As sequels become the focus of theatrical offerings, Hoppers has given original animated films a reason to be hopping for joy. Disney and Pixar’s latest animal adventure came out on top of the global box office with US$88 million, marking the biggest opening for an original animated feature since 2017’s Coco, which now sits at a whopping US$823 million worldwide.
The strong debut is a much-needed recovery after the studio’s latest original work, Elio, landed its worst-ever million opening weekend of US$20.8 million. Before that, Elemental also premiered to a lukewarm US$29.6 million, but bounced back with a respectable US$154 million domestic finish. In light of the encouraging results, Hoppers is set to be Pixar’s first original hit in almost 10 years.
Conversely, the other new release, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s R-rated The Bride, stumbled with US$13.6 million worldwide against a US$90 million budget, coming in third at the domestic box office. In second place is Spyglass and Paramount’s Scream 7, racking up a global cume of US$149.4 million in its second week of release. Similarly, Sony Animation’s GOAT is one step closer to crossing the US$150 million mark, earning US$146.3 million to date.
Directed by Daniel Chong and written by Jesse Andrews, Hoppers follows animal lover Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda, A.N.T. Farm), whose mind is transferred into a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate with animals and save their habitat from destruction, inadvertently starting an uprising in doing so. The ensemble voice cast also includes Bobby Moynihan as King George, the charismatic beaver whom Mabel befriends; Jon Hamm as Jerry Generazzo, a greedy mayor; Kathy Najimy as Dr Samantha “Sam” Fairfax, creator of the hopping technology; Dave Franco as Titus, the Insect King; and Meryl Streep as the Insect Queen.
Post-Hoppers, Pixar has its sights on a sequel-filled pipeline. Toy Story 5 will return this June, followed by The Incredibles 3 and a Coco follow-up in 2028 and 2029, respectively. A third Monsters Inc. movie is in the works, while next year’s Gatto and the studio’s first musical will round out the original slate.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
