Studio President Following Box Office Challenges Clarifies Pixar's New Disney+ Strategy For Their Future Movies & Shows.
Studio president Jim Morris clarifies Pixar's new Disney+ approach for their next films and TV shows. Pixar has controversially decided in recent years to premiere some of their films—including *Soul* and *Turning Red* straight to Disney+, The studio has thus not given some of its films the chance to flourish in theatres in the manner some Pixar films used to. Although the studio does have a theatrical release scheduled for the forthcoming *Inside Out 2*, it is set for June 14.
Morris, according to Bloomberg, clarifies Pixar's Disney+ approach for forthcoming films. The president says he expects Pixar "will not release another feature film on Disney+." Morris assures me that "it should be a series" instead of a feature film if Pixar is to create any more material for the Disney Streaming channels. Pixar wants to "mak[e] a clean demarcation between what [they] do for theaters and what [they] do for streaming." See the entire Morris quotation below:
Why is Pixar seeking to change their approach?
For Pixar, the last few years have been somewhat chaotic. For the past five years, Pixar has been plagued with Box Office underperformance even ignoring the two films straight to Disney+. While the rest of their films since have made poor showing or even lost the studio money, *Toy Story 4*, which was released in 2019, became a huge box office smash (earning $1 million).
One of the several ways Pixar has responded to this box office collapse is the suggested one by Morris. Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar, reassured viewers late last year that following *Elemental*, the direction of the company will differ. Speaking creatively, docter suggested a return to origins for the Disney subsidiary, who would subsequently create Movies "double down on what allowed [them] to speak to audiences to begin with." Less risk-taking stories like *Elemental* and more classic tales modeled by iconic Pixar works would probably follow from this creative rebirth.
View Pixar's Box Office Performance Here
Pixar Film | Home Box Office | Global Box Office
------- | ■ ■ ■ ■
$434 million | $1.07 billion Toy Story 4 (2019).
Forward (2020) | $61.5 million | $141.9 million
Soul (2020) |$121.9 million |$946,154
Luca (2021) | $1.3 million | $51 million
Turning Red (2022) |$1.3 million |$21.8 million
2022 Lightyear | $118.3 million | $226.4 million
Elemental 2023 | $496.4 million | $154.4 million
Pixar's box office success has been lackluster, obviously. The studio has produced a run of films falling short of expectations. This has cause the studio to change its approach. Apart from distancing feature films straight to Disney+, Pixar will also be emphasizing more traditional storylines more likely to appeal to viewers. Though it is still to be seen whether this fresh approach will be successful, the studio has to act in this required manner.
Go back to the classics: Pixar's approach for next films
With their development of *Inside Out 2*, a sequel to their critically-acclaimed 2015 film *Inside Out*, Pixar is already somewhat displaying this comeback. Apart from its concept, *Inside Out 2* will also follow what Morris is suggesting as it will be shown in theaters. According to a recent estimate, *Inside Out 2* will have about 100 days in theatres before going on Streaming, therefore reinforcing its reputation as a Pixar theatrical movie. With this improved approach, hopefully, Pixar will be in good shape as it moves into a new phase.
It's wise of Pixar to be going back to more classic tales. The studio has a track record of producing treasured Movies appealing to viewers of all stripes. By concentrating on these kinds of narratives, Pixar is more likely to recover and produce critically praised yet commercially successful movies. Only time will see whether this fresh approach results in a studio comeback. Still, it's a good sign moving in the correct direction.
