Animated film Hoppers leaps to Pixar’s best original opening since Coco in 2017

LOS ANGELES – Hoppers, the new animated picture from Walt Disney’s Pixar studio, debuted as the highest-grossing film in American and Canadian cinemas, delivering US$46 million (S$59 million) in ticket sales.

The total, reported by Disney on March 8, marks the best opening for a new cast of Pixar characters since Coco took in US$50.8 million in 2017. Boxoffice Pro, an industry tracker, expected sales of US$40 million or more. The studio was forecasting US$35 million to US$40 million. 

The tally is welcome news for Disney. Pixar’s recent record has been mixed: Elio underperformed in 2025, while Inside Out 2 delivered almost US$1.7 billion in 2024, making it the top film worldwide that year. 

Hoppers is the latest release in a strategic reset at Pixar, which now focuses on a balance of original work with sequels and spin-offs. In June, Disney will release Pixar’s Toy Story 5. 

Directed by American animator Daniel Chong, Hoppers follows protagonist Mabel Tanaka, an environmental activist whose mind is transferred to a lifelike robotic beaver to communicate with animals and help save their habitat from destruction.

It cost US$150 million to make and scored 94 per cent approval from critics on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

Animation has been a bright spot for the Disney film division led by Mr Alan Bergman, the company’s co-chair of entertainment. Zootopia 2, released in November 2025, has taken in US$1.86 billion in global ticket sales, the most for a Disney animated picture.

On March 18, Disney will be overhauling its leadership team, with theme parks division head Josh D’Amaro becoming chief executive of the company and Ms Dana Walden – the co-chair of entertainment alongside Mr Bergman – becoming president and chief creative officer.

Mr D’Amaro will succeed Mr Bob Iger, whose first major strategic move after being named chief executive in 2005 was to acquire Pixar for US$7.4 billion. BLOOMBERG