Box Office: Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Aims for $40 Million Debut, ‘The Bride’ Targets Lifeless $15 Million Start
After struggling with original fare in recent years, Pixar is hoping to regain its box office mojo with this weekend’s “Hoppers.”
Disney’s animal-centric adventure is poised to lead in North America with $35 million to $40 million from 4,000 theaters. With enthusiastic reviews and fierce demand for kid-friendly fare, though, box office watchers think the animated comedy could beat expectations.
On weekend charts, “Hoppers” is projected to fend off its fellow newcomer, the Warner Bros. release “The Bride,” a feminist, punk-rock take on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” from director Maggie Gyllenhaal. “The Bride” is targeting a $10 million to $15 million debut, which would be a lifeless start given its $90 million budget. Warner Bros. is offering a slightly higher projection compared to rival studios and independent tracking services at $16 million to $18 million from 3,200 theaters. The film is expected to generate another $22 million at the international box office from 69 territories.
Projected ticket sales for “Hoppers” aren’t much better than Pixar’s 2020 adventure “Onward,” which debuted to $39 million. However, the release of “Onward” coincided with mass theater closures due to the pandemic, causing the film to run out of steam with $61 million domestically and $141 million globally, a terrible result against a $200 million budget. Although original animation has been a tougher sell for moviegoers, there’s been a recent encouraging trend in terms of box office staying power. Non-franchise fare like Universal and Illumination’s “The Wild Robot” and “Migration” and Sony’s “GOAT” didn’t necessarily impress in their opening weekends, but they managed to stick around in theaters for weeks after their debuts and eventually powered to notable ticket sales.
Pixar hasn’t fielded an original hit since 2017’s “Coco,” which opened to $50 million and ended its theatrical run with $210 million domestically and $823 million worldwide. Since then, audiences have gravitated toward sequels and adaptations of well-known properties, such as “Inside Out 2,” “Zootopia 2” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And they’ve mostly steered clear of new ideas, particularly the attempts from Pixar including 2020’s “Onward” and 2025’s “Elio” (which opened to $20 million and tapped out with $154 million against a $150 million budget.) One exception was 2023’s “Elemental,” which rebounded with $496 million after a spark-less start at the box office — although those ticket sales are below the stratospheric heights of Pixar’s prior hits. Part of Pixar’s problem is the studio’s movies are much pricier than animated adventures from rivals; “Hoppers” cost $150 million to produce, while “The Wild Robot,” “Migration” and “GOAT” each carry a price tag under $80 million.
“Hoppers” is estimated to collect $45 million to $50 million at the international box office, where it’s opening in 81% of markets. The movie isn’t landing in key territories like China or Japan until later in March. So far, reception has been strong with a 96% average on Rotten Tomatoes, which should help to boost the film’s word-of-mouth. The story follows an animal lover named Mabel, whose mind is transferred into a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate with fellow creatures and save their habitat from destruction. Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the movie as an “out-of-the-box critter comedy that’s like ‘Bambi’ on crack.”
“Hoppers” hopes to bring out family and general audiences, while the R-rated “The Bride” is catering to mostly female crowds. Unless “The Bride” manages to beat expectations, the film will be the first miss from Warner Bros. in some time. The studio has enjoyed a historic winning streak, starting with last year’s “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” and continuing with February’s “Wuthering Heights.” Despite mixed reviews, “Wuthering Heights” is nearing the $200 million mark globally after three weekends of release.
“The Bride” is Gyllenhaal’s second directorial effort following 2021’s indie drama “The Lost Daughter.” A deranged love story, the 1930s-set film follows a very lonely Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) who recruits a mad scientist (Annette Bening) to create a companion (Jessie Buckley plays the undead love interest) for him.
Disney’s animal-centric adventure is poised to lead in North America with $35 million to $40 million from 4,000 theaters. With enthusiastic reviews and fierce demand for kid-friendly fare, though, box office watchers think the animated comedy could beat expectations.
On weekend charts, “Hoppers” is projected to fend off its fellow newcomer, the Warner Bros. release “The Bride,” a feminist, punk-rock take on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” from director Maggie Gyllenhaal. “The Bride” is targeting a $10 million to $15 million debut, which would be a lifeless start given its $90 million budget. Warner Bros. is offering a slightly higher projection compared to rival studios and independent tracking services at $16 million to $18 million from 3,200 theaters. The film is expected to generate another $22 million at the international box office from 69 territories.
Projected ticket sales for “Hoppers” aren’t much better than Pixar’s 2020 adventure “Onward,” which debuted to $39 million. However, the release of “Onward” coincided with mass theater closures due to the pandemic, causing the film to run out of steam with $61 million domestically and $141 million globally, a terrible result against a $200 million budget. Although original animation has been a tougher sell for moviegoers, there’s been a recent encouraging trend in terms of box office staying power. Non-franchise fare like Universal and Illumination’s “The Wild Robot” and “Migration” and Sony’s “GOAT” didn’t necessarily impress in their opening weekends, but they managed to stick around in theaters for weeks after their debuts and eventually powered to notable ticket sales.
Pixar hasn’t fielded an original hit since 2017’s “Coco,” which opened to $50 million and ended its theatrical run with $210 million domestically and $823 million worldwide. Since then, audiences have gravitated toward sequels and adaptations of well-known properties, such as “Inside Out 2,” “Zootopia 2” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” And they’ve mostly steered clear of new ideas, particularly the attempts from Pixar including 2020’s “Onward” and 2025’s “Elio” (which opened to $20 million and tapped out with $154 million against a $150 million budget.) One exception was 2023’s “Elemental,” which rebounded with $496 million after a spark-less start at the box office — although those ticket sales are below the stratospheric heights of Pixar’s prior hits. Part of Pixar’s problem is the studio’s movies are much pricier than animated adventures from rivals; “Hoppers” cost $150 million to produce, while “The Wild Robot,” “Migration” and “GOAT” each carry a price tag under $80 million.
“Hoppers” is estimated to collect $45 million to $50 million at the international box office, where it’s opening in 81% of markets. The movie isn’t landing in key territories like China or Japan until later in March. So far, reception has been strong with a 96% average on Rotten Tomatoes, which should help to boost the film’s word-of-mouth. The story follows an animal lover named Mabel, whose mind is transferred into a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate with fellow creatures and save their habitat from destruction. Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the movie as an “out-of-the-box critter comedy that’s like ‘Bambi’ on crack.”
“Hoppers” hopes to bring out family and general audiences, while the R-rated “The Bride” is catering to mostly female crowds. Unless “The Bride” manages to beat expectations, the film will be the first miss from Warner Bros. in some time. The studio has enjoyed a historic winning streak, starting with last year’s “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” and continuing with February’s “Wuthering Heights.” Despite mixed reviews, “Wuthering Heights” is nearing the $200 million mark globally after three weekends of release.
“The Bride” is Gyllenhaal’s second directorial effort following 2021’s indie drama “The Lost Daughter.” A deranged love story, the 1930s-set film follows a very lonely Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale) who recruits a mad scientist (Annette Bening) to create a companion (Jessie Buckley plays the undead love interest) for him.