Pixar Animator Warns About Not Watching Films in Theaters

As COVID-19 spread across the globe like wildfire, nearly everything was forced to shut down — theme parks, clothing stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and more. Thankfully, the world is back open for business, but COVID is having some lasting impacts. One of the biggest impacts is still being felt by movie theaters. Streaming services came to the forefront during the pandemic, and studios learned how to make movies that people could enjoy on the small screen. Just months before the pandemic hit the United States, Disney even launched its very own streaming service, Disney+.

While movie theaters were shut down, Disney released several new films that subscribers could pay extra to watch. Those were called Premier Access films. Subscribers were able to pay $30 and watch Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon months before everyone else. Even after theaters reopened, Disney movies were only in theaters for about 45 days before they made their way to Disney+. Pixar movies suffered even more, with many not even making it to theaters. Movies like Soul, Luca, and Turning Red were not released in theaters and were released on Disney+.

Even though it’s been more than two years since most movie theaters reopened, many people are still just waiting for movies to come to streaming platforms, so they can watch from home. Unfortunately, this is causing big-budget films to flop and could result in certain types of films no longer being made.

Cat Hicks has been with Pixar for more than a decade and has worked on a number of hit films, including Cars, Inside Out, Coco, Finding Dory, Onward, and Turning Red. Pixar’s most recent film, Elemental, was released this past weekend, but was a flop in theaters. Despite its meager earnings, the film earned rave reviews from those who saw it. Hicks thanked those who went to theaters, but also sent a warning when one follower said that animated movies were more valuable on Disney+.

Twitter user Josh Spiegel shared the interaction.

People are still having an embarrassingly hard time grasping that watching something on streaming doesn’t make studios that much money.

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Sadly, Elemental is not the first Pixar movie to flop in recent months. Both Strange World and Lightyear failed to bring in viewers. Lightyear was such a failure that many of the executives who worked on it were laid off. This includes the woman who saved Pixar during the Toy Story era. Many were hoping the story from Element City would help revive the studio. They have not been so lucky.

As Hicks had to explain, Disney+ is not where movies make their money. Movies make money when people buy tickets to see them in theaters. In just four days, The Little Mermaid made $125 million at the box office. It will never make anything close to that after it is released on Disney+. Hicks explained that, if fans just wait to watch movies from home, quality animation movies, like Elemental, will no longer be made.

Despite its struggles, Pixar is still hard at work. Inside Out 2 and Elio – a new original animated film – are both slated for release in 2024. Pixar has also announced that they are working on another Toy Story film.