While Pixar has struggled at the box office for some time now, there is an unlikely franchise that could prove the lucrative solution to this problem. There was a time when the box office performance of Pixar movies was almost as unstoppable as their universal critical acclaim. However, the studio’s bulletproof critical reputation took a hit throughout the 2010s and 2020s thanks to the likes of The Good Dinosaur, Cars 3, and Luca failing to wow reviewers.
Since then, the studio’s financial performance has also taken a nosedive, and even Pixar’s upcoming movies aren’t likely to salvage this. While Turning Red’s catastrophic box office failure could largely be blamed on COVID-19’s impact on the cinema industry, the financial failure of Lightyear was harder to excuse. Meanwhile, although Elemental wasn’t as big a disaster as Lightyear, it did take the movie months to recoup its budget, and its performance was hardly a success for the studio. However, there is an unlikely forgotten franchise that could save Pixar from its monetary woes.
Pixar’s Box Office Troubles Will Finally End When $858M Franchise Returns Next Year
Pixar’s box office troubles will finally come to an end next year thanks to the return of a popular franchise, but it could also set a bad precedent.
Pixar Making Cars 4 Would Solve Some Of Its Big Problems
The last Cars movie, 2017’s Cars 3, only made $383 million on a budget of $175 million. However, that movie’s performance was hurt by 2011’s Cars 2, the first Pixar movie to receive less than stellar reviews and audience feedback. If marketed correctly, Cars 4 could win back the crowd and, crucially, also appeal to kids more directly. This is something that Pixar has missed out on with the likes of Elemental and especially Lightyear, and it is a major element of the studio’s financial success. Although Pixar’s money problems seem to all center on box office performance, this is not the only way to ensure the studio’s success.
Despite the humdrum box office of Cars 3, the Cars franchise is a moneymaking machine in terms of merchandise. According to the BBC, the series made an estimated $10 billion in merchandise sales from the first movie alone, a staggering figure that proves the franchise could be used to make up for Pixar’s recent financial failures. These merchandise sales would make the potential box office of Cars 4 almost irrelevant; if the sequel could get even a fraction of that income, the movie would barely need to break even in cinemas. Of course, it is not that simple for Pixar.
Will Cars 4 Ever Happen?
Cars 4 might happen, but this seems unlikely after 2022’s Cars on the Road. The odds of Pixar announcing Cars 4 decreased when that spinoff series brought back Owen Wilson’s Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy’s Mater, the two most prominent characters from the franchise. Meanwhile, even if Cars 4 did happen, the odds of the sequel repeating the merchandising success of the franchise’s first outing aren’t good. Part of what made Cars such a huge hit in terms of merchandising was the movie introducing a whole new world to young viewers. Thus, Pixar would need to radically change the franchise to repeat the original movie’s success.
