Disney's 'Elemental,' which features 'non-binary' character, flops in opening weekend
It was the worst opening weekend ever for Pixar, according to The New York Times
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pixar film "Elemental," which features the studio's first "non-binary" character, according to a voice actor for the film, earned only $29.5 million in its opening weekend.
It was the lowest opening weekend ever for Pixar, The New York Times reported Sunday. That was despite creative direction from Pixar, one of the most famous studios in the entertainment business, and support from Disney, which owns Pixar.
Outlets around the country took notice of the movie's dismal performance.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DISNEY-OWNED ABC NEWS PROFILES CHILD IDENTIFYING AS TRANSGENDER AT 3 YEARS OLD: 'I'M A GIRL PERSON'
Pixar film "Elemental," which features the studio's first "non-binary" character, according to a voice actor for the film, earned only $29.5 million in its opening weekend. (Photo illustration)
The movie "fell short of already-low expectations," Variety reported. "Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ falls flat," The New York Times headlined Sunday. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the move was "iced by moviegoers" along with "The Flash," a superhero flick that has suffered from its leading actor, Ezra Miller, becoming the center of scandal in 2022 after he was arrested multiple times.
"Elemental" acquired some notoriety of its own after it featured the first non-binary character in its history, "Lake." The actor who voiced Lake, Kai Ava Hauser, posted about the role on Twitter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIG ANNOUNCEMENT I got to play Pixar's first nonbinary character! Meet Lake! I voice Lake in the new movie #Elemental," voice acter Kai Ava Hauser wrote in a viral tweet with over 51,000 likes on the platform.
Hauser did not respond immediately to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
"Elemental" is the latest in a series of controversial movie and television decisions that the entertainment giant has made this year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Disney announced earlier this year that there had been a 2.4-million subscriber loss to streaming service Disney+. Disney+ faced major controversy with shows such as "Proud Family: Louder and Prouder," which included elements of Critical Race Theory and criticized Abraham Lincoln for not "caring" about ending slavery.
WALT DISNEY AXES 75 JOBS AT PIXAR, INCLUDING EXECS BEHIND BOX OFFICE BOMB ‘LIGHTYEAR’: REUTERS
Mamoudou Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Director Peter Sohn, Adele Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste and Jim Morris pose on the red carpet to attend the closing ceremony and the screening of the animated film "Elemental" Out of competition, during the 76th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 27, 2023. (REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo)
Pixar did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pixar Studios eliminated 75 positions this year in a move Reuters described as "the first significant job cuts at the studio in decades."
The cuts came after another Pixar film, "Lightyear," flopped in the box office. Some movies like "Lightyear" were not viable in overseas markets since they depicted same-sex relationships, and were not well received in America either, a result that Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter attributed to having "asked too much of the audience."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.