There was a time when the latest Pixar film was one of the year’s safest box office bets, but that’s changed a bit this decade. In the 2020s, the animation studio has experienced its fair share of ups and downs at the multiplex, including the release of commercial flops Lightyear and Elio. Given Pixar’s shaky performance over the past handful of years, many were curious to see how Hoppers would fare. Fortunately, the zany sci-fi comedy seems to be getting Pixar back on the right track, posting the biggest opening for an original animated film since 2017’s Coco. In a little over a week, Hoppers has already brought in more money than Pixar’s most infamous box office bomb.
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According to Deadline, Hoppers won its second consecutive weekend, earning an estimated $28.5 million domestically. Its global total currently stands at $164.7 million, which is higher than Elio‘s worldwide haul of $154.2 million. With this, Hoppers now ranks as the third-highest-grossing film of 2026 worldwide and is the year’s highest-grossing animated movie.
Hoppers‘ Success Kicks Off a Big 2026 for Pixar
Next weekend sees the highly anticipated release of the critically acclaimed sci-fi film Project Hail Mary (which is projected to gross around $50 million in its opening), but Hoppers should continue to do well. There are still a couple of weeks remaining until The Super Mario Galaxy Movie comes out, meaning Hoppers isn’t facing much direct competition for its target demographic of families right now. Riding waves of positive buzz, Hoppers is in position to still be a fairly sizable draw; it could be a nice counterprogramming option for families with kids a bit too young for the PG-13 sci-fi thrills of Project Hail Mary.
With Hoppers shaping up to be a success, 2026 could mark the first time Pixar scores two box office hits in the same calendar year. The studio doesn’t always double dip, but on the rare occasions it has, one performs well at the box office while the other flounders. In 2015, Inside Out was a triumph ($859 million worldwide) while The Good Dinosaur ($332.2 million) lost money. The last time Pixar released two new films theatrically in one year was 2017, when Coco made $823.2 million globally and Cars 3 posted a franchise low of $383.9 million. In just a few short months, Toy Story 5 premieres, and that should be one of the biggest hits of the summer. Based on that franchise’s track record, there’s a good chance it reaches the $1 billion milestone.
It’s great for Pixar’s future if both an original film and a sequel become box office hits at the same time. The studio’s upcoming slate features plenty of both, including the original movie Gatto next year. Toy Story 5 being a success is all but a given, but Hoppers is arguably the more important development since it shows audiences are still willing to come out to the theater to see Pixar’s originals. During the pandemic, Pixar essentially became a Disney+ franchise, as fans became used to seeing new releases such as Soul, Luca, and Turning Red at home. Hoppers feels like it could be the first step towards reversing that trend.
In all likelihood, Hoppers won’t be as big of a blockbuster as some of the hits of Pixar’s heyday, but that’s more of a reflection of the current theatrical landscape and how moviegoing habits have changed since COVID. It’s become increasingly harder to draw general audiences to original fare, especially when shortened theatrical windows mean new releases hit streaming services in virtually no time at all. Hoppers still has a ways to go before it turns a profit off its $150 million production budget, but after its first two weekends, it’s in position to do so. After Elio flamed out last summer, Pixar won’t have any complaints about how Hoppers has fared thus far.
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