This past week saw the release of Pixar’s latest film, Elio, which is about a space-loving young boy who finds himself on an adventure of intergalactic proportions when he bonds with alien life forms. As of late, most of Pixar’s sequels have been the more successful films, so this latest feature represents a project from the studio that doesn’t come from an existing IP. With that, the studio and its parent company, Disney, are encouraging audiences to support the film and, based on a post, they seem to mean business.
By way of a recent Instagram post, Pixar followed the new internet trend where people share hard truths off screen and then pretend they don’t know where the source of the statement is. The studio’s video involved a social media personality talking about audiences complaining that there aren’t any original stories but that audiences don’t show up to the movie theaters to support these original ideas in the first place. The video was blunt and ended with the pundit encouraging people to show up to the theaters to support Elio this week. You can see it below:
Honestly, I didn’t expect this from the Disney-owned company, as bigwigs have played things pretty safe when it comes to marketing their movies. This post definitely represents frustration, though, and it’s understandable. Pixar’s latest flick is a fresh idea that animators worked to perfect for years and years. Additionally, reviews for Elio have also been positive, with critics being charmed by the new project and the messaging at the core. The cosmic, coming-of-age romp deserves support, especially considering how hard it can be to get original ideas off the ground in Hollywood.
Still, Elio bombed at the box office in its opening weekend a week ago, with its debut marking the worst opening for a Pixar movie ever. That’s a hard fact to consider, especially considering it’s the summer and many kids (who’d be potential viewers) are out of school by now. An analyst could make the argument that the film is facing competition from DreamWorks’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon, which is soaring, and probably also benefiting from the fact that it’s based on an existing IP.
In general, this box office failure may just be a symptom of original movies performing undesirably across the board. That’s one of the reasons that CinemaBlend’s own Dirk Libbey isn’t worried about Pixar just yet. However, the studio still needs a winner. Sure, it’s understandable why some may be pumped for Toy Story 5 or Incredibles 3. However, supporting original films means there’s more promise for new ideas and inspired stories, which could possibly end up becoming classic Disney movies. So, as conveyed in the IG video above, why not take a trip to the movie theaters and support a fresh film?
Elio is in theaters now, so make sure to check it out on the big screen while you can. For more information on other titles heading to cinemas this summer, make sure to consult our 2025 movie release schedule.
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