Pixar’s Toy Story 5 opened to a franchise-record start on Friday, June 19, arriving in the same frame that Masters of the Universe entered its third weekend in theaters. Per TheWrap, the animated sequel drew $17.5 million in Thursday preview screenings, the best preview total of 2026 to date and a franchise record. Deadline reports the film is tracking a three-day domestic opening in the $160 million to $170 million range, which would be the largest debut of the year so far.
For the He-Man reboot, the timing is the story. With Toy Story 5 expanding into the family and four-quadrant audience the Amazon MGM release was built to reach, the new arrival absorbs the wide-release screens and showtimes that Masters of the Universe would need to hold to extend its run. The Travis Knight film carried a domestic cume near $46.7 million and a worldwide total around $86.1 million through its second weekend, with analysts already projecting a $60 million to $70 million domestic finish.
Toy Story 5’s strength compounds the squeeze. Outlets reported its opening day at roughly $71 million, the second-biggest single-day debut ever for an animated feature behind The Incredibles 2’s $72.2 million, paired with an A CinemaScore that points to durable word of mouth. That combination tends to crowd out holdovers heading into the back half of June, and Masters of the Universe is among the titles ceding ground.
None of this changes the He-Man reboot’s standing on its own terms. The film opened to $29.3 million on June 5 and fell roughly 70 percent in its second weekend, a trajectory the trades had already flagged as a path toward one of the year’s lower-grossing wide releases against a reported break-even as high as $425 million. The third-weekend picture simply confirms the runway is short, with the conversation now turning to a digital and Prime Video window once the theatrical run closes.
Sources
- Toy Story 5 Scores $17.5M Thursday, Sets Franchise Record Ahead of Potential $180M+ Weekend (World of Reel)
- Toy Story 5 Scores Year’s Best Box Office Preview Total With $17.5 Million (TheWrap)
- Box Office: Toy Story 5 Eyes 2026 Record Opening of $160M-$170M (Deadline)
- Masters of the Universe (2026) - Box Office Mojo
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