Disney says Hoppers box office shortfall factored into latest Pixar layoffs
Disney has launched another wave of cuts at Pixar — the second this year — while citing the performance of one recent release as a contributing factor.
Another day, another round of Disney layoffs. Yes, it’s happened again – for the second time in the same year, no less – and this latest cull is targeting some big names, with Pixar Studios getting the rough end of the stick. If you thought working at the Mouse House was a safe ticket, think again.
Several hundred jobs across Disney’s countless entertainment arms are out the window, including losses at ESPN, Disney Entertainment Television, and the main Disney Studios. But it’s Pixar that’s taking a major hit: the word is around 150 jobs here alone are being axed. The far-from-lucky folks at National Geographic (yes, the TV bit) are also seeing a huge chunk of their workforce disappear.
All Eyes on Hoppers
So, what’s driving Disney’s latest panic? Fingers are being pointed squarely at Hoppers, Pixar’s all-original, sci-fi animated comedy. Critics and viewers apparently liked it – the reviews were cheerful enough to paste in the ad campaigns – but Disney higher-ups weren’t so easily pleased. Why? While Hoppers managed to rake in more than $389 million globally against a $150 million budget, that still put it well below what the execs were hoping for.
To make matters worse, this follows hot on the heels of Elio, another Pixar project that only managed $154 million at the box office on a $200 million spend. Ouch.
Just for a bit of context, Pixar’s still capable of knocking out a hit – Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5 did good business – but the latest duds haven’t helped keep the balance sheets in the green. This is now Pixar’s largest redundancy wave since 2024, when they ditched about 175 people (roughly 14% of the whole studio), so this is hardly a case of tightening the screws quietly.
Disney's Excuse
Disney’s told anyone who asked that all these job losses are a bold move to ‘reduce costs’ and make sure their resources and investments are smarter – you know, the usual boilerplate when things go south. Or in their corporate-ese: 'These changes are part of our continual evaluation of how we manage resources and reinvest across the company as our industry continues to evolve.'
Pixar isn’t folding, obviously. The studio’s got Gatto lined up for 2027 and the long-awaited Incredibles 3 for 2028, so there’s still plenty bubbling away in Emeryville, if with a few less bodies around the building.