‘Cars 2’ On Track To Become Pixar’s Worst Box Office Performance Since 1998
Poor Mater and McQueen: After a35% Rotten Tomatoesscore gaveCars 2the unhappy distinction of becoming the worst-reviewed Pixar movie of all time, it is now tracking to earn Pixar’s lowest domestic gross since 1998’sA Bug’s Life. Read on after the jump.
To put things in perspective, an $8 million fourth weekend isn’tbad, especially considering that it was up against similarly family-focused entertainments likeWinnie the PoohandHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Still, asUpcoming Pixarpoints out, there’s a good chanceCars 2won’t be hitting the $200 million mark unless it lucks out with a strong Labor Day weekend performance.
The news is especially discouraging asCars 2’s $200 million production budget made it one of the most expensive projects in the studio’s history. I wouldn’t predict Pixar giving up on sequels altogether yet, though.Toy Story 3, another $200 million sequel, raked in $415 million domestically to become Pixar’s biggest commercial success.
On a brighter note,Cars 2seems to be doing somewhat better abroad. Though it has yet to open in several countries, including France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K., it’s already earned a total of $121.6 from foreign markets. In fact, its total grosses in Australia, Brazil, and Mexico are already higher than the total grosses for the firstCarsin those countries.
Oh, well. I’m as disappointed inCars 2’s critical and commercial failure as anyone else, but as Russ said, “Pixar had to swing and miss sometime.” Even withCars 2dragging down the averages, Pixar still has the kind of critical and commercial record that other studios would kill for. And anyway, if the first looks atBraveare any indication, Pixar still hasn’t lost its magic. With any luck,Cars 2’s less-than-stellar performance on both fronts will become a distant memory soon enough.
[All figures come fromBox Office Mojo.]
