Disney-Pixar Elio opens with the lowest debut for a Pixar film in History

Disney & Pixar’s summer film about an 11 year old boy whose biggest wish is to get abducted by aliens opened at the domestic box office in third place this weekend. Unfortunately, the box office ticket sales for Elio wasn’t as high as the studio had hoped, getting the film off to a very slow start for a Disney-Pixar film.

In the film, Elio waits and watches for aliens to abduct him and he finally gets his wish when he is abducted and transported to an interplanetary paradise that is home to intelligent life from galaxies far and wide. But, while the film received received great reviews from critics and audiences alike, the film suffered with low attendance at the box office over the weekend. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film was “Certified Fresh” with overall 84% positive reviews from critics and 91% positive reviews from audiences. But that wasn’t enough to save Elio from opening with only $21 million at domestic box office, making it the lowest debut of a Pixar film in history.

The prior lowest opening for a Disney-Pixar film was Elemental in 2023 which opened to $29.5 million¹ at the domestic box office. However, Elemental was considered a sleeper hit and ended up grossing over $496 million¹ worldwide. Elio was projected to open between $25 million and $30 million but final box office numbers ended up coming in below those projections. Like Elemental, Disney is hoping Elio will have the same long-term success despite it’s slow start. And with the entire summer still ahead, we have hopes that Elio will “blast off” and end up being an overall success at the box office.

McDonald’s Happy Meals

Part of the marketing for Disney-Pixar Elio includes McDonald’s Happy Meals which includes eight different toys featuring Elio and his new alien friends from the film. One Elio toy is included in each Happy Meal box or can be purchased separately.

The Elio Happy Meal toys toys include Elio, Helix, Questa, Mira, Glordon, Girgon, Aquarii and Alya. Each toy comes on a blue translucent base with an attachment that spins the toy when squeezed.

McDonald’s Happy Meals featuring Elio toys are available at McDonald’s restaurants through June 30, 2025.