The pandemic negatively affected a lot of movie studios, but Pixar was definitely among those that suffered the most. With theaters closed or only open in a few corners of the world, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek made the decision to release Soul, Luca, and Turning Red exclusively on Disney+.
That was good news for those of us sitting at home desperate for fresh content, but it also created the impression that those movies weren't good enough to be saved for when they could be viewed on the big screen.
Lightyear was the first to play in theaters since COVID began, but a combination of the aforementioned factors and it not being what moviegoers wanted from the Toy Story franchise resulted in a rare financial disappointment for Pixar.
The hope had been that Elemental might set them back on the right track, but it too has since underperformed. Now, returning Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken candidly about why a studio that could once do no wrong is struggling to attract an audience.
"There were three Pixar releases in a row that went direct to streaming, in part because of — mostly because of COVID," Iger started. "And I think that may have created an expectation in the audience that they’re going to eventually be on streaming and probably quickly, and there wasn’t an urgency."
"And then I think there was some," the executive contained, "I think you’d have to agree that there were some creative misses, as well."
It's unclear which movies he's referring to there, though it's more than likely Lightyear. These comments echo what Pixar's CCO, Pete Docter, recently said when he talked about the COVID release strategy. "[Training] audiences that these films will be available for you on Disney+ [means] they know they can wait and it’ll come out on the platform."
Pixar will ultimately rebound, and it's far too soon to say the studio's best days are behind it. However, it could be that the sooner Toy Story 4 gets here, the better things will look for the beleaguered studio.