For nearly three decades, Pixar has taken animation and storytelling to new heights. Whether you need to just keep swimming or be with a friend who loves to play, the stories Pixar creates go to infinity and beyond. The impossible becomes possible, like toys coming to life or turning into a giant red panda. Dreamers are given the inspiration to go farther and take risks. Yet, as much as Pixar films push the proverbial envelope, the studio’s theatrical releases have been all over the place. For instance, Pixar’s first project, Toy Story, was the biggest-grossing animated film in 1995. Meanwhile, their latest project, Lightyear, barely broke even at the box office.

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Even though fans and critics can make or break a movie, many audiences will go purely for the excitement of sitting in the theater. Going to the movies has always been a social event. The audience collectively experiences a film together and is forever connected, even if they don’t realize it. However, the pandemic put a halt to many social gatherings and studios had to resort to streaming releases. Initially, Disney saw success with its franchises, but as theaters opened up again, one franchise seems to be absent. Pixar’s straight-to-streaming releases are actually a good marketing technique by Disney. Indeed, here’s a look at why Disney has largely stopped giving Pixar movies theatrical releases.

Finances of Pixar Over the Years

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Pixar spends, at most, $200 million per film, and the domestic box office gives a better picture for the studio’s theatrical releases. Some films, the first of their kind, make a big profit at the domestic box office. Interestingly, most of Pixar’s top successes were sequels, according to CNN. For example, when The Incredibles 2 hit theaters in 2018, it made $608 million at the box office. This massive profit could be due to the anticipation after successful first films, like Toy Story or Finding Nemo.

That said, some films barely turn a profit. Films like Coco, Cars 3, and Cars 2 made between $20 million and $40 million in profit domestically. Yet, Pixar’s biggest financial loss in the theater of all time was Onward, grossing only $61 million domestically. The financial loss of Onward could be for several reasons, as outlined by Screen Rant. One of the main reasons they outline for the flop is that any film that is the first of its kind struggles in theaters. Some believed the pandemic was to blame for the loss Pixar saw with Onward, but the effects of the pandemic are not solely to blame. The studio places magic into the real world or another world, like in Monsters Inc., but Onward introduced a fantasy world that didn’t have magic and was reliant upon a teenager to find that magic.

Streaming vs Cinema

     Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios

Even though box office profits or losses do not necessarily measure a film’s popularity, the Cars franchise and Onward aren’t going to keep the lights on. In fact, studios need to turn a major profit in order to make more films, at least that’s what they want us to believe. The pandemic put this tale to the test across the globe. Studios, like Pixar, had to become inventive in order to turn quarterly profits. Luckily, in November 2019, before the pandemic hit the United States, Disney launched its streaming service, Disney+. When the world went into lockdown, theatrical releases were a challenge for studios. But the show went on! Pixar released three films on the streaming platform that, in many ways, defied the odds. Soul, Luca, and Turning Red all premiered on Disney+ during the pandemic domestically, but internationally were released in theaters. Even though Soul did worse than Onward at the box office, it made the largest box office profit of the three films.

Success with Streaming

     Disney

One way Disney attempted to make a profit during the pandemic was through the Premiere Access Shelf initiative. As in, any new film released onto the platform that would normally have a cinematic release would be immediately available for $29.99. The initiative, however, did not go over well. According to Collider, the Premiere Access Shelf failed because it went against the norms of a streaming service. Despite this mishap, the studio did experience some success: an increase in streaming subscriptions. The New York Times explains that the boom is due to the release of the Broadway hit, Hamilton.

But as the world opened up, Disney and its subsidiaries could return to theatrical releases. As a response to the pandemic, Pixar announced its return to the theaters with Lightyear, the story behind the toy that is Buzz Lightyear, which made an $18 million profit. Even though this is one of the lowest profits for the studio, the latest release, Strange World, made $4 million on its opening weekend. Though Pixar’s straight-to-streaming strategy started in the pandemic, it seems to be the best way for the studio to remain on top without having to worry about profits since they can rely on the domestic box office.