Box Office: Flow nabs Oscar for Best Animated Feature over The Wild Robot; Comparing their collection

Flow won the Best Animated Feature Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards, but The Wild Robot ruled the box office globally. How do their numbers compare? Read to find out!

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 04, 2025 | 02:01 PM IST | 7.6K

Picture Courtesy: UFO Distribution, Universal Pictures

At the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, Flow, a wordless animated parable, won Best Animated Feature, marking a historic win for Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis. The film, created using the open-source software Blender, presents a dreamlike post-apocalyptic tale of a black feline and various animals navigating a world submerged by a catastrophic flood. With no dialogue, Flow relies entirely on visual storytelling, captivating audiences with its unique aesthetic and emotional depth.

While Flow secured the Oscar, its box office tells a different story compared to its main competitor, The Wild Robot.

Box Office Comparison: Flow vs. The Wild Robot

Film

Domestic Gross

International Gross

Worldwide Gross

Flow

$4,346,726

$13,149,898

$17,496,624

The Wild Robot

$143,901,945

$189,264,000

$333,165,945

The Success of The Wild Robot

DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot, based on Peter Brown’s bestselling novel, became a major box office success, grossing over USD 333 million globally against a USD 78 million budget. Directed by Chris Sanders, the film follows Roz, a service robot voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, who learns to survive on a deserted island and raises an orphaned goose. Featuring watercolor-inspired visuals reminiscent of classic Disney films and Hayao Miyazaki’s works, The Wild Robot quickly became a fan favorite.

The film won nine Annie Awards along with Best Animated Feature at the Critics Choice and Producers Guild of America Awards. However, despite its strong commercial and critical success, it fell short of winning an Oscar, which went to Flow.

Other Animated Nominees and Their Box Office Performance

Film

Domestic Gross

International Gross

Worldwide Gross

Inside Out 2

$652,980,194

$1,045,883,622

$1,698,863,816

Memoir of a Snail

$669,798

$1,580,908

$2,250,706

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

----

$191,452

Despite its limited box office performance, Flow’s Academy Award victory underscores the power of innovative storytelling in animation. Its visually rich, dialogue-free approach sets it apart from traditional animated blockbusters, reinforcing the idea that artistic ambition and creative risks can triumph over commercial success. The film’s victory is a milestone for independent animation and a testament to the growing appeal of diverse storytelling styles in the industry.