Hoppers

[PatchofBlue]

I think there are a lot of valid points being drawn here.

While I recognize some marketable elements with this movie, I actually feel like its weird, frenetic tone and stark visual style--the things that are turning people off from this film--indicate that this is actually Pixar trying to be more experimental with this outing. And honestly, if I wasn't following this project as closely as I am, I wouldn't necessarily guess that this is from the same studio as Inside Out or WALL-E.

We tend to ask this experimentalism of Pixar, but what I think we sometimes forget is that when a studio chooses to deviate from its mold, people are just as likely to write it off anyway. Critics tend to be very hungry for opportunities to write about how, in this case, Pixar has "lost its way" and "needs to get back to basics." That kind of dialogue just sells really well. Critics will say they want Pixar to "try something NEW for crying out loud," but because they never know what, they have always have an excuse to say "but not that!"

As others have pointed out, Pixar is in kind of a delicate place to be trying to be more experimental right now. They obviously need to do something to catch people's attention again, but because the landscape is so inconsistent and unpredictable, they're kind of left playing battleship with their movies.

I think best case scenario for this film is that it manages to catch people off guard and gain some promising returns, even if it's one of those cases where critics are kind of stingy but audiences love it anyways, and Pixar starts promoting non-franchise movies again. The fact that early reactions have been favorable is a good first sign, but that's just round one.

[Sotiris]

Box office updates.

Box Office Tracking & Forecasts: The Bride! and Hoppers
https://boxofficetheory.com/box-office- ... day-start/

Long Range Forecast: Can Hoppers Get Pixar Back On Track?
https://www.boxofficepro.com/long-range ... -on-track/

Weekend Preview: Hoppers Expected to Lead the Pack in Solid March Weekend
https://www.boxofficepro.com/weekend-pr ... h-weekend/

‘Hoppers’ To Pop $88M WW Debut, Best For Pixar Original Since ‘Coco’
https://deadline.com/2026/03/box-office ... 236743025/

‘Hoppers’ Bounces To $46M U.S., Best For Pixar Original Since ‘Coco’
https://deadline.com/2026/03/box-office ... 236745894/

Pixar Originals Rebound With ‘Hoppers’ At $88M WW
https://deadline.com/2026/03/box-office ... 236746977/

‘Hoppers’ Hopping To $27M In Weekend 2; Colleen Hoover Returns To Big Screen With ‘Reminders Of Him’
https://deadline.com/2026/03/reminders- ... 236749551/

Box Office: Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Aims for $40 Million Debut, ‘The Bride’ Targets Lifeless $15 Million Start
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-offic ... 236678375/

Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Earns $3.2 Million in Previews, ‘The Bride’ Opens to Dreary $1 Million
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/box- ... 236680967/

Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Bites Down on $13.2 Million; ‘The Bride!’ Stumbles With $3 Million
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/box- ... 236681565/

Box Office: ‘The Bride!’ Bombs With $7 Million Opening Weekend, Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Scores $46 Million Debut
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-offic ... 236681832/

Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Powers to $88 Million Globally, ‘The Bride!’ Flatlines With $13 Million Worldwide
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-offic ... 236681863/

Korea Box Office: ‘The King’s Warden’ Surpasses 11 Million Admissions
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-offic ... 236682201/

‘Hoppers’ Bounds to No. 1 at U.K., Ireland Box Office
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-offic ... 236683312/

Box Office Preview: Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ to Bound Past Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘The Bride!’
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 236522091/

Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Redeems Pixar in Bounding to Seminal $46M U.S. Win, ‘The Bride!’ Bombs With $7.3M
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 236524365/

‘Hoppers’ Tries to Become What ‘Elio’ Couldn’t: An Original Pixar Hit
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-conten ... e-preview/

‘Hoppers’ Snaps Up $3.2 Million From Thursday Box Office
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-conten ... ox-office/

‘Hoppers’ Kicks Off March Box Office With $41 Million as ‘The Bride!’ Goes Bust With $8 Million
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-conten ... -saturday/

‘Hoppers’ Builds Bigger Box Office With $46 Million Opening, But ‘The Bride!’ Gets Gunned Down With $7 Million
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-conten ... ride-bomb/

‘The Bride!’ Bombs as ‘Hoppers’ Surges: 4 Takeaways From a Busy March Box Office Start
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-conten ... s-success/

‘Hoppers’ Tests Box Office Legs as Colleen Hoover’s ‘Reminders of Him’ Hits Theaters
https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/b ... e-preview/

[PatchofBlue]

Pixar released a Valentine's Card themed video with some new footage.

https://x.com/Pixar/status/2022747675339452908

I suppose this is how they intend to promote the film in lieu of a proper trailer with, I don't know, pathos.

