After years of commercial turbulence with its original films, Pixar finally has reason to celebrate again. "Hoppers," the studio's latest animated adventure directed by Daniel Chong, bounded to the top of the domestic box office this weekend with a $46 million opening — the biggest launch for any original animated movie since Pixar's own "Coco" earned $50 million during its Thanksgiving 2017 debut. Globally, the film collected $88 million across 40 territories, giving Disney and Pixar a result that exceeded even the most optimistic tracking forecasts.
The film follows Mabel, an animal lover whose consciousness is transferred into a lifelike robotic beaver, allowing her to communicate with wildlife and ultimately fight to save their habitat from destruction. Meryl Streep leads the voice cast, joined by Jon Hamm, who has been traveling internationally with the film for weeks of advance screenings. The premise — quirky, environmentally minded, and emotionally rich — proved to be a winning combination, earning the film a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it in the upper echelon of all Pixar releases alongside beloved classics like "Coco" and "The Incredibles."
Audience reception was equally enthusiastic, with CinemaScore grading the film an "A" and demographics showing that the picture pulled in a broader crowd than typical family fare — approximately 52% of ticket buyers were adults without children, compared to the usual 60%-plus family composition for Pixar films. That crossover appeal bodes extremely well for the film's staying power through spring break season, with peak school holidays still weeks away.
"This is a fantastic original film from the incredible team at Pixar, and it's wonderful to see audiences coming out with their friends and families to enjoy it together," said Alan Bergman, Disney Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment. "Congratulations to our director Daniel Chong, our producer Nicole Paradis Grindle, and our talented cast, along with Pete Docter, Jim Morris, and everyone at Pixar, on a tremendous launch."
Industry analysts attributed the failure to a combination of mixed critical reviews, poor audience scores, and difficulty marketing a film that resists easy categorization. "The Bride!" is neither a straightforward horror film nor a conventional romantic drama, and that ambiguity apparently left casual moviegoers uncertain whether it was worth the ticket price. The result snaps a remarkable winning streak for Warner Bros., which had been riding high on successive hits including "A Minecraft Movie," "Sinners," and "Wuthering Heights." The studio now faces the challenge of repositioning a film that cost nine figures to produce but has generated little organic enthusiasm from paying audiences.