The Wild Robot has passed a major box office milestone and nears the grosses of three iconic Disney animated movies. The DreamWorks movie, adapted from the children’s book of the same name, follows a stranded robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) as she cares for an orphaned gosling named Brightbill (Kit Connor) on a desert island. The Wild Robot release debuted with a middling $35.8 million opening weekend, but it has had a slow and steady rise, eventually crossing the $300 million milestone worldwide to become one of the Top 100 animated movies worldwide.
Per Deadline, as of Sunday morning, The Wild Robot is projected to close out its ninth weekend at the domestic box office with a 3-day gross of $2 million, bringing its cumulative domestic gross to $140.7 million. In addition to passing the $140 million milestone in North America, this brings the movie close to surpassing the domestic grosses of three iconic Disney animated classics, namely 1995’s Pocahontas ($141.6 million), 1967’s The Jungle Book ($141.8 million), and 2002’s Lilo & Stitch ($145.8 million).
What This Means For The Wild Robot
It Continues To Climb The All-Time Animation Chart
It seems entirely within the realm of possibility that The Wild Robot could surpass all three Disney classics as it continues to climb the chart of the all-time highest-grossing animated movies at the domestic box office. Although it has major competition from the new release blockbusters Wicked, Gladiator II, and Moana 2 moving forward, the 2024 animated movie has shown an astoundingly solid week-on-week audience hold, which could help it eke out the $5.1 million needed to outgross Lilo & Stitch as its theatrical run draws to a close.
As of its ninth weekend,
The Wild Robot
is the 93rd highest-grossing animated movie of all time in North America.
Outgrossing Lilo & Stitch is entirely possible as its box office continues to be propelled by glowing The Wild Robot reviews that have earned it a Certified Fresh 97% Rotten Tomatoes score with a Verified Hot 98% audience score. In fact, the new DreamWorks movie has already outgrossed the domestic hauls of more than two dozen Disney animated movies, including 1998’s Mulan ($120.6 million), 1989’s The Little Mermaid ($111.5 million), 1942’s Bambi ($102.8 million), 1996’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame ($100.1 million), and 1997’s Hercules ($99.1 million).
Our Take On The Wild Robot’s Box Office Milestone
It Is A Sterling Success
Ultimately, even if The Wild Robot is booted out of too many theaters by the incoming tentpole blockbusters to outgross Lilo & Stitch, the new movie is already a bona fide success. As it came with a relatively slim budget of $78 million, the movie’s break-even point was likely somewhere around $195 million, so it is already solidly profitable. Additionally, its critical and commercial success has led it to become a frontrunner for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, cementing its status as a modern classic.
Enjoy Screen Rant’s box office coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly box office newsletter (make sure to check “Box Office” in your preferences) and get exclusive analysis, predictions, and more:
Sign Up
Source: Deadline