The budget of Elio will ultimately determine if the new animated movie is a hit. The Pixar project was originally set to be helmed by Coco‘s Adrian Molina, though Turning Red‘s Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian took the helm during a major creative restructuring that saw Molina depart in favor of Coco 2. The movie follows Elio (Yonas Kibreab), a young man whose wish to be abducted by aliens comes true, only for him to be mistaken as Earth’s ambᴀssador at the same time that Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) threatens the peace of the interplanetary organization known as the Communiverse.

Although Pixar has consistently produced both original movies and franchise outings throughout their history, their original тιтles of the 2020s have largely become streaming releases on Disney+ due to the global theatrical shutdowns that took place during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Pixar’s Elio is only the company’s third original movie of the 2020s to debut as a major wide release in both domestic and international theaters, after 2020’s Onward and 2023’s Elemental. Before 2020, their most recent original theatrical release was 2017’s Coco, which Molina co-directed with Lee Unkrich.

Elio’s Budget Is Reportedly $150 Million

This Isn’t Uncommon For A Modern Pixar Movie

According to a recent ᴅᴇᴀᴅline report, the production budget of Elio is roughly $150 million. Although this means that it cost more than the reported budgets of multiple recent blockbusters such as 2025’s Lilo & Sтιтch ($100 million) and 2023’s Barbie (~$145 million), this is not an uncommon price tag for a modern Pixar movie. In fact, it ties with 2020’s Soul and 2007’s Ratatouille as their least expensive original movie since 2006’s Cars. Below, see a breakdown of the reported budget of every Pixar movie that isn’t a sequel, prequel, or spinoff, not adjusted for inflation:

There are multiple reasons why Pixar movies are so expensive. This mostly comes from the fact that they require a great amount of computing power and a significant number of animators for the stories to be brought to life properly. However, Pixar movies also tend to boast star-studded casts that inflate their budgets. While Elio boasts fewer A-list stars than other recent outings, which may be one reason its budget is lower, it does feature the vocal talents of a number of notable actors, including Avatar‘s Zoe Saldaña, The Good Place‘s Jameela Jamil, and Harry Potter‘s Shirley Henderson.

Elio’s Opening Weekend Box Office Projections

It Is On Track To Beat Several Recent Pixar Originals