“Toy Story 5” has earned the best Thursday preview box office total ever for a “Toy Story” film and the best for any film this year with $17.5 million grossed, as it is set to earn one of the highest opening weekends ever for an animated film.
By comparison, “Toy Story 4” earned a $12 million preview total en route to a $120 million opening weekend in 2019. “The Incredibles 2,” which holds the record for the highest three-day opening for an animated film with $182.4 million, earned $18.5 million from its previews.
“Toy Story 5” also opened in 28 countries on Thursday, bringing its overseas total in its first two days to $26 million and its global total to $43.5 million. The film is expected to post the strongest opening weekend in the “Toy Story” franchise with totals north of $160 million domestic and $275 million worldwide.
That has been backed up by characteristically sky-high reception from critics and longtime “Toy Story” fans, who have both given this installment a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score.
While original and off-the-beaten-path films like “Obsession” and “Backrooms” have lifted the box office well above expectations over the past month, tried-and-true animated franchises are expected to do the heavy lifting in the weeks ahead.
Along with “Toy Story 5,” which is likely to exceed its predecessor’s $1.07 billion global total, Universal/Illumination will release “Minions & Monsters” on July 4th weekend, looking to match or beat the $940 million global total reached by “Minions: The Rise of Gru” in 2022.
Meanwhile, “Obsession” has crossed $200 million at the domestic box office and $300 million worldwide. Already the highest grossing film ever for distributor Focus Features, “Obsession” has joined “Sinners” as only the second original film in the past nine years to pass $200 million in the U.S. and Canada.
