For the sixth time in its history, Pixar has crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, as “Toy Story 5” has reached the milestone on its sixth weekend in theaters after adding $34 million globally, including $10 million in North America.
It was not a matter of if but when the fifth “Toy Story” film would join its two most recent predecessors — “Toy Story 3” in 2010 and “Toy Story 4” in 2019 — in the $1 billion club after it reached a spectacular global opening weekend of $312 million.
In the weeks that followed, it has proven to be the family film of choice this summer, holding strong against Universal/Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters” and Disney’s own “Moana” remake, which has floundered as it has just passed the $200 million global mark after three weekends in theaters.
The other three non-“Toy Story” films to reach the $1 billion mark are the “Finding Nemo” prequel “Finding Dory” in 2016, the 2018 sequel “Incredibles 2” and the 2024 sequel “Inside Out 2,” which was at one time the highest grossing animated movie ever.
While “Toy Story 5” won’t reach the heights of “Inside Out 2,” it will soon pass the $1.07 billion unadjusted global total of “Toy Story 4” to set a new franchise record 31 years after the original “Toy Story” hit theaters and established Pixar as one of the global titans of feature film animation.
While it seemed like the tale of Woody, Buzz and the gang had been finished with “Toy Story 3,” Pixar has now successfully gone to the well twice more without causing its flagship series to get branded with the “cash grab” reputation among the public that has fallen upon other franchises Hollywood has continued for one film too many.
Tapping into fears of AI and tech taking over childhood at a time when social media bans are being weighed and implemented by world governments, “Toy Story 5” sees Andy’s former toys, now under the leadership of Jessie the Cowgirl, squaring off against Lilypad, a toy tablet given as a gift to their new kid owner, Bonnie.
The film has been a huge success with kids and adults, earning Rotten Tomatoes scores of 92% critics and 94% audience, and has sustained the summer box office as films like “Moana” and “Supergirl” have failed to provide midsummer support. In the process, it has passed the other two billion-dollar hits of 2026, Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael” to become the highest grossing film of the year.
But it won’t hold on to that title for long. This Friday, Sony/Marvel Studios’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will arrive in theaters with a strong chance of a global opening even larger than “Toy Story 5,” with domestic projections rising well above a $200 million opening weekend.
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