That’s how much it cost to make Lightyear and how much it should earn to be considered a box office success. Three years after the universally acclaimed release of Toy Story 4, Pixar’s flagship franchise is back with this spin-off. Billed as a blockbuster from the Toy Story universe, Lightyear tells the story of the “real” Buzz Lightyear as he teams up with Star Command recruits for a daring mission. Chris Evans replaces Tim Allen with the voice of the main character, again conveying his heroic image on the screen.
Since the original Toy Story in 1995, Pixar has always been a reliable lure at the box office. Their films regularly bring huge profits to Disney, usually turning rumors into commercial success. Their latest version shouldn’t be any different, as Lightyear has received a positive response from critics (although the full reviews aren’t as enthusiastic). As “Light Year” hits theaters, Disney and Pixar are betting that it will become one of the biggest hits of the summer, since the production of this film was not cheap.
Related: Lightyear has already broken one huge tradition of Toy Story
Lightyear’s reported production budget is $200 million, which is identical to the cost of producing “Toy Story 3” and “Toy Story 4.” This figure is higher than other recent Pixar games, such as Turning Red ($175 million) and Soul ($150 million). cost more than even some of this summer’s studio tents. Jurassic World Dominion cost $185 million, and Top Gun: Maverick cost $170 million.
What kind of box office Lightyear is needed for success
The general rule of thumb is that a movie has to earn twice its production budget to pay off. According to this indicator, Lightyear needs $400 million worldwide to recoup its costs. Judging by the history of Pixar, it should surpass this figure without any problems. Before the reduced circulation of “Forward” due to the pandemic, Pixar cartoons “Toy Story 4” and “The Incredibles 2” reached $ 1 billion. The original film of the studio “Coco” collected 807 million dollars at the worldwide box office. Despite the fact that there are several notable failures in Pixar’s resume (Cars 3 and The Good Dinosaur), it is extremely rare that one of their films has poor box office receipts. Given Lightyear’s connection to the Toy Story franchise, it should be a hit. Box office projections point to a modest (by Pixar standards) $70-85 million debut, but it can always exceed those expectations in the style of Top Gun: Maverick. It faces minimal competition for its target demographic.
Lightyear’s early reaction also works in favor of the film, with many portraying it as a fun ride. Lightyear’s full written reviews show that the spin-off is not up to par with the mainstream Toy Story movies (which admittedly is a high bar to raise), but it shouldn’t be enough to distract people from watching it. At the moment of the summer season, there are not many family films to choose from, so Lightyear fills a huge niche in the market and will be a popular option for its audience until “Minions: The Rise of Gru” is released in a couple of weeks. Because of these factors, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Lightyear will not be able to make a significant profit. Even if it doesn’t reach $1 billion, it should still be a hit for Disney.