This video has some of the leading voice actors appearing onscreen for a moment, which is just reminding me how weird it is that we've seen and heard so little promotion from them. No cast interviews or anything.

[PatchofBlue]

How ‘Hoppers’ Makes Big Changes to Pixar’s Traditional Animation Style
https://discussingfilm.net/2026/02/10/h ... animation/

The director and character art director give some more context for the inspiration behind the film's visuals.

“I had one goal, which was to make sure that when you saw these cute animals, you would want to grab them and feel them. You would feel the roundness, the fur, and the squishiness,” Chong explained. “I think that was something that was exciting to me because I had worked in TV… and that was all flat drawings. This was a chance to see dimension… textures and details.”

“We were looking at a lot of handmade sets. We built a lot of sets. There’s a big beaver pond outside that you can go check out. I also did my own test with paper leaves. I think we wanted nature to feel textural, like something that you could experience, which is why we have felt on our characters’ fur,” Scott shared. “That was the balance, keeping the wildness of nature and making it feel like something that you could reach out and touch.”

We've also got some further teases that the movie has some major twists that the marketing is sitting on which really sell the film, which I'm praying is true. The fact that the movie had some very positive initial reactions is just enough to stir my hopes, but it wouldn't be at all unprecedented if those "positive reactions" curdled into lukewarm reviews by the time the embargo lifted.

Anyways, the emphasis on the roundness makes sense. But the designs still look a little overly simplified to my eyes.

[PatchofBlue]

Concept art display at Disney World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBlKCXePkEc

While I might end up getting used to the designs in execution, I again have to say that the look of the film just translates better in hand-drawn animation. Even without loading it in directly to the We Bare Bears style, the roundness just comes alive better when it's more akin to a literal drawing rather than the usual CG puppetry. Looking at a lot of the images here, I find myself wishing that Pixar would try a hand-drawn feature at some point.

Anyways, I've seen some more enthusiastic first reactions for the film being passed around. I'm doing my best not to get my hopes up, but I'm just so relieved at the tease that Pixar might not have to answer for another flop.

[reee9948]

I didn't expect Hoppers to get a 98% rating on Rotten Tomato. https://x.com/DiscussingFilm/status/2028522458056155501

[PatchofBlue]

Can hoppers save Pixar original movies at the box office?
https://www.slashfilm.com/2110368/hoppe ... e-preview/

Directed by "We Bare Bears" creator Daniel Chong, "Hoppers" is currently looking at an opening in the $22 to $31 million range when it opens next weekend, per Box Office Theory. However, the folks at Box Office Pro are more bullish, predicting an opening in the $50 to $60 million range. Those are wildly different outcomes with significantly different consequences for Disney and Pixar.

On the low end, an over/under $30 million opening would mean "Hoppers" would have to rely on miraculous legs and pull an "Elemental." Anything below that is bad news. If it can get closer to $50 million, things get easier. 2017's "Coco" opened to $50.8 million domestically en route to $823 million worldwide. That's why, bad idea or not, "Coco 2" was confirmed by Pixar last year.

Ahead of Toy Story 5, Hoppers director says Pixar knows "originals have to exist" and "you can't keep making sequels"
https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainmen ... g-sequels/

"I think Pixar is still doing a great job of being able to do sequels, which I think people want, and I think that's a thing that is a great thing to exist," he says. "I remember as a kid, always wanting sequels of things and wanting more. Working on a TV show [We Bare Bears], I get it, you want these characters to live on, and you want to see new adventures with them.

"But I do think Pixar is still investing very hard in original film," he continued. "They understand that you can't keep making sequels. Originals have to exist. So, I do feel like they're one of the few studios that are really going hard on making more originals, and I'm excited to see what the future for Pixar brings."

Perhaps Chong knows more about the upcoming lineup of Pixar movies than the rest of us do. Didn't Docter say they had 8 films currently on the assembly line? We know that COCO 2, TS5, and Incredibles 3 are on the board. Am I missing any? If that was three sequels against five originals, that would be a fair ratio, I suppose. But I'm still tapping my foot anxiously.

