Lightyear Had a Less than Outstanding Theatrical Debut Failing to Defeat Jurassic

Lightyear Had a Less-than-Outstanding Theatrical Debut, Failing to Defeat Jurassic World: Dominion

Lightyear had a less-than-stellar debut at the domestic weekend box office with $51 million in ticket sales, a number that wasn’t even enough to beat Jurassic World: Dominion.

As Variety reported, Lightyear, which had a pre-market production budget of $200 million, was expected to make at least $70 million in its first weekend in North America. Instead, its $51 million undershot, placing it in second place behind Jurassic World: Dominion at $58.6 million.

Dominion even had a nearly 60% drop from its opening weekend, when it grossed a massive $145 million domestically. Worldwide, the latest entry in the legendary dino franchise has surpassed $622 million.

Internationally, Lightyear added an additional $34.6 million in 43 markets, bringing its global total to $85.6 million.

Lightyear was a big film for Pixar as not only is it set in the popular Toy Story universe, but it is also the first Pixar film to hit theaters since 2020. Soul, Luca and Turning Red have all skipped theaters in favor of an exclusive release on Disney+.

Unfortunately for Pixar, it had to go up against the aforementioned Jurassic World: Dominion and the unstoppable force known as Top Gun: Maverick. The Tom Cruise-led 1986 sequel to Top Gun took third place and earned an additional $44 million in North America.

Avatar’s $50 million in its fourth theatrical weekend is the only film before Top Gun: Maverick in the same period. Maverick has grossed $466 million in North America and $885 million worldwide, making it the biggest Tom Cruise film of all time.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, due out June 22 on Disney+, came in fourth at $4.2 million, and Disney’s The Bob’s Burgers Movie rounded out the top five at $1.1 million .

For more, see our Lightyear review, our Explainer of the End, and our look at Buzz Lightyear’s never-ending evolution.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.