The turnaround for director Peter Sohn’s “Elemental” is nothing shy of astonishing. The film opened in mid-June to a seemingly disastrous $29.6 million domestically, a low for the storied animation studio. But then, something amazing happened. Good word of mouth spread naturally and, against wildly stiff summer competition, the movie kept performing strongly week after week in a way we hardly see anymore — so much so that it now ranks as the biggest original Hollywood movie released since the pandemic began.
Granted, its $200 million budget still looms a little large, but “Elemental” will end up being profitable for Disney in the long run. That actually comes straight from Pixar president Jim Morris. Speaking with Variety earlier this month, Morris had this to say:
“We have a lot of different revenue streams, but at the box office we’re looking at now, it should do better than break even theatrically. And then we have revenue from streaming, theme parks and consumer products. This will certainly be a profitable film for the Disney company.”
Granted, Morris isn’t going to say anything denigrating about the film’s performance, but it’s easy enough to believe that after VOD, the value the movie brings to Disney+, merchandise, and Blu-ray sales, “Elemental” will be a worthwhile venture. More than that, it gives Disney a reason to continue to invest in original theatrical animation. That’s the key, and it’s a reminder that voting with your dollars is always important. Hollywood follows the money, and Pixar is clearly still capable of making money.
Source From: www.slashfilm.com
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