‘Toy Story 5’ Eyes Record $150 Million Debut

“Toy Story 5” should send the box office to infinity… and beyond.

The latest entry in Disney and Pixar’s beloved animated franchise is targeting a debut of $145 million to $150 million from 4,400 North American theaters. Industry watchers believe that initial ticket sales could soar even higher — with some predicting a tally closer to $160 million to $175 million — given the goodwill toward the property as well as the sterling reviews from critics. After all, Disney’s recent animated sequels like 2024’s “Inside Out 2” ($154 million debut) and 2025’s “Zootopia 2” ($100 million debut) exploded at the box office, with $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion respectively by the end of their runs — and “Toy Story” is the crown jewel of kid-friendly franchises.

Should pre-release estimates hold, “Toy Story 5” will easily overtake 2019’s “Toy Story 4” ($120 million debut) and 2010’s “Toy Story 3” ($110 million debut) as the largest start in the 31-year-old series. It would also rank as the biggest domestic debut of the year, which currently belongs to Universal’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” with $131.7 million.

Overseas, “Toy Story 5” is expected to open to $135 million or more for a global tally above $275 million. It carries a $250 million budget, not including the global marketing expenses.

“Toy Story 5” arrives in theaters seven years after the prior adventure, which earned over $1 billion at the global box office. Overall, the franchise has generated more than $3 billion worldwide across five films. And that’s just the big-screen riches. “Toy Story” generates more than $1 billion annually in worldwide retail sales across consumer products, games and publishing. Then on Disney+, “Toy Story” ranks as the most watched film property with over 2 billion hours streamed globally.

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack are reprising their voices as Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie. The fifth installment confronts the all-too-real reality that kids would rather play with screens than action figures. The story follows the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner Bonnie becomes addicted to her new favorite gadget, a kiddie smart tablet known as Lilypad. Andrew Stanton, a Pixar veteran whose credits include classics like “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E,” directed the movie. Taylor Swift wrote a new song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the soundtrack.

“Toy Story 5” will rule over North American charts and continue the sizzling summer season. Thanks to breakout hits like “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” as well as big-budget fare like “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “Michael,” the domestic box office is 13% ahead of last year, according to Rentrak. Notably, the summer season is pacing just 3.4% behind 2019, when “Avengers: Endgame” was cementing all kinds of records. “Toy Story 5,” along with upcoming tentpoles like the “Despicable Me” spinoff “Minions & Monsters,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” could help to close that gap and propel grosses closer to pre-pandemic years.

Two other films will launch nationwide alongside “Toy Story 5.” A24’s R-rated “The Death of Robin Hood,” starring Hugh Jackman, and Neon’s festival breakout “Leviticus,” are each targeting $3 million to $4 million from roughly 1,000 venues. Meanwhile last weekend’s champ, Steven Spielberg’s alien conspiracy thriller “Disclosure Day,” should decline by 50% to 55% from its launch, which would put weekend sales around $20 million to $22 million. So far, the $115 million-budgeted film has generated $48.7 million domestically and $98 million globally.

A revisionist take on the oft-rebooted folk legend, “The Death of Robin Hood” follows the aged vigilante as he meets a mysterious woman and young girl after being critically injured. Michael Sarnoski (“A Quiet Place: Day One”) directed the film, which co-stars Jodie Comer, Bill Skarsgård, Murray Bartlett and Noah Jupe. “The Death of Robin Hood” has mixed reviews, with Variety’s Guy Lodge writing the film is “exquisitely crafted and emotionally intelligent, but it does tilt into dourness.” A24 acquired domestic rights for around $4 million.

With stellar reviews, “Leviticus,” a buzzy supernatural horror movie about conversion therapy, could be the latest scary sleeper hit following “Obsession” and “Backrooms.” Adrian Chiarella wrote and directed the film, which was acquired by Neon after scoring rave reviews out of Sundance. In Variety’s review, critic Carlos Aguilar predicted “Leviticus” is “bound to earn a place in the pantheon of notable queer horror” and praised Chiarella for wielding “horror in defense of queer love, avoiding easy sentimentalism … all while still satisfying the audience’s cravings for effective, bone-chilling uneasiness.”