It could be the worst flop ever for a Pixar film.
Just how bad was the damage?
Elemental had a $200-million budget, not including advertising. It had a projection of only $29.5 million on its debut weekend at the box office, according to CNBC.
That would put it barely above the debut of the original Toy Story in 1995, which made $29.1 million. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $58 million today... not to mention that Pixar was just getting started back then and wasn't the premiere animation studio on the planet backed by billions of Disneybucks!!
Even Variety had to admit the woke movie flopped:
But there's no sugar-coating the debut of 'Elemental,' which landed by far the worst start in modern history for Pixar, ranking below some of its more forgettable attempts like 2015's 'The Good Dinosaur' ($39 million) and 2020's "Onward" ($39 million).
Sad! Not good!
Maybe a few drag queens and a soliloquy about the wonders of abortion could have made it a hit!
Conversely, parents don't want to pay a hundred bucks to take their kids to a animated sermon from woke moralizers.
I should really start betting on company stock whenever I see the term "historic" in headlines followed by anything woke. I knew two months ago that this movie was gonna bomb, but somehow the people controlling billions of dollars at Disney don't!
Where Wade comes from a well-to-do aquatic clan that lives in a fancy high rise, Ember is an immigrant from the world of fire who is bent on honoring her parents by taking over their shop, which peddles things fire people would eat (that would be wood).
In the past, I'd be all for this. Learning to see each other as fellow humans made in the image of God despite our differences is a good thing, and so are stories that explore difficult situations like immigrating to a new country. There are plenty of animated classics that have already explored these themes!
But what Disney and Pixar now peddle is New Racism™ based on the woke idea of "diversity" that comes from communist drivel. Until they disavow the commies in their ranks, everything they touch will be suspect of teaching kids critical theory, and parents don't want that.
