Credit: Disney/PixarOn June 20, Disney and Pixar released their latest animated film, Elio. The movie told the story of a young boy named Elio who is absolutely obsessed with anything having to do with space and aliens. Elio was orphaned at a young age and lives with his Aunt Olga, an Air Force major who set aside her astronaut dreams to care for him. Feeling all along, Elio dreams of making contact with aliens and desperately wants to be abducted.
Much to his surprise, Elio manages to make contact using a device at Olga’s base. Unfortunately, the alien Collective known as the Communiverse mistakes him for Earth’s designated ambassador.
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Suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar world, Elio must navigate intergalactic proceedings and forge bonds with bizarre, eccentric lifeforms. He befriends Glordon, the gentle son of the warlord Lord Grigon, and through their friendship learns empathy and courage while facing a looming threat from Grigon himself. In the process, he embarks on a journey of self‑discovery, finding belonging and purpose not just among the stars, but within himself.
Unfortunately, despite the heartwarming story of acceptance of others and yourself, Elio failed to perform at the box office. But it wasn’t because audiences didn’t like the story. The film is currently sitting at an 83% critics rating and a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sadly, Elio holds the distinction of having Pixar’s worst opening weekend box office performance to date.
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However, in this digital age, just because a film fails to do well in theaters doesn’t mean that it won’t still find success elsewhere. And Elio absolutely has a chance to be a hit when it comes to Disney+. And it will be coming to the streamer a lot sooner than we may have initially thought.
Disney has announced that Elio will make its Disney+ debut on September 17, a mere 89 days after its theatrical debut.
Elio’s Disney+ debut follows the timeline that Disney originally set between theatrical and streaming release dates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Films, like Encanto (2021), would typically be released on Disney+ 90 days after their theatrical premiere.
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However, there have been some films that were not released on Disney+ until quite some time after their theatrical run, and it wasn’t because they were massive box-office hits.
For example, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* did not premiere on Disney+ until 118 days after its May 2, 2025, world premiere. Then, there was Wish (2023), which holds the record for longest time between theatrical debut and streaming release. Wish is largely considered a flop, but it was 132 days until Disney released it on Disney+.
Disney+ has also proven to be a valuable resource for films that have not done well at the box office. Just this year, movies like Snow White (2025) and Thunderbolts* didn’t bring in a lot of money, but they soared to initial success on Disney+. So, it’s definitely possible that Elio could follow in their footsteps and perform even better due to its strong audience score.
Will you be watching Elio when it premieres on Disney+ on September 17? Did you see the movie in theaters? What did you think? Why do you think audiences aren’t showing up to watch original stories like they used to? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!