'Toy Story 5' scores big opening weekend as upward summer box office trends continue
"Toy Story 5" brought its theme of old-school entertainment fighting for attention against newer technology into the real world this weekend with successful box office numbers that continues to revive theater-going this year after a pandemic dip.
The fifth installment of the iconic Pixar franchise, which features voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and more, opened to the tune of $160 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend after its Friday, June 19 open, according to The Numbers, which tracks box office.
The latest "Toy Story" bringing moviegoers to theaters this weekend also features Taylor Swift's song "I Knew It, I Knew You," combining the pop star's massive popularity with the already widely beloved movie franchise.
A "20/20" special, "'Toy Story': 30 Years and Beyond" is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
"Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilypad, a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie. Will playtime ever be the same?" the movie's synopsis.
The success of "Toy Story 5" is just the latest win in a string of box office accomplishments this year, as Hollywood tries to reclaim pre-pandemic box office numbers.
The $160 million opening weekend marks the strongest of any film in the 31-year-old franchise.
The success of "Toy Story 5" follows a year of domestic box office success, with music biopic "Michael" earning $367,915,000 so far and sci-fi adventure "Project Hail Mary" earning $343,923,009.
Hollywood has also seen box offices surprises this summer with horror films "Obsession" and "Backrooms" each scoring big openings on small budgets this summer.
Hollywood is hoping to break a marker that has not been met since before the pandemic, Chris Randleman, chief revenue officer of theater company Flix Brewhouse, told "Good Morning America" on Monday.
"We're at $4.46 billion right now. The magic number that we want to get back to is $10 billion. That's been the number we've been chasing since the pandemic ended. It was very important to get off to a good start," he said.
Randleman said the movies that are succeeding are generally aimed at young people.
"They keep wanting to come back and back. So you're creating more lifelong theatergoers," he said.
There are several more opportunities on the calendar for box office numbers to continue their strong year. The live-action "Moana" comes out next month, along with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey."
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of Pixar, ABC, ABC News, Disney+ and Hulu.
