‘Elemental’ weathers summer storm, crosses $400M globally
Baku, August 3, AZERTAC
The Pixar movie cleared the $400 million mark at the global box office on Tuesday, becoming the first Hollywood animated movie based on original IP to do so since before the pandemic. Elemental finished Tuesday with a domestic tally of $146.2 million and $257.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of $403.7 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While that’s far less than many Pixar titles, it puts Elemental well ahead of last year’s ill-fated Lightyear, which limped to $218.8 million globally. It also means Elemental, which cost a reported $200 million to make before marketing, won’t be a huge theatrical money loser after all.
Elemental, a parable about immigration and getting along, initially contributed to Pixar’s ongoing woes when opening to a paltry $29.6 million over the June 16-18 frame, the worst three-day weekend start in the storied company’s history behind 1995’s Toy Story, which earned $29.1 million over the three-day Thanksgiving weekend. (Toy Story‘s haul was a small fortune at the time.)
But skies began to turn sunny for Elemental when it held in week after week, enjoying one of the top multiples of any Pixar title in history at the North American box office. And it quickly surpassed DC’s 2023 summer tentpole The Flash, which opened over the same June weekend to far bigger numbers but to date has earned only $107 million domestically and $268.3 million globally.
Elemental has also done well overseas, including turning into a juggernaut in South Korea, which leads all markets with $44.8 million so far. Per Disney, admissions are expected to hit 6 million on Thursday — meaning that tickets have been sold for one out of every eight people in that country. Other milestones achieved in South Korea include: No. 3 animated film of all time behind Walt Disney Animation’s two Frozen movies; No. 2 release of 2023 among all films behind local title Round Up; and No. 5 Hollywood release in the pandemic era after Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Elemental opens in its final major market, Japan, on Friday.
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