Woody, Buzz and the gang are taking the box office to infinity and beyond. Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 has officially shattered the franchise’s opening weekend record, and it is doing so with the kind of numbers that have not been seen at the domestic box office all year.
The film opened to a staggering 71 million dollars on Friday alone, pulled from 4,425 theaters across North America, after setting a franchise record with 17.5 million dollars in Thursday previews, the second best preview number ever for any animated film, trailing only Incredibles 2’s 18.5 million dollar haul in 2018. Industry trackers had initially projected a 145 to 150 million dollar opening weekend. Those numbers were revised upward almost daily as actual ticket sales rolled in, with some forecasters now placing the three day total as high as 175 to 180 million dollars.
Whatever the final figure lands on, one thing is already certain: Toy Story 5 will easily surpass Toy Story 4’s 120 million dollar opening to become the biggest debut in franchise history, and it stands as the best domestic opening of 2026 so far.
Why Audiences Showed Up in Force
Part of the explosive opening comes down to timing. The film’s Thursday previews coincided with the Juneteenth holiday in the United States, giving it an extra boost heading into the weekend. But the bigger driver appears to be genuine audience enthusiasm. Roughly 48 percent of ticket buyers purchased same day tickets according to PostTrak data, an unusually high walk up rate that signals strong word of mouth and pent up demand after a seven year wait since Toy Story 4.
Critics have been similarly enthusiastic. The film currently holds a certified fresh score and a 93 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, just shy of Toy Story 4 and Inside Out 2’s 94 percent scores, but more than strong enough to fuel sustained turnout in the weeks ahead.
The Story Behind the Numbers
Toy Story 5 finds Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the toys facing a distinctly modern threat: a smart tablet named Lilypad that disrupts their playtime with Bonnie by offering something screens always seem to offer better than toys, endless engagement. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack all return to voice their iconic characters, joined by newcomers Conan O’Brien and Greta Lee.
The film carries a substantial 250 million dollar production budget before marketing costs, meaning Disney needed a big opening to justify the investment. Early numbers suggest they are getting exactly that.
A Strong Summer for the Box Office
Toy Story 5’s blockbuster debut adds significant momentum to what has already been a strong summer season. The domestic box office is currently running 13 percent ahead of last year, according to Rentrak, with the overall summer pacing just 3.4 percent behind 2019, the year Avengers: Endgame helped set all time records. With Minions and Monsters, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey all still to come, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the strongest years for theatrical moviegoing since before the pandemic.
Internationally, Toy Story 5 is also performing well, leading China’s Dragon Boat Festival box office with an early haul of roughly 8.3 million dollars in its first two days, and topping charts in most of the 41 markets where it has already opened, including standout numbers in Mexico, Chile and Paraguay.
For a franchise that has already generated more than 3 billion dollars worldwide across its first four films, Toy Story 5 looks set to add a significant new chapter to that legacy, both on screen and at the box office.
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