Pixar boss says it's a "rough time" as Elio tanks at the box office, but the studio is still committed to original animation or else they'd be "making Toy Story 27"

Pixar boss Pete Docter has said it's a rough time for animated movies, but that all they can do is continue to put out new and original stories like Elio – despite its disappointing box office performance.

"It's a rough time, and all we can do is try to make movies that I think are led by us. We have to believe in them," Docter, writer of both Inside Out and Elio, said at a summit held by Fast Company. "It takes as much work and effort to make something that doesn't make money as it does for something that does. And you can't really plan on this stuff. Sometimes you just hit the right little combinations of things."

Added Docter: "We have to find out what people want before they know it. Because if we just gave them more of what they know, we’d be making Toy Story 27."

Elio hit theaters on June 20, and made just $21 million at the US box office and a total of $35 million globally across its opening weekend against a budget of $150 million – making it the worst-ever opening for a Pixar movie. Compared to 2015's Inside Out, which earned $90 million in the US and Canada alone during its opening weekend, it's looking like it might take a minute for Elio to break even.

It's especially disappointing given that the movie has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response, with Rotten Tomatoes putting Elio at an 84% Fresh critic score and a 91% audience score.

Elio is in theaters now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, check out our list of movie release dates.