Pixar Is Calling Us Out, and Maybe They’re Right | Loren |

Does Disney’s Pixar Have a Point?

Are Moviegoers Just Not Interested in Original Content Anymore?

I’ve been guilty of saying that nowadays movies are unoriginal—with so many remakes and sequels that often don’t measure up to the original. But a recent social media post by Pixar, following the box office failure of Elio (the movie about a space fanatic boy who befriends an alien), brought up a valid point. A woman on Instagram said we shouldn’t complain about the lack of original movies if we’re not willing to support them.

And that’s exactly what happened with Elio, which came out on June 20. The film broke the record for the worst opening weekend ever for a Pixar movie.

I’ll be honest—personally, the storyline didn’t appeal to me. The alien creature reminded me of a parasite, which gave me the ick. But my 3-year-old has been super interested in it ever since McDonald’s started promoting Elio toys in Happy Meals over the past few weeks.

Some reports say Pixar’s marketing team is to blame for not properly promoting the film. Whether it was due to a lack of budget to push the movie into visibility—or just audiences not being open to something unfamiliar—maybe that woman, and Pixar, have a point.

If we keep saying we want original stories, why don’t we show up for them?

Give it a shot!

As of July 1, Elio has made $41 million in domestic box office sales. More details here.