With Disney facing increased competition at the box office, the company is doing everything in its power to ensure its animated films can succeed. That includes pushing them back a few days to avoid direct competition with some of this year's biggest titles.
Disney has shuffled the release dates of some of its upcoming movies with one of the more notable changes being a delay to Elio. The upcoming Pixar film has been pushed back a week, from June 13th to June 20th.
The shift in release means it will no longer directly compete with Universal's How to Train Your Dragon, the live-action reimagining of the DreamWorks hit. It also gives Lilo & Stitch, Disney's live-action remake, a bit of breathing room as it opens on May 23rd.
The delay means Disney will no longer be releasing a movie on Father's Day Weekend, a slot typically reserved for Pixar films. But with Elio being an original film and opening against a remake of one of the most beloved animated franchises in How to Train Your Dragon, it's understandable why Disney would give the weekend.
Directed by Madeline Sharafian (Burrow Sparkshort), Domee Shi (Bao short, Turning Red) and Adrian Molina (co-screenwriter/co-director of Coco), Elio is a sci-fi comedy adventure that follows a young boy with an active imagination who is abducted by an interplanetary organization and tasked with navigating an intergalactic crises. The trailer for Elio certainly feels like a inspirational story with a heartwarming message, but as an original movie, it does face an uphill battle against familiar and beloved remakes.
A space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession, Elio’s all in for an epic undertaking when he’s beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. When Elio is mistakenly identified as Earth’s leader, he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions, and somehow discover who and where he is truly meant to be.
Disney's next major release will be the live-action Snow White movie, which is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. The live-action reimagining of Walt Disney Productions' 1937 animated classic stars Rachel Zegler as the Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Quinn. Its slated to release in theaters next month, and will be followed by the live-action Lilo & Stitch, and then Elio.
Looking even further ahead, Disney's release calendar now looks like this after the latest shuffle:
- Snow White (live action) – March 21
- Lilo & Stitch (live action) – May 23
- Elio (Pixar) – June 20
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) – November 26
- Hoppers (Pixar) – March 6, 2026
- Toy Story 5 (Pixar) – June 19, 2026
- Moana (live action) – July 10, 2026
- Ice Age 6 (20th Century Animation) – December 18, 2026
- Frozen III (Disney) – November 24, 2027
Elio is now slated to open in theaters on June 20, 2025. Do you plan on seeing it?