‘Toy Story 5’ scores record debut in US, becoming 2026’s biggest opener

LOS ANGELES: Disney’s ‘Toy Story 5’ is coming in hot, ruling over the box office with USD 160 million from 4,425 North American theatres. With this, the film has secured the biggest domestic debut of the year, surpassing Universal’s ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’, which made USD 131.7 million, reported Variety.

‘Toy Story 5’ also ranks as the largest start in Disney and Pixar’s beloved ‘Toy Story’ franchise, supplanting the record set by 2019’s ‘Toy Story 4’ with USD 120 million. It further scored the second-largest animated opening weekend in history, trailing only behind 2018’s ‘Incredibles 2’ with USD 182.7 million.

On the other hand, the latest ‘Toy Story’ sequel has opened with USD 152 million overseas, followed by a sensational global tally of USD 312 million.

Meet Lilypad…she’s always listening #ToyStory5 is only in theaters June 19 pic.twitter.com/sc1rCWvMIU

— Pixar (@Pixar) March 18, 2026

Directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton, ‘Toy Story 5’ follows Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang of anthropomorphic toys as their owner, Bonnie, is seen getting addicted to her new favourite gadget, a kiddie smart tablet known as Lilypad.

In another fresh addition, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has extended a song, ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’. The artist posted a video on social media, offering insight into her creative process and describing what she called one of the most exciting days of her life.

In the clip, Swift revealed that she had watched ‘Toy Story 5’ earlier that day and was immediately inspired to write the film’s end-credit song. “I got so inspired, got the songwriter zoomies, went home, wrote the end credit song for Toy Story 5,” Swift said in the video. “We have now produced it, and I’m doing vocals,” as per the outlet.

On June 9, Swift attended the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Toy Story 5’, where she surprised audiences with a live performance of ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ and joined legendary composer Randy Newman for a duet of the franchise’s iconic song, ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’. Addressing the audience at the premiere, Swift expressed her gratitude for being associated with the film series. (ANI)