Moana 2andInside Out 2made 2024 an incredibly successful year for Disney, yet raised the bar impossibly high for the studio’s next animated movie. Beginning withInside Out 2’s box office numbers, the film broke numerous records after its release in June.Inside Out 2became thehighest-grossing animated moviein history, surpassing 2019’sThe Lion Kingby earning a worldwide box office total of almost $1.7 billion and becoming one-half of Walt Disney Pictures' overly successful year.
Moana 2’s box office totalis not quite as high asInside Out 2’s, but the film proved more successful than first thought. The film has earned just shy of $1 billion worldwide and is expected to cross the coveted milestone before its theatrical run concludes. When it does so, 2024 will be solidified beyond all doubt as an immensely successful year for Disney. Although the studio will be pleased by this,Moana 2andInside Out 2may have placed more pressure on another ofDisney’s upcoming moviesthat will struggle to emulate its predecessors' commercial success.
Disney’s Next Animated Movie After Moana 2 Is Elio, An Original Sci-Fi Film
An Original Story Follows Two Successful Franchise Movies
Firstly, it is worth exploring what the next Disney animated movie is.In June 2025, the studio will releaseElio, an original storywith an intriguing sci-fi twist. The film is a Pixar Animation Studios effort and will tell the story of the titular Elio, a young child from Earth who is beamed up to something named the Communiverse by aliens. Elio finds himself becoming the intergalactic Ambassador of Earth as he navigates a crisis in the galaxy by forming bonds with the alien lifeforms around him.
Pixar’s Elio: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know
Elio is a Disney and Pixar collaboration heading to theaters in 2025, and here’s everything we know about the upcoming family film.
Pixar’s track record is excellent, and the premise forEliois promising. Interestingly, though,Eliois one of the few Pixar films to have suffered some production issues. The film’s original director, Adrian Molina, departed the project midway through production, with fellow Pixar regulars Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian being hired in Molina’s place. The reasoning for this change is somewhat unclear, though reports indicate it was due to Molina’s more emotional standpoint on the story.
Molina is known as the writer and co-director of Pixar’sCoco, while Shi directed Pixar’s short filmBaoand the feature filmTurningRed. Sharifian has worked as a story artist onCocoandTurning Red, while also directing the short filmBurrow.
According to Pixar head Pete Docter in an interview withThe Wrap, the replacement directors allowed the script to better convey its main character in a way that would connect with general audiences. This is no more evident than in the twotrailers released forEliothus far, the first in June 2023 under Molina’s direction, and the second in November 2024 under Shi and Sharafian. The film looks and feels immensely different, with the primary change being Elio’s demeanor, personality, and overall reaction to being abducted by aliens.
Elio Shouldn’t Have The Same Box Office Expectations As Disney’s 2024 Animated Movies
Elio Will Have A Difficult Time Replicating The Success Of Moana 2 & Inside Out 2
Regardless ofElio’s production changes, the film was always going to struggle to replicate the success of Disney’s 2024 animated movies. As alluded to previously,Inside Out 2andMoana 2were overly successful at the box office, primarily due to the familiarity worldwide audiences already have with the franchises.Inside OutandMoanawere almost as popular as their sequels, with Disney capitalizing on both brands in 2024. As an original film,Eliodoes not have this familiarity, meaning Disney should not expect the same box office numbers asMoana 2andInside Out 2for the film.
The most recent Pixar original film that received a wide theatrical release wasElemental. This movie only earned a worldwide total of $496 million against a $200 million budget.Eliomay have a smaller budget than this, butElementalproved that original movies from Pixar or Disney should not expect to earn close to $1 billion. This is, admittedly, a sad reality given audiences' desire for original movies. Nonetheless,Eliowill struggle to surpass and even equal the box office tallies ofMoana 2andInside Out 2,setting the bar much lower for 2025 in comparison to 2024.
Disney Can Still Have A Huge Animated Movie Box Office Hit In 2025
Another Film Will Improve Disney’s Box Office Prospects In 2025
Even ifEliodoes not replicate the success ofMoana 2orInside Out 2, there is another Walt Disney Animation film coming in November 2025 that could still render the year a successful one for the studio:Zootopia 2.Thestory ofZootopia 2has been anticipated since the first film was released back in 2016, with the success of the latter often going under the radar. Other Walt Disney Animated movies are mentioned more commonly thanZootopia,fromMoanato the likes ofTangledandWreck-It Ralph.
Zootopia 2 Will Remind You It’s Disney’s Forgotten Cash Cow
Zootopia 2 has officially been announced, reminding everyone just how successful the original Zootopia was - but will Zootopia 2 succeed too?
That said,Zootopiaearned more money than all of these movies, earning just over $1 billion during its theatrical run. As such a sleeper hit,Zootopia’s sequel is expected to be just as, if not more, successful. This could end 2025 on a massive note for Disney, regardless of whetherEliobecomes a similar success or not. WhileMoana 2andInside Out 2were outliers, Disney may have another successful year at the movies, despite the difficultyEliowill face emulating them.
Elio
Cast
Elio follows the journey of a space enthusiast who embarks on a cosmic adventure, encountering eccentric alien lifeforms and facing an intergalactic crisis. During this odyssey, he attempts to forge new friendships and discovers his true identity in the universe. Released in 2025, the film explores themes of self-discovery and friendship.
