Box Office: In a world dominated by sequels and IPs, will Pixar's Elio make a mark this busy summer?

Pixar’s Elio faces a tough box office battle this summer, competing against major franchises and sequels. Can this original animated film carve its own space and prove its theatrical worth?

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 20, 2025 | 05:01 PM IST | 4.6K

Picture Courtesy: Disney

Elio, an original animated feature from Disney, is shaping up as the studio’s next gem. Scheduled to arrive this summer, the movie will have to brave numerous challenges—from a busy summer market to carving its own space in a cinema landscape that largely favors franchise and IP-driven offerings—to make an impact. We analyze Elio’s potentially treacherous road to success below!

As mentioned earlier, the movie is debuting in an intensely competitive summer market, with films like Ballerina, a John Wick spin-off, How To Train Your Dragon, 28 Years Later, M3GAN 2.0, Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, and more simultaneously vying for audience attention. Elio will have to be exceptionally good to hold any ground at all and prove that Pixar and its parent company, Disney, did not misjudge by granting it a theatrical debut instead of a streaming release.

The landscape for animated films has shifted drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic, with studios favoring digital releases over theatrical ones. This has somewhat trained audiences to step out and buy tickets only when a grand spectacle is promised. The success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Super Mario Bros. Movie stemmed from their ability to craft a spectacle meant for the big screen. This means Elio must wow viewers with its visual canvas and generate positive word of mouth within its first few days of release to draw audiences. Otherwise, it could be a lost cause.

Pixar’s Elemental serves as an interesting case study. The 2023 film, despite being an original and opening to a disappointing box office start, managed to rake in nearly USD 500 million worldwide, thanks to steady word of mouth. This trajectory proves that even if Elio takes a hit from competing releases coming out before or immediately after it, a film with strong appeal can still find its audience over time.

For those unversed, Elio follows the titular character, who is mistaken for Earth’s ambassador in an intergalactic world after being beamed into the Communiverse by aliens while attempting to make contact.

Directed by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, with initial direction by Adrian Molina, the film features the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Jameela Jamil, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Shirley Henderson, and more.

The film will arrive on June 20, right at the beginning of the sunny season.