Disney’s recent animated spin-off movie, Lightyear, featuring Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear, has reportedly caused the studio to lose over $100 million at the box office, according to a recent report.
Unfortunate Wave Of Review-Bombing
Upon its release, the movie faced a wave of review-bombing and criticism due to a gay kiss scene, leading to a ban in some countries. Despite Disney’s decision to keep the scene, Lightyear failed to meet expectations and suffered massive losses.
Box Office Earnings Fall Short Of Expectations
Deadline reported that Lightyear had a total production cost of $373 million and earned only $267 million in revenue, resulting in a net loss of around $106 million. The movie’s worldwide earnings of $226.4 million barely exceeded its production cost of $200 million, leaving a significant financial loss for Disney.
Notable Box Office Losses
Lightyear joins Cars 3 and The Good Dinosaur as Pixar films that have failed to make back their production costs at the box office. However, it is not uncommon for high-profile movies to face such losses; for instance, Fox’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Annapurna Pictures’ Missing Link also suffered losses.
Disney Looks To Improve Release Strategy
The recent financial loss for Disney will encourage the company to improve its release strategy. Despite this setback, Pixar and Disney are set to release Elemental this year, which will hopefully provide new classic characters to celebrate. Additionally, the Toy Story franchise is set to continue with Toy Story 5, and it is hoped that Lightyear’s struggles will only be a temporary setback for the animated movie powerhouse.