“Toy Story 5” sweeps the box office: the return of Woody and Buzz conquers the world
The fifth installment of the Disney and Pixar franchise achieves the best premiere of the series with $312 million dollars globally
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie are proving that their magic is still intact. “Toy Story 5” dominated the box office with $160 million in 4,425 North American theaters, placing it at the high end of expectations and securing the biggest domestic opening of the year, ahead of Universal’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131.7 million), according to Variety.
The animated sequel also holds the spot for the biggest start in Disney and Pixar's beloved “Toy Story” franchise, surpassing the record set by “Toy Story 4” in 2019 with $120 million. In addition, it achieved the second largest animated opening weekend in history, only behind “The Incredibles 2” in 2018, which reached $182.7 million.
Overseas, “Toy Story 5” opened with $152 million, bringing it to a sensational global total of $312 million. The largest territories outside the United States and Canada were Mexico with $26.6 million, the United Kingdom with $20 million, China with 18 million and France with 7.2 million, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
The film is set to become the highest-grossing film of the franchise, surpassing the $1.07 billion that “Toy Story 4” accumulated.
A story that connects with the public
Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, the fifth installment follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes addicted to her new favorite gadget, a smart children's tablet known as the Lilypad.
The film addresses a very current topic: in a world where children have exchanged toys for tablets, do toys still matter?
The soundtrack features Taylor Swift, who wrote a new song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the film, a piece inspired by the character of Jessie that explores her relationships with Woody and Buzz.
“Toy Story 5” has received excellent reviews (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and ratings from audiences (an “A” grade in CinemaScore exit polls).
Although some critics point out that the film falls short of the original trilogy and doesn't delve enough into its technology premise, most agree that it is a great film in its own right, an improvement over the fourth installment and the best thing Pixar has done in years.