Cliff Notes – Pixar film risks breaking devastating record despite being hailed ‘dazzling’
- Pixar’s Elio currently holds an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes but is projected to have the lowest domestic debut in the studio’s history, potentially grossing under $29 million.
- Critics praise the film for its imaginative storytelling and themes of self-esteem, yet some note its predictability and lack of originality.
- The film grossed $9 million on its opening day across 3,750 locations, indicating a significant shortfall compared to previous Pixar releases.
Pixar film risks breaking devastating record despite being hailed ‘dazzling’
Pixar’s latest offering Elio has wowed critics, but it looks set to make a devastating new record for the studio.
The animated sci-fi film tells the story of 11-year-old boy Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) who dreams of being abducted by aliens after feeling out of place on Earth for so long.
He is accidentally beamed up to the Communiverse, an organisation which has representatives from several galaxies, where he is mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador.
It currently holds an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes among critics, but it could become the lowest domestic debut ever for Pixar.
Box office reports from Variety show the film grossed $9 million (£6,6M) on Friday across 3,750 locations.
It has been predicted that this could mean Elio will fall well behind 2023’s Elemental, the film which currently has the lowest domestic debut, at $29M (£21.5M)
The critics’ consensus for the film could not be further away from its low box office, reading: ‘Catapulted by its theme of building self-esteem, Pixar’s latest cosmic wonder Elio boasts a fanciful world of original creations to dazzling effect.’
‘Elio is another knockout, a quiet but determined shooting star that earns its place in the galaxy,’ Tribune News Service wrote.
Movie Mom added: ‘Pixar’s latest has everything we love about Pixar, a heartwarming story with endless imagination, charm, and wisdom, about an endearing character and the fears and joys of being human.’
Others, however, pointed out the predictability of Elio’s plot, with RogerEbert.com saying: ‘Schmaltzy yet sincere, Elio, the latest from Pixar, is as predictable as they come but as tender as they can get.’
Paste Magazine added: ‘As a story about children finding a place to belong, discovering their true sense of self and realizing that parents and parental figures love you even when they don’t always understand you, Elio is a lovely, if not particularly original story.’
The Daily Beast summarised: ‘For all its overt ’80s homages, there’s something timeless about Elio. too. It may be mid-tier Pixar, but that’s still likely to make it one of the better animated offerings of the year.’
Speaking ahead of the film’s release, Kibreab opened up to Screen Rant about learning he had scored the role of Elio alongside Zoe Saldana who voices Elio’s aunt Olga.
‘I love all the Pixar movies and I watched them all the time and I still do today. And just to be in one, in an original Pixar movie, is such a pinch-me moment,’ he said.
They both reflected on what they had learned from each other while filming, with Emilia Perez star Saldana revealing, ‘He’s been teaching me how to be Alpha and Gen Z,’ learning everything about ‘rizz’ and Skibidi Toilet.
Elio is in cinemas now