Credit: PixarDespite its slow start, Elemental (2023) has become one of the year’s most surprising box-office success stories. While it started small, the film has since become Pixar and Disney’s most successful original film in years.
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Directed by Peter Sohn, Elemental tells the story of Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), a fire elemental and water elemental living in Element City who fall in love despite their differing cultural backgrounds and molecular compositions.
Despite a tepid opening weekend and lukewarm reviews (for a Pixar movie), Elemental has proven the doubters wrong and maintained a constant pace, catching fire in international markets and showing that despite other movies starting off with a brighter flame, like The Flash (2023) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2o23), it’s the slow burn that counts.
‘Elemental’ Perfectly Mimics ‘Toy Story’
Elemental’s box-office journey has been fascinating. Despite never topping the charts, Ember and Wade have consistently remained in the top 10 since the film premiered on June 16. This has resulted in Elemental becoming Pixar and Disney’s most successful original film since Coco (2017), grossing over $420 million. And it’s still in theaters.
However, Elemental’s success is strange in another sense. Critics quickly pointed out that the movie opened to only about $30 million, the lowest for a Pixar movie since the original Toy Story (1995), Pixar’s first film. However, that’s not where the similarities with Toy Story end.
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Both movies would have wild longevity in theaters, reaching around $150 million in their seventh week at the box office. In fact, this reflects the financial journey of other classic Pixar films like A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters Inc. (2001), and Toy Story 2 (1999).
What separates Elemental from these other beloved films is its international performance. It has found massive success in other territories, especially South Korea, where it is the most successful Pixar film ever. It’s exciting to see an original movie be recognized for its quality amongst a wave of sequels and remakes, but there’s a chance that it could have been better.
It Could Have Reached Higher Heights
Currently, Disney is saying that Elemental’s success is an example of quality triumphing over time instead of something being a flash in the pan. Disney’s EVP of Theatrical Distribution stated, “Recently, it’s been more challenging for original animated and live-action IP to break through. But you can’t create a franchise without taking a swing, and no other studio has taken more swings than Disney.” And while they’re not wrong, that’s not the full story.
Elemental never received the same marketing presence as other less successful Disney films, like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Haunted Mansion (2023). In fear of repeating financial failures like Lightyear (2022) and Strange World (2022), Disney has pulled back on properties they don’t believe are guaranteed successes.
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Imagine how well Elemental would have done if Disney had shown it off more. For a long time, cynics wrote it off as Pixar imitating Zootopia (2016) since both are race allegories in a city centered on a specific theme, elements and animals, respectively. However, the movies are entirely separate genres and feature different points of view. Who knows how well Elemental would have done if advertising focused on this?
Disney is currently celebrating this as a win, and they should. But while they’re busy saying, “See? Look how good we are,” they should also look at what went wrong. It’s time for Disney to put their faith in quality from the very start, not after it just happens to become a hit.
How do you think Elemental holds up to other Pixar classics like Toy Story and A Bug’s Life? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!