‘Lightyear’ Is a Box-Office Dud, but It’s Poised to Be the Next Disney+ Hit

Pixar’s first theatrical release since pre-pandemic times was a box-office disappointment: “Lightyear” opened to 50.58 million last weekend in the U.S.

and Canada, whiffing on (already low) projections by around 20 million.

(It brought in an additional 12.43 million over the last week.) But that doesn’t mean Buzz is destined for the bin of forgotten toys: Recent Disney animated movies skyrocketed in popularity after hitting Disney+ and “Lightyear” is on track to soar among those stars.Over the last week, Google Trends showed slightly more searches for “When will Lightyear be on Disney+” than “Lightyear movie times.” The search popularity for “Lightyear streaming” peaked June 17, the day the movie was released in theaters.

By comparison, searches for “Encanto” peaked December 26, two days after it landed on Disney+.

In other words, parents (and other nostalgic adults) are ready for the “Toy Story” origin story to hit their home TVs already.Disney

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