In a much-needed win for Pixar’s core mission to provide original storytelling, Hoppers is positioned to deliver the iconic animated studio its biggest opening in nearly a decade for a non-franchise title. Conversely, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s new film, inspired by the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein, is in danger of being jilted at the altar.
Disney is forecasting a global debut of $88 million for Hoppers. The last time a Pixar original did so well was Coco in 2017. In North America, tracking suggests it could open anywhere from $36 million to $40 million, with room for upside. It’s also expected to come in leaps and bounds ahead of Gyllenhaal’s The Bride!, which Warner Bros. believes will open in the $16 million to $18 million range domestically and roughly $38 million-plus globally, although decidedly mixed reviews could ding the $80 million film. (It goes without saying that the two movies couldn’t be more different.)
Hoppers has the advantage of hitting theaters in the wake of Disney Animation’s mega-blockbuster Zootopia 2, which provided further evidence that there’s still a huge appetite for family fare in the post-pandemic era if a film resonates with moviegoers. Pixar’s movies were also once famous for attracting adults without kids; Hoppers is earning the kind of rave reviews from critics that could see those fans return (Zootopia 2, which has earned north of $1.86 billion globally to rank as the top-grossing Hollywood animated pic of all time, also attracted general audiences).
As of late Wednesday, Hoppers‘ critics score on Rotten Tomatoes was 97 percent, one of the highest in years for Pixar. Audience reactions from early access screenings have been similar, with moviegoers also applauding the film’s creativity and humor.
In the comedy-adventure, animal lover Mabel (Piper Curda) seizes an opportunity to use a new technology to “hop” her consciousness into a life-like robotic beaver and communicate directly with animals. As she uncovers mysteries beyond anything she could have imagined, Mabel befriends a charismatic beaver named King George (Bobby Moynihan), and must rally the entire animal kingdom to face a major, imminent human-threat: smooth-talking local mayor Jerry Generazzo (Hamm). The ensemble voice cast also features Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Meryl Streep, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Law, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villaseñor, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Steve Purcell, Ego Nwodim, Nichole Sakura, Karen Huie and Vanessa Bayer.
Hoppers is directed by Daniel Chong, with Nicole Paradis Grindle producing and Mark Mothersbaugh providing the original score. The pic will play across 4,000 theaters in North America, including 400-plus Imax screens, 1,000 premium large-format screens and more than 2,200 3D screens. Overseas, it opens in 81 percent of markets, with staggered releases planned for Japan (March 13), China (March 20) and Australia (March 26).
While Pixar has good reason to be hopeful, no one is envying the position Warner Bros. and Gyllenhaal are in as The Bride! prepares to walk down the aisle. The R-rated, gothic romance made headlines on Wednesday, both for earning tepid reviews and for comments Gylleenhal made on a podcast saying she was asked by Warners movie studio chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca to remove some of the film’s more violent scenes (she also gave a shout out to Abdy for “understanding me”).
The Bride!, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, draws inspiration from the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein. The cast also includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Penélope Cruz and Annette Bening.
“In James Whale’s 1935 gothic horror masterpiece The Bride of Frankenstein, the title character played so indelibly by Elsa Lanchester screams and hisses but otherwise has no dialogue, and yet she has endured as an iconic movie-lore figure for almost a century,” writes THR‘s David Rooney in his review. “In Maggie Gyllenhaal’s aggressively punky reconsideration of the reanimated monster spouse, she becomes a laborious study guide for a Feminism 101 class, emphatically indicating points on sexual violence, consent, bodily autonomy and female power. She even yells ‘Me too!’ late in the film.”
The Bride! marks Gyllenhaal’s second directorial outing after the acclaimed, award-winning indie drama The Lost Daughter, starring Olivia Colman and Buckley. All three women were nominated for a slew of awards by various orgs, including Oscars noms for best adapted screenplay (Gyllenhaal), best actress (Colman) and best supporting actress (Buckley). This year, Buckley is nominated for an Oscar for best actress for her performance in Hamnet.
Abdy and De Luca are coming off a remarkable winning streak that has earned them major points and goodwill, culminating with two of their movies, Sinners and One Battle After Another, being front-runners in the Oscar race for best picture (Hamnet is another).
The Bride! will play in more than 3,200 theaters in North America, and will also have a footprint in Imax and other premium formats.