Why 2026 Is a High Stakes Year for Original Animated Films

When it came to animated movies in 2025, the key takeaway was that franchise films were safe bets, while animated originals – at least theatrically – were potential minefields.

This can be summed up with two movies released by the Walt Disney Company – “Elio,” a Pixar original about a young boy who dreams of being abducted by extraterrestrials, opened last summer and, despite a warm critical response (it currently sports an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes), underperformed commercially, making...