Parents straight up are not taking their kids to movies anymore unless it's an event movie, which for kids movies is basically locked to just remakes/sequels of already massive hits and certain adaptations like Mario. And most adults continue to be dismissive of animation unless it's directly tied to their own nostalgia. Post-COVID/streaming, it really feels like original animation is dead in the domestic theatrical space.
nah it's not dead. The problem is more than the studios are having trouble putting out original movies of good quality.
Anyway, i'll laugh when Migration, a completely original animated movie, gets a freaking 600 million BO gross after it releases next month.
Encanto was well-received by critics and audiences and it still didn't do big numbers theatrically; and that film's commercial performance
remains the height of original animated features post-COVID.
Chronological OW (original features highlighted in bold and italics):
2020:
[PX] Onward: $39.1M
[DW] The Croods: A New Age: $9.7M
2021:
[WD] Raya and the Last Dragon*: $8.5M
[DW] Spirit Untamed: $6.3M
[DW] The Boss Baby: Family Business*: $17.3M
Paw Patrol: The Movie*: $13M
The Addams Family 2: $17.3M
Ron's Gone Wrong: $7.3M
[WD] Encanto: $40.6M [5-day (Thanksgiving)]
[IL] Sing 2: $22.3M [3-day] / $41M [5-day (Christmas)]
2022:
[DW] The Bad Guys: $24M
The Bob's Burgers Movie: $12.4M [3-day] / $14.8M [4-day (Memorial Day)]
[PX] Lightyear: $50.6M
[IL] Minions: The Rise of Gru: $107M [3-day] / $123.1M [4-day (Independence Day))]
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank: $6.3M
DC: League of Super Pets: $23M
[WD] Strange World: $11.9M [3-day] / $18.6M [5-day (Thanksgiving)]
[DW] Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $12.4M [3-day] / $26.2M [6-day (Christmas)]
2023:
[IL] The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $146M [3-day] / $204.6M [5-day (Easter)]
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: $120M
[PX] Elemental: $29.5M
[DW]: Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken: $5.5M
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem: $28M [3-day] / $43M [5-day]
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie: $22.8M
[DW]: Trolls Band Together: $30.6M
[WD] - Walt Disney Animation Studios, [PX] - Pixar, [DW] - DreamWorks, [IL] - Illumination
*Film was simultaneously released on streaming on opening day; in Raya/Last Dragon's case, it was released as a "Premiere Access" feature that required added fees to watch
-----
Highest to lowest, 3-day wknds. (excl. Spider-Verse, Mario, and Minions; original features highlighted in bold and italics):
Lightyear ($50M+)
Encanto ($40M+)
Onward
Trolls/Together ($30M+)
Elemental
Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
<<Wish ($24M-$27M?)>>
Bad Guys
DC Pets
Paw Patrol/Mighty
Sing 2 ($20M+)
Addams 2 [Oct 2021]
Boss Baby [July 2021]
Paw Patrol
Puss in Boots
Bob's Burgers
Strange World ($10M)
Croods/New Age
Raya/Last Dragon
Ron's/Wrong
Paws of Fury [2022]
Spirit Untamed [2021]
Ruby Gillman
For what it's worth, I do think Encanto was hamstrung by plain bad luck in terms of timing/release: Sony released NWH a few weeks later and people returned to theaters in droves to see that. Illumination's Sing 2 was released afterwards, and that film not only ended up outgrossing Encanto, it ended up being the highest-grossing animated feature of 2021. I also wouldn't be surprised if Encanto was additionally a victim of Disney conditioning audiences to wait for streaming for their animated films with their Pixar Disney+ trilogy (Luca, Soul, Turning Red). And speaking of which--it was only after the film was released on Disney+, after it languished in its theatrical run; that Encanto was accepted by a large audience, thanks to positive word-of-mouth.
All that told, I definitely would not be surprised if Migration easily clears the competition to have the best OW/commercial run for an original animated film post-COVID. Illumination is already already three-for-three with post-COVID box office hits across Sing 2, Minions 2, and Mario.
deadline.com
