Elio arrived in theaters with the weight of Pixar’s legacy behind it, but the film’s journey has been anything but smooth. Only last year, insiders spoke of the struggles DreamWorks faced with Kung Fu Panda 4, which, despite a rough production, ended up being a box office hit.
On the other hand, Pixar released Elio quietly, perhaps hoping to avoid attention if things went wrong. Soon after its record-low opening, reports surfaced from those who worked on the movie, revealing a troubled production that pushed the studio into one of its most disappointing chapters.
#Elio is certified fresh and “Pixar’s best original since ‘Coco’” 🎉🎉
Elio Box Office and Pixar’s Biggest Financial Risk
According to Box Office Mojo, Elio has earned around $138 million worldwide, far below its reported $200 million budget. Pixar has continued to spend heavily, even as the rest of the industry adjusts to changing audience habits.
By contrast, Kung Fu Panda 4 cost roughly $80 million and brought in about $550 million. Elio now sits closer to the performance of Pixar’s Soul, a film that never even got a proper theatrical run during the pandemic—those years forced several Pixar releases straight to Disney+, leading to financial losses and major layoffs at the studio.
Inside Out 2’s Success Couldn’t Save Elio
The success of Inside Out 2 last year signals a turnaround. That film earned nearly $1.7 billion worldwide before being surpassed by Ne Zha 2 ($1.8 billion), and it looked like Pixar had regained its place at the top.
However, Elio brought the momentum to a halt. Reports claimed that production was plagued by heavy studio interference, including efforts to tone down queer themes, which eventually led director Adrian Molina to leave the project. He was replaced by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, who are in the middle of development, per Collider.
Elio, despite behind-the-scenes drama, has been able to create an impact among the critics. Currently, the movie holds an impressive 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The reviewers pointed out that it is proof that Pixar can still create fresh and meaningful original films, but it paints an entirely different story in the box office numbers.
