‘Toy Story 5’ didn’t play around in box-office debut
It notched the strongest box-office debut of 2026.
• less than 3 min read
If Lou Bega and the Short Circuit movies taught us anything, it’s that No. 5 has value. The fifth installment of Toy Story is taking that lesson all the way to the piggy bank, notching the strongest box-office debut of 2026. In its opening weekend, the Disney and Pixar movie:
- Grossed $160 million domestically—a franchise best.
- Made $152 million overseas.
- Had the second-strongest animated debut ever, behind Pixar’s Incredibles 2 in 2018.
Like its predecessors, Toy Story 5 also has strong reviews from audiences and critics, so its mojo probably won’t collapse like the toys do when a human walks into the room.
To infinity and…even farther: Woody and the gang have been rounding up audiences for nearly 31 years. The first four movies brought in about $3 billion in total box-office revenue, and toys and merchandise tied to the movies raised the franchise’s total revenue to ~$16 billion, according to a Disney-commissioned economic study compiled by advisory firm Steward Redqueen reported on by Axios.
You’ve got a trend in me: The number of movie tickets sold in 2026 is up 7% so far from last year, according to research firm EntTelligence, and the domestic box office total is at its highest level since before the pandemic, per Rentrak.—BC
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