Pixar’s Newest Strategy Shows A Lack Of Faith In Original Movies, And I’m Concerned

Pixar has created some of the most unique and thought-provoking movies in cinematic history, entertaining young audiences while capturing the minds of adults. Whether it’s tackling grief in Up, global warming in WALL-E, or self-discovery in Cars, there has always been something at the heart of a Pixar film that allows great, unique ideas to thrive.

This studio managed to turn the concept of a rat becoming a chef into a movie that grossed $623 million globally. However, Pixar’s recent original concepts have been struggling, and the latest strategy that they are implementing proves that even those in charge of the studio don’t have confidence in that changing.

What Is Pixar’s Latest Movie Release Strategy?

Pete Docter Wants To Mitigate Risks When Releasing Original Content

Pixar has often been the studio that audiences have looked to for the latest and greatest ideas, seemingly where creatives can get their juices flowing and blow people’s minds with their skills. However, the recent original movies such as Elemental, The Good Dinosaur, and Elio have struggled to make the significant impact that people would typically expect from a Pixar film. That is why the studio is switching up its strategy, as Pete Docter has confirmed they will release one original cinema followed by a sequel moving forward.

This is being done to lower the risk that comes with creating an original movie. Pixar films are no longer guaranteed box office hits unless they feature characters that people are already aware of, such as the upcoming Toy Story 5 film. This showcases the direction of the movie industry, which is why there are so many sequels being created across every genre, with nostalgia proving to be one of the guarantees for financial success.

Pixar Is Showcasing No Faith In Original Movies Performing Well At The Box Office

Elio Is Currently Proving To Be Pixar’s Latest Flop

The idea of creating more stories based around characters that fans know and love within the world of Pixar might be fun for many fans, but it does highlight a worrying issue that is going on with the studio generally. Pixar isn’t showing the same level of faith in original movies that they once did, even though those ideas made the studio what it is today. The likes of Elemental and Elio are brilliant movies that provide great lessons and are packed with heart and beautiful animation. However, Pixar failed to get behind them properly regarding marketing, which led to them not making the box office impact that needed to be seen as a success. Elemental only managed to thrive because word of mouth for the movie was so positive, and Pixar will be hoping the same happens for Elio.

Elio has brought Pixar its lowest-ever box office results for an opening weekend, and that is a trend that they can ill-afford to continue in the long term. However, the fact that Docter thinks a sequel needs to be released after every original movie showcases that even people within Pixar don’t believe in the original movies being a success. Suppose that is the internal mindset right now in the studio. In that case, it is a serious cause for concern, as the marketing is never going to believe in them either, which is going to create a difficult cycle for Pixar moving forward.

Pixar Can’t Rely Upon Legacy Sequels Forever As It’s Not Sustainable

Audiences Will Eventually Burn Out From countless Toy Story Sequels

Another concerning factor in this situation isn’t just regarding how Pixar isn’t showing belief in its original movies, but also the fact that it is risking burning out the legacy franchises. There are only so many times that audiences will be willing to sit through movies for the same characters before they become bored of it, regardless of how popular they are. Toy Story 5 is one of Pixar’s upcoming releases, and each time a movie gets announced from that franchise, fans tend to wince as they’re worried that the quality will drop off or that they will end up not having the same affection for the characters. That is the problem that Pixar will run into with this new strategy because if none of the original movies are backed to become successful, they will not be able to make sequels out of them to continue providing fresh content. That’s going to become a problem in the long term, as Pixar is going to run out of legacy sequels to make eventually.

There have already been five Toy Story movies, two movies based around Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc., three Cars films, and a third movie in The Incredibles franchise is also set. Coco is confirmed to be getting a sequel, and that proves that Pixar is quickly running out of content to make this strategy happen. That’s why this situation is concerning, not just in terms of Pixar having no confidence in its original content but also in terms of how the studio is moving forward on a broader scale.

Toy Story 5

Release Date

June 19, 2026

Director

Andrew Stanton

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  Tim Allen

  Buzz Lightyear (voice)

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  Joan Cusack

  Jessie (voice)

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  Ernie Hudson

  Combat Carl (voice)