(VIDEO) Toy Story 5 Nears Franchise Box Office Record With Massive Thursday Night Preview Haul

Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5" is positioned to set a new franchise record for opening night previews, with box office sources projecting the animated sequel could pull in between $13 million and $14 million Thursday night — a figure that would mark the best previews performance the franchise has ever recorded.

Box office sources indicate that Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5" is in play for a franchise record Thursday night when it comes to previews, with projections in the range of $13 million to $14 million, possibly more. Anything higher than $12 million represents a record preview night for the franchise — a mark previously set by "Toy Story 4" back in 2019, off previews that began in select theaters at 5 p.m. followed by a wide 6 p.m. release.

A Strong Showing Among 2026's Biggest Films

If the projected $13 million to $14 million figure holds, it would represent the best preview night any film has posted in 2026 so far, surpassing several other high-profile titles that have opened earlier in the year. That total would top Lionsgate's "Michael" ($12.6 million), Amazon MGM Studios' "Project Hail Mary" ($12 million), and Disney/Lucasfilm's "Star Wars: Mandalorian and Grogu" ($12 million).

It's worth noting that not every major 2026 release followed the traditional preview-night model. Illumination and Universal did not hold previews for the "Super Mario Galaxy Movie," which currently owns the best three-day domestic opening of the year so far with $131.7 million.

Strong Reviews and Advance Ticket Sales Build Momentum

Heading into its opening weekend, "Toy Story 5" has benefited from an enthusiastic critical reception that has helped fuel ticket sales in the days leading up to release. The film carries a 94% certified fresh critical score, with no audience score yet available. That strong critical reception followed the film throughout the promotional rollout heading into release.

Advance demand has also outpaced one of the year's other major animated tentpoles. Heading into the weekend, the Andrew Stanton-directed fifth installment had recorded $25 million in advance ticket sales, putting it ahead of the "Super Mario Galaxy Movie" at the same point in its own release cycle.

Domestic and Global Box Office Projections

Industry trackers are projecting a substantial opening weekend for the Pixar sequel both domestically and overseas. The domestic outlook stands at more than $140 million across 4,425 locations, with additional strength expected from premium large-format and IMAX screens. The global forecast sits at $275 million, with $135 million expected to come from an international footprint covering 87% of overseas markets, including China.

Those figures would place "Toy Story 5" among the year's most successful theatrical openings, reinforcing the continued box office strength of legacy Pixar properties even as the broader animated film marketplace has grown increasingly competitive.

How It Compares to Pixar's Biggest Preview Nights

While a $13 million to $14 million preview haul would set a new mark specifically for the Toy Story franchise, it would still fall short of the largest preview night any Pixar film has ever posted. The biggest previews ever for a Pixar movie in the U.S. and Canada belong to 2018's "Incredibles 2," which brought in $18.5 million in previews and also holds the all-time opening weekend record for the Emeryville, California-based studio at $182.6 million.

The comparison underscores both how far the Toy Story franchise has come in terms of preview-night performance and how high the bar remains across Pixar's broader catalog of theatrical releases. For context on how dramatically theatrical release patterns have shifted over the years, 2010's "Toy Story 3" posted previews of just $4 million, back when showtimes for such releases typically began at midnight rather than in the late afternoon or early evening hours that have since become standard for major studio tentpole releases.

A Star-Studded Voice Cast Returns

The fifth installment in Pixar's flagship franchise brings back the franchise's most beloved characters, with Tom Hanks reprising his role as Woody, Tim Allen returning as Buzz Lightyear, and Joan Cusack once again voicing Jessie, continuing a vocal lineup that has anchored the series since its earliest installments in the 1990s. The film is directed by Andrew Stanton, a longtime Pixar veteran whose credits include some of the studio's most acclaimed and commercially successful releases.

Additional Star Power Behind the Scenes

The film's cultural footprint has also been amplified by an unexpected celebrity connection in the lead-up to release. Pop superstar Taylor Swift reportedly wrote and recorded an original song for "Toy Story 5" on the same day she saw the film, after experiencing what she described as a burst of inspiration following her screening — a development that generated significant additional media attention and fan excitement heading into the film's theatrical debut.

A Broader Moment for the Animated Franchise

The strong preview projections for "Toy Story 5" arrive amid a notable year for major franchise releases across the industry, with several other high-profile titles — including new entries in the Star Wars universe and major literary adaptations — also posting strong opening figures throughout 2026. Disney's continued investment in the Toy Story property, now spanning three decades since the original 1995 film redefined computer animation, reflects the franchise's enduring commercial appeal even as audience tastes and theatrical viewing habits have shifted dramatically since its debut.

What Comes Next

With Thursday night's preview figures expected to be finalized in the early morning hours, box office analysts will be closely watching whether "Toy Story 5" can convert its record-setting preview performance into a similarly dominant opening weekend that meets or exceeds the current $140 million domestic projection. A result in that range would mark one of the strongest openings of the year for any film, animated or otherwise, and would further cement the Toy Story franchise's status as one of the most reliable box office performers in Disney and Pixar's combined portfolio.

Should the film's global performance also meet projections near $275 million, it would represent a significant box office event for the international animation market as well, particularly given the substantial contribution expected from Chinese theaters, where Western animated franchises have faced an increasingly competitive landscape in recent years from strong domestic Chinese animated productions.

Box office trackers indicated they would have further updates on the film's final preview numbers once Thursday night's complete figures were tallied and confirmed across the full slate of participating theaters nationwide.