Disney and Pixar’s Elemental continues to see unexpected growth at the box office, particularly the global box office. The film, which opened on June 19th, saw an opening weekend box office take of just $29.6 million. This led to many fans and analysts deeming the film a flop. However, Elemental continues to keep chugging away and is surprassing many expectations.
Elemental brought in an additional $30 million over the weekend in global markets. Currently, the global box office total of the film is now $251.9 million. While this isn’t a home run by any stretch, it is much better than anyone would have expected a few weeks ago. It also has it passing last year’s Lightyear from Pixar at the box office, which garnered $226.4 million globally during its theatrical run.
Elemental is also now within striking distance of Disney’s Encanto, which was released in theaters as the world was coming out of the pandemics. Encanto pulled in $256.8 million. This Disney animated film went on to really take off when it arrived on Dinsey+ later in the year during the holidays. There is a possibility that Elemental could do the same as fans have been trained in the last couple of years to expect to see films on the streaming service, particularly animated films from Disney and Pixar.
The film still has a ways to go before it is considered a bona fide success. The budget for the film is said to be around $200 million before marketing costs are considered. The film would need to make at least $400 to start making a profit. To put the film into the box office levels of pre-pandemic films, it would need to be reaching the $350 million mark. This would have it pass 2015’s Dinosaur from Pixar which made $333.7 million globally. A Bug’s Life would be the next level to surpass with its $363 million.
It is unknown just how far Elemental will end up going at the global box office and what milestones it will pass. It is seeing some strength in Korea where it grew 14% week over week and brought in $6.11 million. In the United States, the film brought in $9.6 million and passed the $100 million mark as it has now brought in $109.2 million domestically. This makes it the first original animated film to pass the $100 million mark since 2018.
While the numbers for Elemental aren’t steller, they continue to exceed initial release expectations. What do you think of Elemental? Have you seen it in theaters yet? What do you think of its continued movement at the global box office? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
