'Toy Story 5' sets a new franchise record with a $312 million opening

The toys-vs-tech story clearly struck a chord with audiences, winning over crowds worldwide.

Toy Story 5 storms the global box office with a massive opening, delivering the biggest worldwide debut of the year for a US studio film and setting a new franchise record for “Toy Story.”

Disney’s latest release brought in an estimated $312 million (about ₱19 billion) worldwide in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. That includes about $160 million (₱9.7 billion) from North America and $152 million (over ₱9 billion) from international markets.

In the US, Toy Story 5’s $160 million debut marks the biggest opening of the year so far, beating “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which opened with $131.7 million in its standard three-day weekend. It also surpassed “Toy Story 4,” which opened to almost $121 million in the US in 2019.

Internationally, the film’s $152 million launch is the second biggest ever for a Pixar Animation Studios release, behind sequel film “Inside Out 2,” per Yahoo Entertainment, which debuted to $384 million.

According to Deadline, Toy Story 5 was either the number one flm or the top non-local release in every major market, except India and Poland, where it was overtaken by local titles.

Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-director Kenna Harris, the film brings back Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the toys as they confront a new modern challenge in the form of a tablet device named Lilypad.

The voice cast features returning stars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack, alongside new additions Conan O'Brien, Greta Lee, and Bad Bunny. A new song "I Knew It, I Knew You" written and performed by Taylor Swift is also said to have given the release an additional boost at the box office.

It now heads into its second weekend, where it will face a new box office competitor: “Supergirl,” which will open in cinemas starting tomorrow, June 24 in the Philippines and June 26 in the US.

-Kim Asis/Paraluman News