‘Toy Story 5’ earns $312 million globally in opening weekend, sets new franchise high

Pixar’s Toy Story 5 had a massive opening weekend, pulling in $160 million from 4,425 theaters across North America. That number makes it the biggest domestic debut of 2026 so far, overtaking Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie which opened to $131.7 million earlier this year. More significantly, it is now the highest-grossing opening weekend in the entire Toy Story franchise, beating the record set by Toy Story 4 back in 2019 with $120 million.

The film also ranks as the second-largest animated opening weekend in Hollywood history. Only Incredibles 2, which launched with $182.7 million in 2018, has had a bigger debut for an animated title.

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Also Read: 5 underrated animated films worth watching before ‘Toy Story 5’

A strong global start

The domestic numbers were just part of the story. Internationally, Toy Story 5 opened to $152 million in its debut weekend. Combined with the North American haul, the film crossed $312 million globally in its first three days of release. The film was made on a budget of $250 million, not counting marketing costs worldwide.

The film, the cast, and the story

Toy Story 5 is directed by Andrew Stanton, a Pixar veteran behind films like Finding Nemo and WALL-E. The fifth film in the franchise reunites the core cast, with Tom Hanks returning as Woody, Tim Allen back as Buzz Lightyear, and Joan Cusack reprising her role as Jessie.

The story follows the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes consumed by a new kiddie smart tablet called Lilypad. Taylor Swift also contributed a new original song titled “I Knew It, I Knew You” to the film’s soundtrack.

Critics and audiences responded warmly. The film currently holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned an A grade on CinemaScore exit polls.

What the numbers could mean for the franchise

Industry observers are already drawing comparisons to recent animated sequels that went on to become massive global earners. Disney’s Inside Out 2 in 2024 finished its theatrical run with $1.6 billion worldwide. Zootopia 2 in 2025 went even further, crossing $1.8 billion. If Toy Story 5 follows a similar trajectory, it could end up as the highest-grossing film in franchise history. That record currently belongs to Toy Story 4, which wrapped its run at $1.07 billion globally.

Box office analyst David A. Gross of the newsletter FranchiseRe noted that family films have been leading the industry since cinemas bounced back from the pandemic in 2023. He pointed out that Pixar and Disney have a particular track record of growing each installment in a series beyond the previous one.

The rest of the weekend

Toy Story 5 left the rest of the chart well behind. In second place was Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi film Disclosure Day, which added $17 million in its second weekend. That represented a 62% drop from its debut, a decline that analysts say points to limited appeal beyond older male audiences. The film has earned $78 million domestically and $160 million globally so far, but with a production budget of $115 million and a break-even point estimated around $300 million worldwide, it still has a long road ahead.

Horror film Obsession held strong in third place with $14.2 million in its sixth weekend, a drop of just 25% from the previous frame. The film has now earned $215 million domestically and $333 million worldwide, making it a significant success for Focus Features.

Backrooms, another breakout horror title from A24, came in fourth with $7.3 million in its fourth weekend. It has collected $175 million domestically and $300 million globally, making it A24’s highest-grossing release of all time, surpassing Marty Supreme.

Rounding out the top five was Miramax’s Scary Movie 6 with $6.7 million, pushing its domestic total to $97.4 million and $201.9 million worldwide against a production budget of just $30 million.

Other new releases

Two additional films opened this weekend in limited release. Neon’s Leviticus opened at eighth place with $2.74 million from 1,076 locations. Written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, the supernatural horror film follows two teenage boys who meet at conversion therapy. It did not receive a CinemaScore grade but holds strong reviews.

A24’s The Death of Robin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Michael Sarnoski, opened ninth with $2.65 million from 1,782 locations. The revisionist take on the folk legend earned a C+ on CinemaScore and 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 acquired domestic rights to the film for around $4 million.

Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe continued its difficult run in its third weekend, adding just $5.6 million and bringing its domestic total to $56 million against a $200 million budget. Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu dropped to seventh place with $3.9 million in its fifth weekend, with $172 million domestically and over $320 million globally against a $165 million budget.