Elemental is out in theaters, but you wouldn't know it based on the lack of noise. The latest romantic comedy-drama from Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios arrived to favorable reviews last Friday but audiences weren't quite welcoming. While the critics on Rotten Tomatoes thought the film was good enough for a 75% rating and audiences on the same platform gave it a 92% score, the box office tells a different story - a sad one, in fact.

Over its three-day debut weekend, the film only managed to rake in $29.5 million. This is the lowest debut gross of any film in Pixar’s history, which is just slightly higher than the first Toy Story, which grossed $29.1 million upon its release.

When you consider that Toy Story was released in 1995 and its box office gross, adjusted for inflation, is more than $50 million, then things look even more grim for Elemental.

Elemental’s lackluster performance is bad for the entertainment industry. During a time when many studios are doubling down on franchises and rehashing old material, Pixar is one of the few that has consistently churned out original content.

Given Elemental’s struggles, we might see a change in strategy that will see them lean heavily on already established IPs.

While it is not a bad thing in itself, it is not a good thing for people who want to tell new stories or those who want to hear them. Because how do you justify spending that much money – Elemental cost $200 million to make and about $100 million to market – on a project and not making a return?

Elemental’s poor box office performance is likely the result of several reasons. However, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s decision to release the studio’s projects directly on its streaming platform Disney+ ranks high on the list of possible reasons.

While this decision was necessary because of the pandemic, old habits die hard and Disney has had a hard time getting people to leave their home televisions and head to the theaters for its animation films.

Another factor behind Pixar’s dwindling pull is the growth and evolution of the animation industry. In the past years, Pixar was one of the undisputed operators in the space. However, the competition today is fiercer than ever – cue Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

This is a good thing for the industry as it means more innovation at the very least. But it also means that Pixar needs to reinvent itself to stay alive.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost for Elemental even though it has gotten off to a rocky start. For one, the animation’s stellar audience rating and the word of mouth it will generate might lead more people to the theaters. If this happens, the story might yet change.

Something similar happened with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish just last year. The DreamWorks Animation creation also had a lukewarm opening at the box office – it opened to $12.4 million in North America. The film proved to have a lot of legs though as it kept attracting moviegoers enough to eventually gross $480.9 million.

Fingers crossed, Elemental will keep burning brighter the longer it stays in theaters.