Pixar has an all-new strategy for its sequel releases after the box office failure of Elio, but this plan has a major flaw based on what has been revealed so far. While many Pixar fans were hopeful that Elio would be Pixar’s next big franchise due to its critical successes, this probably won’t be the case, meaning that Elio was another original movie failure for the studio.

Elio has had an incredibly weak box office opening, with it being the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar film ever. Elio was beaten by How to Train Your Dragon and 28 Years Later, with it only making $20.8 million in its debut. As of the writing of this article, the film has only made $37.1 million against a budget of $150 million.

Elio was Pixar’s latest attempt at an original movie, but sadly, it again failed. When comparing recent original movies like Elio and Elemental to recent sequels like Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 4, these non-franchise films are clearly struggling. Pixar has a plan to address this, but it may not work.

Pixar’s Future Will Alternate Original Movies & Sequels

Giving Pixar Enough Box Office Successes

Speaking at Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies Summit, Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter spoke about the creative process at the company. Docter discussed the creative risks that come with developing the films that Pixar makes, with him discussing the approach to creating financially successful sequels as well as creatively fulfilling original movies.

Docter said that “all we can do is try to make movies that I think are led by us. We have to believe in them.” Docter explained that the mᴀssive success of Inside Out 2 was a surprise, but that the studio is hopeful for original movies like Elio, stating, “It takes as much work and effort to make something that doesn’t make money as it does for something that does.”

Then, Docter revealed how Pixar plans on balancing these releases in the future. According to Docter, Pixar’s new approach will be to alternate between doing original movies and sequels, although they won’t stick to this 100% of the time, as is seen with the back-to-back releases of Elio and Hoppers.

Docter jokingly talked about how Pixar must predict what audiences want with original films, “Because if we just gave them more of what they know, we’d be making Toy Story 27.” Clearly, this is something that Pixar is internally struggling with, but this new approach may help them balance financial and critical successes.

Why Pixar’s Original Movies Aren’t Landing With Audiences

Is It Audiences Fault?

Pixar’s original movies haven’t been landing with audiences, and there are several reasons why. One of the biggest ones has to do with the fact that audiences simply are less interested in original films. They want to see franchise movies and sequels, which is a mᴀssive negative change in theater-goers that has occurred over the past few years.

However, Pixar is clearly struggling with this in a way that other animation studios aren’t. Another factor could have to do with the fact that Pixar released Soul, Turning Red, and Luca straight to Disney+ in the early 2020s. This may have cheapened the brand, conditioning audiences to wait until original Pixar movies are brought to the streaming service.

Pixar’s original films also haven’t been marketed as well as Disney’s franchise films. When looking at the 2025 Lilo & Sтιтch remake, Sтιтch was everywhere, contributing to the film’s box office success. Elio hasn’t been marketed nearly as heavily, with many viewers simply not knowing that the movie is out.

Sadly, Pixar cannot continue dumping money into original movies that don’t make a return. Elio cost $150 million, and if something doesn’t change, and original Pixar movies may start to be made for cheaper. This is the only way to guarantee that Pixar loses less money on these creative ventures, although this isn’t what dedicated fans of Pixar want to see happen.

Pixar Will Run Out Of Sequels To Make

They Can’t Make Toy Story Movies Forever

If Pixar does take this alternating movie approach, it will create a problem when it comes to the number of sequels that Pixar can make. Coco 2, Toy Story 5, and The Incredibles 3 are all in development, and the studio could probably squeeze some more sequels out of franchises like Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., and Cars. However, they’re going to run out eventually.

Pixar can’t keep making Toy Story and The Incredibles movies forever. Audiences will eventually get bored of these films, causing box office returns to dry up. In order for Pixar to succeed, the studio has to have at least some original films. However, even if one in three original films spawn franchises, this alternating plan means that there will be three sequels for every one new franchise.

Another option would be for Pixar to dip into some older recognizable IP and make sequels out of them. A Bug’s Life, Ratatouille, Up, and several other Pixar classics have never gotten proper sequels, but they’re recognizable enough that they would be box office hits. This could be Pixar’s way to mitigate this issue.

However, even these movies will eventually run out of steam if Pixar keeps doing this. This problem is unavoidable without the presence of new IPs, but as of right now, audiences aren’t hungry for that from Pixar.

Why There’s Still Hope For Pixar

The Studio Recognizes That This Is A Problem

While Elio’s box office failure means that things are looking grim, there is still hope for Pixar. Pete Docter’s comments mean that the studio is aware of the problem and is working to fix it. If the alternating movie strategy doesn’t work, Pixar will undoubtedly pivot to something else until they find the correct balance.

Docter is also specifically wary of overusing Pixar’s biggest franchises, as his “Toy Story 27” comment showed. This has been the big fear of many Pixar fans, and the fact that the studio heads are thinking about this is a good sign. While lots of sequels will still be coming, Pixar knows it shouldn’t do too many.

Pixar’s original movie problem is nothing new, although the studio has been struggling with it even more since the 2020s started. This is a problem that has to be resolved, as the studio cannot survive more box office failures like Elio.