If you had listened to the media industry pundits on Sunday, June 18th, Disney and Pixar had another disappointment on their hands. Peter Sohn’s “Elemental,” just the second Pixar film to open directly in theaters since the end of the pandemic, earned just $29 million in the U.S. over its opening weekend. It was the lowest debut for a Pixar movie since the original “Toy Story” hit theaters in 1995.

Continue reading Peter Sohn Revisits The Emotional Box Office Comeback Of ‘Elemental’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

There’s something particularly tragic about a boring Pixar movie, especially one that hardly carries any of the tenets that have made the animation company so legendary. It’s unfortunate when any good-willed film is bad, of course, but with all the good graces previously engendered by Pixar, watching the culmination of years of animation hardly add up to a memorable experience is a bummer. So much work has clearly gone the animation of its shiny adventure, “Elemental,” but the story is a big problem.

Continue reading ‘Elemental’ Review: Pixar’s Fire & Water Metaphor For Tolerance & Differences Is Sadly Dull & Safe at The Playlist.

As we head into the summer blockbuster season, we get inundated with franchises, the latest Marvel and ‘Fast’ movies, tentpoles, and mega films of all sorts. But thankfully, before it really starts in earnest, and we’re on to the third major superhero film of the year, we get some alternative options at the Cannes Film Festival. Or at least the lucky few of us who get to attend do, and the rest of us get to highly anticipate their regular theatrical (or streaming) release.

Continue reading 2023 Cannes Film Festival: 21 Must-See Movies To Watch at The Playlist.

There is a discussion on Film Twitter that the people excited to see Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” are not the same people that are excited to see Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.” We disagree. Whether the masses want to believe it or not, it’s a Barbie world, and we’re all just living in it–even Ryan Gosling has admitted that he’s finally discovered his Ken-ergy.

Continue reading Summer 2023 Movie Preview: 52 Must-See Films To Watch at The Playlist.

It’s already been an eventful week for Walt Disney Studios. The long-promised layoffs hit the company’s theatrical divisions yesterday and this morning Disney filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis claiming a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power.” In Las Vegas, however, the studio had a job to do, convince the world’s theater owners and managers that their upcoming slate was something to get excited about. The CinemaCon audience was already excited for “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.

Continue reading Gareth Edwards’ ‘The Creator’ & Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Top Disney’s CinemaCon Teases at The Playlist.

Any guesses on what film will close the 2023 Cannes Film Festival? How about the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie “Elemental“? If that sounds outlandish, remember that the festival has picked three other Pixar movies over the years: “Up,” “Inside Out,” and “Soul,” respectively.

READ MORE: ‘Elemental’ Trailer: Fire & Water Don’t Mix Well In Pixar’s New Animated Film

Even then, given the overall critical reception to the past three Pixar releases, including last year’s misfire “Lightyear,” it feels strange for the animation studio to return to Cannes, much less provide the fest’s final film.

Continue reading Disney & Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Will Be The Closing Film Of The 2023 Cannes Film Festival at The Playlist.

This is a weird thing to say, considering the studio’s long history of success, but Pixar needs a hit. After the lukewarm (putting it nicely) reception to last year’s “Lightyear,” combined with a pandemic that saw three films get straight to streaming (“Soul,” “Luca,” and “Turning Red”) and one film with an incredibly short theatrical run (“Onward”), it feels like forever since 2019’s “Toy Story 4.” Obviously, Pixar is hoping to buck that trend with the upcoming film, “Elemental.”

READ MORE: Pixar Exec Says ‘Lightyear’ Failed Because “We Asked Too Much Of The Audience”

As seen in the new trailer for “Elemental,” the film follows the story of a world where the five elements are all personified and live separately.

Continue reading ‘Elemental’ Trailer: Fire & Water Don’t Mix Well In Pixar’s New Animated Film at The Playlist.

Every year, we think, “Okay, we’re not doing 100 films this year. F that!” But after much consideration, we’re gluttons for punishment. The annual 100 Most Anticipated Films of [Insert Year Here], in this case 2023, is always a huge beast, a herculean task, and one that makes us lose our minds a little bit, tbh. And it’s always fascinating to see what we rank high or low, and then either becomes much more important a film to that year (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Elvis,” “The Fabelmans” not ranked all that high in 2022, but some of the most important films of the year) and or things we rank really high that turn out to either be duds, or just non-starters (now, of course, anticipating something and whether it’s actually great are two different things).

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023 at The Playlist.

Pixar had a rare misfire with year with “Lightyear,” but look for the animation studio to steady its stride with “Elemental,” out in theaters next summer. The 27th Pixar film takes audiences to Element City, where earth, air, fire, and water residents live together.

READ MORE: Pixar Names ‘Elemental’ Main Cast, Announces New Feature ‘Elio’ & Will Forte Joins ‘Win Or Lose’ Series [D23 Expo]

“Elemental” focuses on two of the city’s residents, Ember and Wade, whose differing ways of approaching life shake up their worldviews.

Continue reading ‘Elemental’ Teaser Trailer: Pixar’s 27th Feature Film Hits Theaters On June 16, 2023 at The Playlist.

Disney’s D23 Expo wasn’t just about live-action films. The house of the mouse was obviously built on animation, and the studio didn’t forget its roots in tonight’s big promotional event. Beloved animation studio Pixar had a presence at D23 as well, and they delivered several updates on projects new and familiar while also confirming today’s news of an impending sequel to “Inside Out.”

READ MORE: An ‘Inside Out 2’ Movie Is Happening, But Bill Hader & Mindy Kaling Won’t Return Over Pay Issues

Before that, the next big theatrical release for Pixar is the film “Elemental,” and the studio revealed actors Mamoudou Athie (“Jurassic World Dominion”) and Leah Lewis (“The Half of It”) as the lead voices.

Continue reading Pixar Names ‘Elemental’ Main Cast, Announces New Feature ‘Elio’ & Will Forte Joins ‘Win Or Lose’ Series [D23 Expo] at The Playlist.