Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 5’ pulls in record $17.5 million in Thursday previews

Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” smashed franchise records Thursday night, hauling in $17.5 million in preview screenings — the best Thursday preview performance of 2026 and the second-best ever for any animated film, according to Deadline.

The Andrew Stanton-directed fifthquel trailed only 2018’s “Incredibles 2,” which set the all-time animated preview record with $18.5 million. The top five all-time animated preview performances at the domestic box office now stand as “Incredibles 2” ($18.5M), “Toy Story 5,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($17.4M), “Moana 2” ($13.8M) and “Inside Out 2” ($13M).

The preview haul surpassed the previous 2026 leader, Lionsgate’s “Michael,” which earned $12.6 million, as well as Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary” and Disney/Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” both of which posted $12 million. The year’s overall domestic opening-weekend record belongs to Illumination’s “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which did not hold Thursday previews but opened to $131.7 million over three days.

Variety reported that “Toy Story 5” is tracking toward a $145 million to $150 million opening weekend, with some industry analysts projecting as high as $160 million to $175 million. The studio’s own projection sits at $140 million, which would set a franchise record by a wide margin over “Toy Story 4’s” $120.9 million debut in 2019. The global forecast stands at $275 million, with $135 million expected from an 87% international footprint that includes China.

The film earned a 94% certified fresh score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes heading into the weekend, with an audience score of 93% — just below the 94% posted by both “Toy Story 4” and “Inside Out 2.” Advance ticket sales reportedly reached $25 million, topping pre-sales for “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” at the same point.

Overseas, “Toy Story 5” opened in 41 markets through Thursday with a foreign gross of $26 million, ranking No. 1 in every territory where it debuted. Mexico led all international markets with $6.7 million — a 86% market share and the second-highest opening day of 2026 in that country. France produced a $2.1 million cume on Wednesday, while Spain generated $1.7 million on a 51% market share. The film posted all-time Pixar opening-day records in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Malaysia.

Voiced by returning stars Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack as Jessie, the film pits the toys against a frog-shaped smart tablet named Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee. Conan O’Brien joins the cast as a new character named Smarty Pants, and Taylor Swift contributed an original song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” for the character Jessie.

Also opening this weekend, Neon’s Sundance acquisition “Leviticus,” directed by Adrian Chiarella, pulled in $460,000 in early screenings. The film holds a 92% certified fresh score from critics. Last weekend’s box office champion, Universal’s “Disclosure Day,” directed by Steven Spielberg, is expected to fall 50% to 55% in its second frame to roughly $20 million to $22 million.