Will "Elio" tanking at the box office end Pixar's ambition for original stories?

"Elio," the story of a young boy who wants to be taken by aliens and then is, got solid reviews. That didn't stop it from properly tanking at the box office. It's one thing that "Elio" couldn't beat "How to Train Your Dragon" in its second week. "Elio" also finished behind "28 Years Later" an R-rated, violent zombie film that serves as a sequel to a movie that has, frankly, been forgotten in favor of just remembering the first movie "28 Days Later."

The Pixar (and thus Disney) movie made $21 million domestically. Even worse, the film made a mere $14 million in the rest of the world. "Elio" making $35 million in its first weekend is just about the worst opening of the year. This is the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar movie, beating "Elemental," the last original Pixar movie.

It would make us a bit too much of doomsayers to assert Disney will never green light another Pixar original. We also are going to get a couple originals in "Hoppers" and the recently much-hyped "Gatto" from the director of "Luca." On the other hand, the other Pixar movies in the works at present are a fifth "Toy Story," a third "The Incredibles," and a second "Coco." 

Disney loves to make money, as any massive conglomerate does. To that end, "Elio" and "Elemental" sandwiched "Inside Out 2," a movie that made over $1 billion. It wouldn't even necessarily be Disney's fault if they eschewed Pixar originals. It's the fault of moviegoers who so rarely accept something new, aside from the occasional movie about twin brothers facing down vampires or the father of the atomic bomb. Those are, of course, also movies for adults. Children are making worse decisions in terms of viewership, as are their parents.

"Elio" could easily be the final nail in the coffin of any ambition Disney had to generate more Pixar originals. It could legitimately end up losing $100 million for the studio, and massive studios tend to be quite gunshy about making the same "mistake" more than once.

(h/t Variety)