[bulgaross]

Also, *rumored* sequels to Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille.

[PatchofBlue]

‘Hoppers’ To Pop $88M WW Debut, Best For Pixar Original Since ‘Coco’; ‘The Bride!’ Eyes $40M WW – Box Office Preview
https://deadline.com/2026/03/box-office ... 236743025/

Talking animals are still the rage and have no intentions of calming down at the weekend box office as Pixar’s Hoppers is bound to give the Emeryville, CA animation studio a lift as far as its original fare goes with $88M around the globe in 41 markets.

That’s not only the best start for a Pixar original movie since 2017’s Coco ($104.7M WW in like-for-likes), but Hoppers is also the best reviewed movie since then at 97% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (Coco also had that grade). In North America, Hoppers is looking at $36M-$38M at 4,000 theaters with another $45M-$50M offshore. There were sneaks stateside on Saturday which will be rolled into Thursday previews which start at 2PM. Presales which are north of $3M (and include some of the preview cash) is around that of DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot and Dog Man, both of which opened in the mid $30Ms.

Crossing fingers that Pixar will get a genuine win coming up.

Also, *rumored* sequels to Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille.

Indeed, we can't rule those out either.

[Disney's Divinity]

Also, *rumored* sequels to Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille.

Another Cars sequel? I guess not impossible since they had a lot of merch with those films. But I always got the impression it was pushed more because Lasseter just had a personal obsession with the property and he was running Dusney at that time, not because they were that successful?

And I'd add Inside Out 3 to the list of sequels that have to be locked at this point.

[DisneyFan09]

I saw Hoppers today and I must say that I overall liked it. Despite how it had some minor flaws, it still came across as good, but not great as a whole. The premise of the story was perhaps not original and came with some clichés, but it was still well executed. However, the scenes of the film which were executed well, were the scene with the Grandmother and the final scene with the stopping the fire. The song sequebecs were essentially among the zappy pacing, but they still didn`t felt superfluous. The scene at the beavers nest was reminiscent of the setting in Antz. And yes, there were some moments or two where I chuckled. However, my gripes with the story were how the secondary animals came across as highly annyoing at their scenes. Mabel herself came across as not particularly compelling enough, as she could be grating at times (sorry to say). And frankly, the designs of the characters (with the exception of the beavers and Mabel as a human) are jarringly lackluster. The ending was a little sappy, as was the end credits songs. However, the non-specific romance between King George and Mabel`s final conclusion was surprising. Considering how Disney has officially strayed away from romances, it`s the closest thing that we`ve gotten to a Disney romance in a while. But overall, I did like Hoppers for the strengths.

Also, *rumored* sequels to Finding Nemo, Cars and Ratatouille.

Another Cars sequel? I guess not impossible since they had a lot of merch with those films. But I always got the impression it was pushed more because Lasseter just had a personal obsession with the property and he was running Dusney at that time, not because they were that successful?

True, but it`s still contradictory, due to how audiences have confirmed their overall dislike for the franchise.

I guess it's Pixar's turn to be called racist for having protagonists of color turn into animals for much of their respective films' runtime. Joe got turned into a cat in Soul, Meilin into a red panda in Turning Red, and now Mabel into a beaver in Hoppers.

True, but for some reason Disney seems to have been more stuck with that staple than Pixar. But it`s really remarkable how most animated movies who has a transformation plotline usually includes a non-White lead (with the exception of The Swan Princess or Beauty and the Beast, despite how the former is not a Disney property).

[PatchofBlue]

I was surprised to see that my showing was almost entirely sold out. Though mind you, I have historically sought out matinee showings for these things, which are generally less crowded. But I noticed that the laughs started really early for this audience. I think the biggest hit was Meryl Streep's insect queen getting squashed, but I myself lost it at Diane's introduction.

I thought in execution, the beaver designs were really endearing, though I still think this design methodology just works better in hand-drawn animation.

My biggest question is how much watering down the movie ended up doing with its ecological messaging.

It wouldn't surprise me, for example, if we found out that the vengeful caterpillar as the ultimate baddie so we could give the white male powerholder some grace ... was an addition to make sure that the film didn't feel like it was ganging up on real-life industrialists or whatever.

I think the final product was still actionable enough to pass the smell test. But I'll be deeply curious to hear what those conversations were like behind closed doors.

