Pixar's 'Hoppers' Leaps to $88M Global Opening, Marks Studio's Best Original Film Launch Since 'Coco

Pixar Animation Studios scored a major victory this weekend as “Hoppers” bounced to an $88 million global opening, according to box office reports. The film earned $46 million domestically and $42 million internationally, marking the best opening for an original Pixar animated movie since 2017’s “Coco,” which launched with $104.7 million worldwide.

The Pete Docter-led studio can celebrate a significant breakthrough with “Hoppers,” which outperformed recent Pixar originals including 2020’s “Onward” ($65.6 million) and 2023’s “Elemental” ($65.1 million), according to industry tracking data.

Box office analysts noted strong Saturday performance globally, mirroring domestic trends where Saturday’s $19.1 million represented a 45% jump over Friday’s $13.2 million opening day. The film attracted a broad audience domestically, with 52% general moviegoers and 48% families, according to demographic breakdowns. This represents a shift from typical Pixar releases, which often skew 60% toward family audiences.

“Hoppers” claimed the number one spot in major international markets including the United Kingdom ($6.4 million), Mexico ($3.7 million), France ($3.6 million), Germany ($3.5 million), and Spain ($2.8 million), according to international box office reports. The film performed particularly well in Spain, where it overperformed expectations, and in France, where it finally topped the local family film “Marsupilami” in its fifth weekend.

In South Korea, “Hoppers” earned $2.1 million for a strong second-place finish, trailing only the local period film “The King’s Warden” in its seventh weekend. The animated film also secured top positions in Italy ($1.9 million) and Brazil ($1.8 million).

Industry observers highlighted the film’s success outside traditional holiday windows, with most major holidays occurring toward the end of March and beginning of April when Universal’s “Super Mario Bros Galaxy” arrives. Box office experts noted the global marketplace typically supports three to four family titles simultaneously.

Across Europe, “Hoppers” debuted at number one among non-local films in nearly all markets, representing the second-highest opening weekend of 2026 and the highest opening for an original animated film since “Coco,” according to regional tracking. Poland contributed $1 million to the international total.

Latin American markets showed similar strength, with “Hoppers” opening at number one in all territories and posting the highest opening weekend of 2026 in nearly all markets. The region recorded the highest opening for an original animated film since “Elemental,” with Colombia adding $1 million to the total.

The film opened in five Asian markets this weekend: South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, India, and Indonesia. It secured number one positions among non-local films in all five markets while posting the highest non-local opening of 2026. In both India and Thailand, “Hoppers” achieved the highest grossing original animated film opening since the pandemic, according to local box office data.

Upcoming releases include Japan, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam next weekend, followed by China on March 20 and Australia on March 26 to capitalize on school breaks.

The success of “Hoppers” contrasts sharply with Warner Bros.’ “The Bride,” which disappointed with a $13.6 million worldwide opening against an $80 million production budget. The Maggie Gyllenhaal-directed film, starring Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley, earned $7.3 million domestically and $6.3 million internationally across 70 markets, falling well short of Warner Bros.’ forecasted $38-40 million global start.

“The Bride” performed best in the United Kingdom with $950,000 for a fourth-place finish, though the film failed to crack the top 10 in many international markets.