When Disney/Pixar’s Elemental opened back in June, the 2023 movie schedule looked like it had claimed another box office casualty. A weak opening seemed to signal that the famous animation studio’s brand had taken a hit, that is until subsequent weekends started to boost the movie’s profile among those watching the Hollywood market. Now, with the summer offering crossing yet another milestone at the box office, it’s time to ask one big question: Can we stop calling Elemental a bomb now?
Director Peter Sohn’s animated rom-com has now crossed $400 million in grosses on the worldwide stage. According to THR’s reporting, Elemental is “the first Hollywood animated movie based on original IP to do so since before the pandemic.” That benchmark comes with the knowledge that the picture outdid its home team predecessor Lightyear, which comparatively scored $218.8 million according to the report above.
However, perhaps the proudest achievement, at least in Sohn's eyes, was the fact that his film about the immigrant experience became the highest-grossing Disney/Pixar movie in South Korea. Reflecting on that moment, as both a filmmaker and son of Korean immigrants, the director shared the news with this beautiful reflection on Twitter after reposting the studio's news:
I think my heart burst with joy.
Looking back on Elemental’s not so hot opening box office, it’s a result that most wouldn’t have expected. Beaten by The Flash on the same opening weekend, it wasn’t long before Warner Bros. would-be blockbuster lost steam, allowing the second-weekend grosses of Pixar’s latest movie to jump ahead of the Scarlet Speedster. Flash forward to this past weekend’s box office, and the story of Ember and Wade is still sparking with audiences, even in the wake of Barbenheimer week 2.
However, it’s time for some Hollywood accounting, in the name of seeing just how much of a hit Elemental can claim to be. The numbers that THR threw out have a total of $146.2 million in domestic grosses added to an estimated figure of $257.5 million from the international market. So roughly $403.7 million has been brought in from the theatrical run so far.
Here’s where it gets tricky: the production budget on Disney/Pixar’s summer slow burn was allegedly $200 million alone, and we don’t know how much was spent on marketing and other costs that may have factored in along the line. Plus, that’s also including the fact that part of those grosses go to the movie theaters, as they split the take with the studios.
So is Elemental a flop? It certainly isn’t; though I still wouldn't call it a runaway hit. Though there's another win we have to talk about for Elemental, and that's the fact that most audiences might have presumed it would be available with a Disney+ subscription by now.
Indeed, the pandemic market’s quicker streaming turnaround times would have supported that suggestion, thanks to Lightyear being given that very treatment after its less-than-stellar launch. Also, as Soul and Turning Red had previously pivoted to streaming exclusive debuts, the Pixar brand seemed to be leaning into the streamer.
Much like Wall-E, Elemental now represents the seed of Disney/Pixar’s resurgence as an animated brand. Though the box office has been crowded this summer, and Disney has still seen difficulties with movies like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Haunted Mansion getting off the ground, this news is rather hopeful. The future could be very beautiful for Pixar, especially when audiences seem happy to return to theaters to see the company's latest emotional adventure.
Considering everything we’ve discussed above, let’s put the notion that Elemental is a bomb to rest, once and for all. Whether you call it a drip or a burn, the effect this movie has had on audiences is a slow roll that only continues to defy the odds -- especially when there’s still no streaming release date set. If there was ever a sign of encouragement that you should get to a theater and enjoy the movie on the big screen, let that be it.
