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Who says toys are outdated? Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” which grapples with the reality that kids would rather play with tech than dolls, has surpassed $1 billion globally and now ranks as the highest-grossing
release of the year.
The film has earned $448 million domestically and $573 million internationally for a global tally of $1.022 billion. It’s the third movie of the year to cross the coveted milestone, following “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($1.001 billion) and “Michael” ($1.001 billion). Meanwhile “The Odyssey,” which has earned $639.6 million after just two weekends of release, is primed to be the fourth film to notch $1 billion. And that’s before “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” a sequel to 2021’s juggernaut “No Way Home,” opens on July 31.
This year is tracking to produce the most billion-dollar blockbusters since the pandemic upended the box office in 2020. In 2019, nine movies — including “Avengers: Endgame,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Joker,” “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Captain Marvel” — earned over $1 billion. The following year, plagued with months of COVID-related theater closures, not a single film crossed the billion-dollar mark. There was just one in 2021 (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), three in 2022 (“Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World Dominion”), two in 2023 (“Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”), three in 2024 (“Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Moana 2”) and three in 2025 (“Zootopia 2,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Lilo & Stitch”).
In the coming days, “Toy Story 5” will register as the highest-grossing installment in the beloved franchise, overtaking 2019’s “Toy Story 4” ($1.07 billion). It’s the third “Toy Story” sequel to cross $1 billion after 2010’s “Toy Story 3” ($1.06 billion).
Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, the fifth installment follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes addicted to her new favorite gadget, a kiddie smart tablet known as Lilypad. “Toy Story 5” opened in mid-June to $160 million, marking the biggest debut of the year as well as the best start in the series. With glowing reviews, positive word-of-mouth and general goodwill toward the 31-year-old property, “Toy Story 5” remained the de facto choice for family audiences through the busy summer season. It didn’t hurt that Taylor Swift, whose wedding to Travis Kelce was among the buzziest news of the summer, wrote a new song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the soundtrack.
Amid the outsized success of “Toy Story 5,” Pixar Animation Studios was hit last week by layoffs at Disney. Although animated sequels have majorly rebounded at the box office, original fare remains challenged. Pixar’s other 2026 release was this spring’s new adventure “Hoppers,” the story of an animal-loving student who transfers her mind into a robotic beaver so she can talk to other critters. Despite a strong opening weekend, “Hoppers” didn’t have the staying power to match the box office heights of prior Pixar greats.
