Zoe Marie Zapanta / Asst. A+C Editor

This year, Disney is set to release at least 33 movies. Of the movies that have already been theatrically released, many did not perform well in the box office. However, “Elemental,” a recent Pixar release loosely based on the computer game “Fireboy and Watergirl,” had unexpected success in the box office across the world. 

For a movie to be considered a “box office hit,” according to Film Daily, there are a lot of factors that play a role like storyline, production quality, marketing and critical reception. Some of the biggest Disney movies of the year that fans were looking forward to, such as “The Little Mermaid” or “Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” achieved huge success in their opening weekends but in the end, they did not bring in enough profit for the company, leading to their designation as “flops” in Forbes magazine. 

However, “Elemental” is an example of box office success defying expectations this year. 

Disney Pixar’s “Elemental,” directed by Peter Sohn, started its box office journey in June with a disappointing opening weekend, earning $29.6 million in the U.S., against its $200 million budget. Its debut marked one of the weakest starts in Pixar’s illustrious history, raising doubts about the film’s potential for success. 

The movie’s narrative, set in Element City and revolving around the blossoming romance between fire element, Ember, and water element, Wade, did not spark initial enthusiasm among audiences. Despite the movie’s lackluster beginnings, word-of-mouth praises for “Elemental’s” storytelling and animation from viewers who saw the film spread like wildfire. 

“Elemental” depicted an unconventional love tale as its central theme. The romance between Wade, a go-with-the-flow water element, and fiery Ember covers ideas of acceptance, diversity and community. Some other themes that were featured in the movie were cultural tension and the immigrant experience. 

Ember, even though her culture is fictional, is dealing with issues trying to understand her life in a place that is not her parents’ home. While making the film, director Peter Sohn was influenced by his experience growing up in New York among Korean immigrants, which helped bring out these themes. In an interview with Variety, he described the idea behind “Elemental” coming from “the burden of culture and carrying a piece of heritage inside of you and trying to decide what to do with that heritage.”

As a result of its multi-factored relatability and the ever-growing importance of telling underrepresented stories, “Elemental” recovered at the box office in the following weekends. “Elemental” crossed the $100 million mark in its fourth weekend, and the $150 million mark in its ninth weekend of release. The first weekend of this month, it reached $478 million in the box office and now ranks as the ninth-biggest film of the year so far, behind “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” ($553 million) and ahead of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($463 million).

 Another important factor in the movie’s reach was its compassionate examination of concepts like identity, family and belonging. USD Sophomore Ian Mai reflected on these themes based on his own experience growing up as a child of refugees. 

“I can relate to Ember and Wade a lot. You feel this pressure and guilt to follow what your parents want you to do, especially if they’re immigrants or refugees,” Mai said. “But in my opinion, one should follow their dreams and do what you have to do to make yourself happy even if it means being an outcast to the people that are supposed to love you most.” 

The marketing for “Elemental” was misunderstood and did not do justice to the film, a contributing reason to why the movie did not initially see success. An article from Screenrant says that “Disney attempted to market “Elemental” with vague trailers. By the time the film came out, Elemental’s hook wasn’t clear, with it seeming like a knockoff of other movies Disney had released like “Zootopia”.”

USD junior Yvette Cerevo talked about how the marketing prevented her from watching the movie in the theatre.

“Even though the trailers were adorable, I didn’t see the movie in theaters because I didn’t hear a lot of hype around what the film was actually about,” Cerevo said. “So I figured it wasn’t worth watching.”

In regards to many of the labeled flops from Disney lately, CEO Bob Iger addressed the disappointments, saying he wished the content had performed better but that the company has been “serving mostly [their] streaming offerings,” which may have had an impact on people not dedicating their time to going to the theater when they could watch it at home. “Elemental” is the most recent Pixar film since “Lightyear” (released in June last year) that did not go straight to Disney+. 

Previously, Pixar films were going straight to Disney+ because of  flexibility  with movie  releases and  people’s willingness to return to theaters. 

USD first-year Kiara Alcina talked about her motivation to go to movie theatres.

“I enjoy going to the movie theater and watching at home,” said Alcina. “Whether or not I go to the movie theater depends on the movie, and I just did not watch “Elemental” when it came out because I could not find the time.” 

Disney’s most recent release in theatres was “Haunted Mansion,” a live action movie based on the famous attraction at the Disney theme parks. This movie was released at the end of July, and so far it has not grossed nearly as much money as it spent on making the movie and has received many negative reviews. 

But “Elemental” continues to gain positive reception, globally earning over double the amount of its initial budget. “Elemental” is a rare example of a Disney success this year because of its relatable and compelling storytelling and box office comeback. 

The continued admiration for this film not only emphasizes that it was a success, but that continued engagement from audiences is important, and success is not just determined by how a film opens in the box office.