‘Toy Story 5’ goes to infinity and beyond at the box office

“Toy Story 5,” the latest installment to one of Disney Pixar’s longest-running franchises, topped the box office this weekend.

The tech-fueled tale, led by fan favorite characters Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, earned $160 million for its opening weekend at the domestic box office and a global total of $312 million, according to Rentrak Data. The animated feature now holds the biggest box office opening of the year, further signaling what could be a massive summer for theaters.

Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” came in second at the box office with a domestic haul of $17 million. “Obession,” “Backrooms” and “Scary Movie” rounded out the top five.

“Toy Story 5” features the original cast, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack as Jessie. The story follows the beloved band of toys as they grapple with the introduction of technology into their home, with a tablet named Lilypad. The production budget for “Toy Story 5” is about $150 million to $200 million, and a crew of about 300 people worked on the film at Pixar’s Emeryville, Calif., headquarters.

“Tech versus toys is a very easy concept for families and parents to grasp. Every family goes through that to some degree,” said Andrew Cripps, head of theatrical distribution for Walt Disney Studios.

With the successes of “Inside Out 2” and “Zootopia 2,” sequels have proved to be dependable releases for Disney and Pixar in recent years. But “Toy Story” has been a steadfast juggernaut for the entertainment giant. This new release marks a new debut weekend record for the 31-year-long franchise, beating the nearly $121-million opening of 2019’s “Toy Story 4.” The original opened with $29 million in 1995, 1999’s “Toy Story 2” hit $57 million, and the third installment from 2010 received $110 million.

“The franchise is just so big,” Cripps added. “It’s in the theme parks. The consumer products keep it alive. It’s been 31 years with five movies, so it’s not like it’s overstayed its welcome. They’re very good at Pixar. They tell a story when they have a story worthwhile telling, and it feels like this one was worthwhile.”

Across the franchise’s lifetime, “Toy Story” has grossed more than $3 billion worldwide. The new movie also landed the second-highest animated opening weekend of all-time, behind only “Incredibles 2,” which earned $182 million.

Building off the surprise successes of budget horror films like “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” “Toy Story 5” brings yet another major boost to this year’s box office. Domestic ticket sales are up over last year, and Roth Capital Partners forecasts the second quarter will climb 6.5% to $2.8 billion.

With this uptick, there’s a chance the box office could climb back to pre-pandemic numbers. The 2026 box office is tracking 1.1% behind the summer of 2019 and 16% ahead of last year, according to Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Rentrak data.

“The industry’s on a roll,” Dergarabedian said. “There’s some unpredictable things that have happened so far this year, with the holdover strength of ‘Project Hail Mary,’ ‘Michael’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’ Their worldwide grosses are incredibly impressive. It’s a phenomenon.”

“Toy Story 5” is just the first of several theatrical tentpoles hitting the big screen later this summer. Rentrak predicts this could be another $4-billion summer season domestically, following in the steps of the 2023 “Barbenheimer” summer.

Warner Bros.’ DC Studios has “Supergirl” landing later this month. Universal Pictures and Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters,” Disney’s live-action “Moana,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” are all lined up for releases in July.

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.