Toy Story 4 has beaten Incredibles 2's tickets pre-sales record on Fandango. Toy Story 3 brought Pixar's animated trilogy to what many felt was a perfect conclusion in 2010, so moviegoers were naturally wary when Toy Story 4 was announced in 2014. The film didn't have an easy time after that either, going through changes in writers, director, and story along the way. Annie Potts, who reprise her voice role as Bo Peep in the sequel, estimates that Pixar ultimately threw out three-quarters of the original Toy Story 4 screenplay over the course of these changes in creatives.

Fortunately, it's looking like the final movie result will be worth all the effort it took to get made. Toy Story 4's trailers and TV spots have indicated the film is as beautifully animated as anything else Pixar's released to date, and there's been a whole lot of discussion about the sequel's highly emotional ending by this point (which, coming after Toy Story 3's tear-jerking conclusion, is saying something). Moviegoers are clearly excited for the movie too, as evidenced by the fact that it's already setting pre-sales records.

According to Fandango, Toy Story 4 sold more tickets through the company in its first 24 hours than any other animated film, including Pixar's Incredibles 2 (which was the previous record-holder). You can check out their tweet on the matter, below.


Incredibles 2 currently holds the record for the biggest animated movie opening weekend record domestically with $182.7 million in its first three days, followed by Pixar's Finding Dory with $135 million. While there's no guarantee Toy Story 4 will ultimately surpass the Incredibles sequel's opening weekend take, it's certainly in the realm of possibility now. It's even outpacing early ticket sales for recent live-action hits like Beauty and the Beast and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (per Fandango's press release), which is all the more reason to expect a massive debut from this one. Toy Story 3 opened with $110 million in the U.S. nine years ago, so it stands to reason its followup should earn more than that, given the positive buzz. Assuming the actual reviews for Toy Story 4 are good, that will only increase the odds of the film breaking Pixar's own box office record.

Timing is another factor working in Toy Story 4's favor, as far as its commercial prospects go. Competition for families will be fairly light when the movie opens in late June, with Toy Story 4 being the sole G-rated tentpole among a sea of films targeted at older audiences (like the R-rated horror remake Child's Play). The Secret Life of Pets 2 will be the only other major animated feature playing in theaters by that time, though it arrives two weeks earlier and shouldn't pose much of a threat. Suffice it to say, it should be interesting to see just how high Toy Story 4 can fly.

Toy Story 4 (2019) release date: Jun 21, 2019