10 More Huge Box Office Hits NOBODY Saw Coming

There was a time when a Pixar movie making a massive splash and bringing home a few hundred million at the box office was about as inevitable as that big ball of fire in the sky rising every morning, but the last few years haven't been too kind to the legendary studio.

Following on from Onwards' time in theatres being cut short by the pandemic, that 2020 film wasn't able to make back its budget. Soul, Luca, and Turning Red would then all land straight on Disney+. But the £200 million Toy Story spin-off that was Lightyear would crash and burn as Pixar returned to theatres in 2022, making just $226 million worldwide.

It seemed to be more of the same for the once-unstoppable animation studio when Elemental initially dropped last year, with that story set in a world where elements walk and talk (and occasionally evaporate) also looking to be doomed after bringing home a disappointing $29.6 million on its opening weekend.

However, strong word of mouth helped keep this gorgeously animated and heartwarming rom-com from going under, and Elemental gradually went on to surprise everyone and become one of 2023's sleeper hits.

Despite looking like it was destined to become one more Pixar theatrical flop, this $200 million movie refused to stay down, kept bringing in the money despite competition from films like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and eventually became a profitable success (via Variety). 

Elemental remarkably ended its run with almost $500 million earned at the box office after that properly disastrous start. What a turnaround!