Pixar Hit With Major Layoffs as ‘Hoppers’ and ‘Elio’ Take the Blame

Disney has begun another major round of layoffs. Pixar, with around 150 positions being cut, is the hardest-hit studio division. Disney gives the usual reasons: the cuts are part of an ongoing effort to streamline operations, reallocate resources, and adapt to changes in the entertainment industry. Yada yada yada…

Yet, these layoffs come despite the recent success of “Toy Story 5,” which is nearing the $1 billion mark at the global box office, and “Inside Out 2,” which made close to $1.7 billion.

According to The Wrap, Pixar’s 2024 layoffs—which were largely attributed to Disney’s pullback from streaming content after the expansion of Disney+—and this latest round are reportedly being blamed on “Hoppers.” Although the film received mostly positive reviews and grossed about $390M worldwide against a $150M production budget, it still lost money. Going by the 2.5x rule, losses on the film may have been around $60M.

Disney and Pixar are said to view the film as another example of the difficulty original animated movies face in generating the kind of returns the studio expects. “Elio” is also being singled out as a major factor behind the layoffs. The film endured a difficult production, with its budget ballooning to an estimated $300M, yet it earned only $154M worldwide.

Industry sources cited in the report say the disappointing performances of both “Hoppers” and “Elio” have reinforced internal pressure for Pixar to produce original films at significantly lower budgets if they are to remain commercially viable.

Of course, no single movie is solely responsible for the firings; this is just a blame game making the rounds, especially with “Toy Story 5” and “Inside Out 3” potentially making $3 billion worldwide combined. But officially speaking, “Hoppers” and “Elio” are being singled out for the cost-cutting, even as Pixar’s sequel-driven releases continue to thrive.

It’s no secret Pixar has had issues on the creative side: none of their recent original releases have really hit the cultural zeitgeist since 2017’s “Coco.” They somehow need to rekindle the magic that we felt with “Up!” “Ratatouille,” “Finding Nemo,” “”Inside Out,” “Toy Story 3,” “The Incredibles,” and, especially, their masterpiece, “WALL-E.”

The inventive nature of the above classics has gone away. It’s all surface-level stuff now. They are making over-stylized films with none of the risk-taking involved.

Many point to John Lasseter’s 2018 exit as turning point for Pixar, and not in the way the studio hoped. As the creative force behind nearly every Pixar classic, Lasseter brought not just vision, but a deep understanding of storytelling. His departure , amid misconduct allegations, left a leadership void that Pixar has struggled to fill creatively.

Since then, the studio has seemed adrift, alternating between safe sequels and underwhelming originals, unsure of its voice.