Pixar has been a leading animation studio since the release of its first-ever fully computer-animated feature, Toy Story, in 1995. In the years following, Pixar has created many other popular animations known for its stunning visuals, heartwarming stories, and creative characters. Despite all the studio's successes, however, not every movie is a billion-dollar winner. This list will focus on the studio's less financially lucrative films. To do this, we'll be using the worldwide stats provided by Box Office Mojo.
It's worth noting that many of the films below weren't financial failures; they simply grossed less than their other Pixar movies. A select few, however, were considered flops.
Updated on January 2nd, 2021 by Matthew Wilkinson: Pixar is well-known for producing the very best animated movies around, with the company having fantastic storytelling, brilliant animation, and compelling characters, it's no surprise that the movies have typically done very well at the box office. Because the standard of movies from Pixar is so incredibly high, even some of its best movies end up amongst the lowest-grossing in the history of the company. But what are the lowest-grossing 15 movies of all time for Pixar?
Monsters University (2013): $743 Million
The fact that a movie that grossed just over $743 million at the worldwide box office is in the top 15 lowest-grossing movies in Pixar history highlights just how impressive its library of content is. This prequel movie was nowhere near as strong as its predecessor, however, there was still a lot to enjoy.
The movie takes a look at how Mike and Sulley first met, and it brought a whole host of new monsters into this world as well, all of which added a great deal of humor and charm to the movie. However, this one was just a little too predictable and easy going to be truly seen as a Pixar classic, which is why it's understandably one of the lowest-grossing movies.
Up (2009): $735 Million
Up is one of the strongest movies in Pixar history, with the opening sequence being one of the most famous in movie history, without a single word being said. The movie is incredibly charming and has a lot of heart with Carl and Russell being a great duo throughout.
The adventure that they go on is a lot of fun to watch, but while it is now seen as one of the best in Pixar's history, purely because of how emotional the movie is, it wasn't able to be one of the highest-grossing.
The Incredibles (2004): $631 Million
The Incredibles is one of the most exciting Pixar movies of all time, with this being Pixar's take on the superhero genre, which the company did an amazing job with. However, even though the movie isn't one of the highest-grossing in Pixar's history, it was certainly a popular one with audiences.
The Incredibles sequel actually did a lot better at the box office, which is a showcase of how popular the franchise was, with the second movie grossing an incredible $1.2 billion. However, the original movie is still just as strong, with a great combination of superhero action and emotional family growth.
Ratatouille (2007): $623 Million
Set in Paris, , Ratatouille is one of the most enjoyable Pixar movies of all time, with a fantastic message about not judging a book by its cover when it comes to Remy, who quickly becomes one of Pixar's greatest leading characters in the process.
The movie may not have been the highest-grossing in Pixar's history, but it certainly is packed with both emotion and comedy, with a true underdog story being highlighted at its very best.
Cars 2 (2011): $559 Million
The sequel to Cars has Lightning McQueen dragging the Radiator Springs gang on a trip around the globe as he competes in a World Grand Prix. While McQueen is focused on the prize, Mater gets busy saving the world after he is pulled into a top-secret mission.
While Cars 2 received a low critical response for replacing the original's charm with a flashy plot, it still managed to pull in $559 million.
Brave (2012): $538 Million
Though Scottish princess Merida is supposed to follow tradition and choose a suitor, she hopes to make a path of her own. This leads her to seek help from a witch, but unfortunately, one wish-gone-wrong turns Merida's mother into a bear. The pair must team together to break the curse.
Brave has a strong message and pretty graphics, but its reviews weren't as high as other Pixar hits. This likely contributed to its lower gross of $538 million, with this princess movie not being quite as strong as the classic Disney offerings.
Wall-E (2008): $521 Million
This sci-fi adventure has a little robot named WALL-E cleaning up the waste left on the earth centuries in the future. Though he is lonely living all alone, his world gets shaken up after a sleek new robot named EVE visits from space to scout out life.
WALL-E received strong critical reviews for its imaginative plot, moving story, and stunning graphics. It brought in $521 million worldwide, which wasn't bad for the financially tumultuous year of its release.
Toy Story 2 (1999): $497 Million
Toy Story 2 has Woody being snatched away from Andy by toy collector Al McWhiggin. Though Woody at first tries to get home, he starts to question his place in the world after learning he is a collectible from the old show Woody's Roundup. Meanwhile, Buzz and the other toys try to find him.
The first Toy Story sequel scored $497 million at the global box office. Though this number might look modest when put next to the billion-dollar gross of Toy Story 4, it's is a strong score considering the film was released in the late '90s.
Cars (2006): $461 Million
The first movie in the Cars franchise has rookie racer Lightning McQueen setting his eyes on the Piston Cup. The problem? He must first find a way to escape the sleepy town of Radiator Springs, where he has been stranded.
Cars' $461 million wasn't bad, and it became the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2006 behind Ice Age: The Meltdown. Its score, once again, had a lot to do with the year in which it was released. Its slightly lower-than-average reviews could have also had an impact.
Toy Story (1995): $404 Million
The original Toy Story hit theaters in 1995. It left with rave reviews and $404 million, which was high for an animated movie at the time.
Toy Story has a cowboy doll, Woody trying to restore order to the toy hierarchy after Andy gets a cool new action figure, Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, things grow complicated after Andy moves next door to Sid, a kid who has no problem mutating toys.
