Pixar has scored a major theatrical victory with its new original animated film Hoppers, which dominated the weekend box office in North America with an impressive $46 million debut and $88 million worldwide. The film also brought in $42 million from international markets across 88 territories, marking the strongest opening for an original animated feature since Coco debuted in 2017.
The success is especially significant for Pixar after several recent original titles struggled to achieve strong theatrical performances. Aside from franchise hits such as Inside Out 2, the studio has faced challenges in drawing large audiences to cinemas. However, the strong reception for Hoppers signals renewed confidence in Pixar’s ability to deliver compelling original storytelling.
Directed by Daniel Chong and produced by Nicole Paradis Grindle, the comedy-adventure follows animal enthusiast Mabel, voiced by Piper Curda, who uses groundbreaking technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver. Through this unusual transformation, she begins communicating directly with animals and soon discovers secrets far bigger than she expected. Along the way, she teams up with a charming beaver named King George, voiced by Bobby Moynihan, to unite the animal kingdom against a looming threat posed by a persuasive mayor.
The film features a strong ensemble voice cast including Meryl Streep, Dave Franco, Kathy Najimy, Sam Richardson, and Melissa Villaseñor. Positive audience response has played a key role in its success, with the film earning a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an A CinemaScore, and a perfect five-star score on PostTrak. It also benefited from daytime access to IMAX screens, helping attract families and younger audiences.
While Pixar celebrated a triumphant weekend, Warner Bros. faced a much different outcome with The Bride!, the gothic romance directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film debuted in third place domestically with just $7.3 million, significantly below expectations. Internationally, it collected $6.3 million from 78 markets, bringing its worldwide opening to $13 million against an estimated $80 million production budget before marketing expenses.
Starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, the film is inspired by the classic The Bride of Frankenstein. Despite moderate audience reactions — including a 73 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes — the movie received mixed critical reviews and a C+ CinemaScore, factors that likely contributed to its weak opening performance.
Elsewhere at the box office, Scream 7 secured second place during its second weekend. Although the horror sequel dropped more than 70 percent, it still generated $17.1 million domestically and added $15.6 million overseas, pushing its global total close to $150 million.
Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT landed in fourth place with $6.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $83.8 million and its worldwide earnings to $141.3 million.
Meanwhile, Wuthering Heights continued its steady global run. The film added $3.8 million in North America and $8.7 million internationally, lifting its worldwide total to over $213 million after three weekends in theaters.
The weekend ultimately belonged to Pixar, as Hoppers demonstrated that audiences are still eager to support original animated storytelling when the concept, reviews, and word-of-mouth align.