I myself didn't get the vibe that Mabel and King George had any kind of romantic connection. I would have described it as just a platonic friendship forged under trying conditions.

This isn't the movie I'd thought would score Pixar's best RT score in a decade, but I also won't complain that it's getting some good fortune. The movie probably lands similar to like LUCA and the first Toy Story in my ranking, and I hope it continues to do well. Pixar, animation, theaters as a whole, they all need this to do well.

[Sotiris]

During production, the filmmakers toned down its pro-environmentalism story in an effort to make it more balanced. “It felt like a message movie,” Morris said.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/pixa ... r-80c57f9d

[Patricier21]

Here is my out of theatre reaction: https://youtube.com/shorts/cjQuHMuttx8? ... ilfwiY0XrQ

[blackcauldron85]

I absolutely loved this movie! I don't know where it ranks for me, but I laughed a lot, and I cried a few times. I really liked the design of the film. I love Mabel - getting the glimpse into her backstory was important to understand why she is the way she is (edit: as far as her determination to save the glade no matter what, not so much her anger issues; her grandmother punching a girl when she was 12 = grandmother had anger issues like Mabel's, or no?). I love King George, too. I have a soft spot for Loaf, too. I liked all the characters. afe

Everytime Mabel's grandmother was on screen, I cried a little. I was nervous that there'd be an Up-level sobfest, but luckily it was a few instances of shedding a few tears. I really liked the glimpses of their relationship that we got.

I, too, didn't read any romance between King George and Mabel, but that was the joke - George saying that he's flattered and "gets that a lot," and when he was asking her to he his Paw, it started like a proposal.

[Pokenonbinary]

Got surprised my morning screening was almost full, they usually are half empty

The movie was really good, same feeling I had with Turning Red in fact both are very similar (I’m glad there’s no ethnic minority generational trauma because Disney and Pixar has used that card many many many times and it gets boring)

The animation was perfect, perfect humor, the ending, the tears I had most of the movie

A great movie as a vegan non binary animal rights activist (I’m headcannoning Mabel as non binary and vegan because cmon, she’s designed as a very big stereotype)

Anyways I’m happy it’s doing great at the box office, Turning Red did also great in the few markets it released in normal cinemas so it would have been like Hoppers

[PatchofBlue]

Box Office: ‘Hoppers’ Redeems Pixar in Bounding to Seminal $46M U.S. Win, ‘The Bride!’ Bombs With $7.3M
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 236524365/

Hoppers is the only title among the three to boast both strong critical and audience scores. Another ace up its sleeve: access to Imax screens during the day (The Bride! had nights). Further, half the audience were teenagers, younger adults and older adults going to see it solo. Its score on Rotten Tomatoes is 94 percent, the same as the audience score. It also received an A CinemaScore and a perfect five-out-of-five stars on PostTrak exits.


“This is a fantastic original film from the incredible team at Pixar, and it’s wonderful to see audiences coming out with their friends and families to enjoy it together,” Disney Entertainment chair Alan Bergman said in a statement. “Congratulations to our director Daniel Chong, our producer Nicole Paradis Grindle and our talented cast, along with Pete Docter, Jim Morris and everyone at Pixar, on a tremendous launch.”

In the comedy-adventure, animal lover Mabel (Piper Curda) seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a life-like robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. As she uncovers mysteries beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel befriends a charismatic beaver named King George (Bobby Moynihan) and must rally the entire animal kingdom to face a major, imminent human threat: smooth-talking local mayor Jerry Generazzo (Hamm). The ensemble voice cast also features Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Meryl Streep, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Law, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villaseñor, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Steve Purcell, Ego Nwodim, Nichole Sakura, Karen Huie and Vanessa Bayer.

Hoppers earned $13.4 million on Friday, including $3 million in Thursday previews. The Bride! did only $1 million in previews.

Really glad that the movie is off to such a great start, and that everyone on the board seems to be enjoying it so far.

Let's just hope that it has a smooth second-week drop, so originals get to live to fight another day.

[Disney's Divinity]

Surprising so far. I knew The Bride would flop, but thought Hoppers would be there, too. Both films looked so dumb. But like I said a few weeks ago, I know there's an audience out there that is drawn to really stupid-looking animated movies so there was an outside chance that could actually help the movie.

Sounds like Wuthering Heights may be the opposite--looked good on the surface, but hollow within.