Buzz Lightyear and Woody are heading toward a box office record: Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5" is steering toward one of the biggest theatrical launches of the current year on its opening weekend. Already at the preview screenings, the film brought in 17.5 million US dollars according to "Variety" - the strongest preview result of 2026 so far.
With that, the sequel clearly leaves the result of "Michael" (12.6 million dollars) behind. Overall, only one film performed better at preview screenings: "Die Unglaublichen 2" reached 18.5 million dollars in 2018. Both titles subsequently achieved massive opening weekends - 97 and 182.7 million dollars respectively.
Heading for the franchise record
For the opening weekend, the industry expects "Toy Story 5" to reach 145 to 150 million dollars, and after consistently positive reviews, some estimates even consider 160 to 175 million possible. This should easily allow the film to surpass the previous franchise best result of "Toy Story 4" (120 million dollar opening).
More than that: The animated film would be the biggest theatrical launch of the year and would dethrone "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie", which currently holds the record with 131.7 million dollars. Internationally, "Toy Story 5" is aiming for 135 million dollars - which would put the worldwide opening result at over 275 million dollars.
Expensive, but lucrative
The production wasn't cheap: The budget is 250 million dollars, plus marketing costs. Nevertheless, the film should pay off for Disney. Earlier this year, the company already landed a hit with "Hoppers", which brought in nearly 390 million dollars worldwide. But the "Toy Story" universe plays in a different league.
A tablet as the new villain
In the fifth installment, technology is the adversary: Buzz, Woody, Jessie and the other toys are thrown into disarray when a smart tablet named Lilypad turns their world upside down. In the original version, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack can be heard again, with Conan O'Brien and Greta Lee newly added.
The series' potential is enormous: "Toy Story 4" brought in more than one billion dollars worldwide in 2019. The brand also generates over one billion dollars per year with merchandising, games and publishing.
