The opening weekend for Lightyear disappointed at the box office. The film debuted with $51 million domestic, keeping Jurassic World Dominion in the number one spot. It has currently grossed $34 million international, for $85 million worldwide.
The film is up there with Toy Story 3 and Finding Dory having one of the highest budgets in Pixar’s history, with $200 million. Projections were that the film would gross between $70 to $80 million domestically. Comparatively, while Lightyear had an opening weekend of $51 million, Jurassic World Dominion cashed in with $58.6 million, despite having around a 60% drop. Pixar’s latest was able to soar above Top Gun: Maverick, which grossed $44 million with a 15% drop.
The domestic performance for Lightyear, especially for its opening weekend, was a big target for Pixar. The studio had released all of its movies—Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red—were released on Disney Plus. With this being the first film since the pandemic to be in theaters, it was a blow to take—the releases surrounding the film in the weeks following its release made for a daunting opening. As films like Jurassic World and Top Gun phase out of theaters, the space adventure flick might find its footing.
Behind the Scenes of the Lightyear Opening Weekend
As it tells the film’s story that inspired the toy that we all know and love from the Toy Story quadrilogy, the casting chose to elect Chris Evans rather than Tim Allen to voice the space ranger. He is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers), Peter Sohn (Luca), Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Dale Soules (Orange Is the New Black), and Taika Waititi.
Director Angus MacLane has worked in the art department for multiple Pixar films like Up and Toy Story 3. He co-directed Finding Dory with Andrew Stanton (WALL·E). MacLane marked his directorial debut with this galactic adventure as he co-wrote it with Jason Headley (Onward) and Matthew Aldrich (Coco).
