Box office projections for Pixar's Onward have increased following the film's early positive reviews. After landing back to back billion dollar hits with the sequels Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, the animation studio is back with its first original feature since 2017's Coco. Directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University), the fantasy comedy Onward stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as two elf brothers who undertake a quest to find enough magic to complete a spell that will revive their late father for a day. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival last month, ahead of its domestic release this week.

Reviews for Onward have been generally positive, with the caveat that most critics agree it's a step down from Pixar's best work in the past. The film was previously projected to bow with about $45 million in the U.S, making it the studio's fifth lowest opening of all time just behind Ratatouille (which debuted with $47 million back in 2007). However, following the reviews, its projections have improved enough to put it ahead of a couple other Pixar titles.

According to Deadline, Onward is now expected to debut with at least $50 million domestically in its opening weekend. That means the film could potentially eclipse Coco ($50.8 million) and possibly even surpass Cars 3 ($53.7 million) on the Pixar all-time openings chart, in addition to opening higher than Ratatouille, unadjusted for inflation. Internationally, Onward is currently looking at a $40-55 million opening take that would give it a $90-$105 million worldwide start, depending on how the market is impacted by concerns over the coronavirus.


While it might not be Pixar's finest effort, many reviews have still painted Onward as being a funny, touching, and otherwise beautifully animated offering worth checking out on the big screen. Another factor that may've contributed to the film's improved box office projections is Holland and Pratt; both are known for being charismatic on the press circuit and have been going all out to promote Onward, talking about how they bonded over making the movie and playing (animated) brothers. Worries over the coronavirus aside, Onward is also arriving at a time when it won't have a ton of direct competition. February family films Sonic the Hedgehog and The Call of the Wild are starting to wind down their runs at this point, so they shouldn't really affect Onward's box office gross. Meanwhile, this week's other new wide release, the Ben Affleck drama The Way Back, is targeting an entirely different demographic.

All things considered, Onward is shaping up to be a modest success for Pixar, but a success nonetheless. As dependable as the studio is known for being when it comes to the quality of their work, not every Pixar film is going to be a home-run with critics, and Onward was never really expected to become an instant-classic like, say, Inside Out or Coco. Still, it sounds like a good movie on its own terms, and the box office numbers are lining up to reflect that. It should also help to tide Pixar fans over until the studio's hotly anticipated Peter Docter project, Soul, opens in theaters this June.

Onward (2020)
Release Date: Mar 06, 2020