With Same-Sex Kiss, Disney’s ‘Lightyear’ Film Underwhelms on Opening Weekend
“Lightyear,” the latest film from Disney’s Pixar, didn’t make it to infinity and beyond this weekend.
The Disney flick, an animated biopic about Buzz Lightyear, the astronaut from the Toy Story saga, fell well short of its projected box office earnings on opening weekend, according to Deadline. Disney anticipated a $70 million weekend; instead, the movie brought in $51 million domestically.
While the showing is lower than expected, it is certainly not a failure. It is on par with other Pixar movies like Coco ($51 million) and Ratatouille ($47 million). According to Variety, Lightyear cost $200 million to produce, not including marketing efforts leading up to its theatrical release.
Actor Chris Evans, known for portraying Captain America in the Disney-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe, voices Buzz Lightyear in the new movie. Some were critical of Disney for ditching actor Tim Allen, who voiced the character in the Toy Story series. Actor Patricia Heaton, for example, claimed Disney made a “huge mistake” by recasting the role.
It is worth noting that, in comparison to its latest Toy Story predecessors, Lightyear definitely didn’t do well. In its 2019 debut, Toy Story 4 earned $120 million, and in 2010, Toy Story 3 generated more than $110 million, CNBC reported.
The lower-than-expected earnings are likely the result of the controversy tied to the Toy Story spinoff.
The main controversy surrounding Lightyear—Pixar’s 26th feature film—is a same-sex kiss between two female characters who are in a romantic relationship with one another. The scene was reportedly briefly removed from the film before pro-LGBT Disney employees demanded it remain in the movie.
Last week, just days before Lightyear hit the big screen, Evans rebuked the parents and critics who took issue with the same-sex kiss being featured in a movie targeted toward children.
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