Toy Story 5 remains on track to land the biggest opening of 2026 and will likely score the highest debut in North America over the past two years. As we first reported on Toonado.com, current projections point to a $160 million start, thanks to an impressive $71 million Friday that included a franchise best $17.5 million from Thursday previews.
The box office has become notoriously hard to predict in the post-COVID landscape, and weekends like this often boil down to word of mouth as people are now more discerning about what they pay money to see in theaters.
On Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have awarded Toy Story 5 a "Verified Hot" 95% on the Popcornmeter. The movie's CinemaScore has also been revealed, and it's "A" grade, which puts it on the same level as Toy Story, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4. Toy Story 2, meanwhile, is the exception with an amazing A+.
CinemaScore is a market research firm that surveys audience reactions to newly released movies. After attending opening night screenings, moviegoers rate films on an A+ to F scale, providing insights into audience satisfaction. Widely used in the film industry, CinemaScore helps gauge the initial reception of movies and influences box office predictions based on audience feedback.
2025's biggest opening was A Minecraft Movie with $162.7 million. Before that, Deadpool & Wolverine broke records with $211.4 million, a figure that's likely to be beaten by Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
RelishMix measures the social media reach for movies and tells Deadline, "The Taylor Swift music effect brings 538M fans with all of her social channels activated and pushing materials, especially her song 'I Knew It, I Knew You.'"
Elsewhere this weekend, Disclosure Day will have a $17 million second weekend, with Obsession in third place at $14 million and Backrooms in fourth at $7.5 million.
Scary Movie rounds out the top five with $7 million, while A24 and Hugh Jackman's The Death of Robin Hood opens significantly behind those holdovers with a mere $2.5 million. Things don't look good for that movie, as it's been awarded a dismal C+ from audiences.
"A moving, hilarious, and unmissable addition to the Toy Story franchise," we wrote in our review, "Toy Story 5 is one of Pixar's most relevant movies and ranks among the studio's best efforts, proving you're never too old to love (these) toys."
The toys are back in Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5, and this time it’s Toy meets Tech. Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilypad (Greta Lee), a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie. Will playtime ever be the same?
The movie is directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Kenna Harris, produced by Lindsey Collins, p.g.a., and written by Stanton and Harris from a story by Stanton. It also features an original score by Oscar-winner Randy Newman.
Toy Story 5 is now playing in theaters.