 2 are in development further down the line. Chief creative officer Pete Docter confirmed in February that Pixar currently has eight films in various stages of production, including its first-ever musical and a new original called Ono Ghost Market, centered on a supernatural bazaar where the living and the dead interact, drawing on Asian mythology.

But before any of that arrives, Hoppers matters on its own terms. An original film that lands at the box office gives the studio creative credibility it had been slowly losing. It proves the model still works, that families will drive to a theater and pay for popcorn for something they have never seen before, as long as the story is worth it.

Not everything was a win at the multiplex this past weekend. Warner Bros.' The Bride, director Maggie Gyllenhaal's punk-rock reimagining of Bride of Frankenstein, opened to just $7.3 million domestically against a $90 million budget. It was a brutal result that ended Warner Bros.' remarkable nine-film box office winning streak. Starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, the film had been repositioned from an October release to a pre-Oscars slot in hopes of awards momentum, but the gamble did not pay off.

Pixar, for now, is the one celebrating. Hoppers has given the studio something it has not had in nearly a decade: proof that a great original story, with no franchise safety net, can still open big.