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Disney and Pixar's newest animated feature film, Lightyear, put forth a respectable effort over its three-day weekend debut but struggled to maintain its trajectory to beat out the previous weekend's top-performing project. As a result, the animated film finished second at the domestic box office, falling slightly short of Universal/Amblin's Jurassic World Dominion.
Pixar's Lightyear, starring Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, and Taika Waititi, centered around the emblematic figure Buzz Lightyear and his committed attempt to return home after being stranded for years on an unknown planet. Unfortunately, Lightyear's desire to complete the mission leads to life-altering changes, placing him in the path of an army of ruthless robots, commanded by the nefarious Zurg, who is attempting to steal the Space Ranger's fuel source for his own distasteful agenda.
Per Deadline, the Toy Story spin-off performed incredibly well on Friday, taking home $20.7 million to beat out the $15.7 million accumulated by Jurassic World Dominion. The weekend, however, proved to be a dramatically different story for both highly-anticipated films. Lightyear generated $16.3 million on Saturday, losing to the dinosaur-driven journey, which earned $21.98 million. Sunday followed a similar path, resulting in a second straight domestic box office win for the Universal/Amblin film, which generated $58.66 million, holding off the $51 million earned by Disney/Pixar's new offering.
Lightyear, however, has received more favorable reviews when comparing the two films, earning a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and an 86% rating from audiences. Jurassic World Dominion earned a disappointing 30% rating from critics, making it the worst-rated film in the entire Jurassic Park franchise. The audience score, however, sits at 78% for the film, indicating that many seemed to enjoy the nostalgic adventure. Both films earned an A- grade from CinemaScore, highlighting their likeability, but it's difficult to gauge why audiences failed to show up for the Disney/Pixar film.
The Father's Day weekend is an element that could have played a role, pitting the family-centric film between two projects more tailored toward a demographic suited for a heavily male audience. Lightyear finished second but narrowly fended off Top Gun: Maverick, which earned $44 million to close out its fourth weekend. The widespread controversy surrounding Lightyear is not foreign, but it's unclear if it played any role in audience attendance. Lightyear was banned in multiple Middle Eastern countries because it included a same-sex kiss scene, which leading star Chris Evans labeled as idiotic. How much of a role either of the two elements played is unclear, but the Toy Story spin-off struggled to entirely move audiences.
Despite the somewhat disappointing performance, Lightyear still has time to reach brand-new heights as a fresh theatrical weekend approaches. Families looking to enjoy the theater may propel the Disney/Pixar film to the coveted box office top spot in its second weekend, but it'll be interesting to see how Ethan Hawke's highly anticipated film The Black Phone will perform throughout its weekend debut. Disney/Pixar's early projections had the film bringing in roughly $70 million, which would have easily won the weekend, but something pulled audiences elsewhere and away from the animated adventure.
Lightyear is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Deadline