Animation is carrying Hollywood while fighting for respect
Animated hits are topping the box office, but studio cuts and Oscar attitudes have left artists asking why the industry still treats the medium as second-tier.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Animation is doing some of Hollywood’s heaviest lifting in 2026, even as many of the people who make those films say the business still treats their work like kids’ table entertainment.
Variety reported that Universal and Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is the only 2026 release so far to pass $1 billion worldwide. Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” opened to $160 million domestically and $312 million globally, the year’s top debut, and has reached $879 million worldwide going into its fifth weekend.
Pixar also landed a strong spring result with “Hoppers,” which Variety said delivered the studio’s biggest opening for an original film since “Coco” in 2017.
Big money, old attitude
Laika CEO Travis Knight told Variety that a 2020 Oscars Nominees Luncheon still bothers him. Knight was there for “Missing Link,” which was nominated for best animated feature, when he spoke with a screenwriter he admired.
According to Knight, when he mentioned his film, the writer told him: “Oh, I don’t watch any of that stuff. I just let my kids tell me what to vote for.” Knight said he was “so deeply outraged” by the exchange.
The numbers have kept piling up since. Variety reported that animated films have led the domestic box office in back-to-back years for the first time, with “Inside Out 2” and “Zootopia 2” topping the last two calendar years. “Zootopia 2” also became the highest-grossing animated film ever domestically, according to the report.
Over roughly the past decade, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, animated releases have accounted for about 20% of the year’s 10 highest-grossing movies, Variety reported.
That success has not protected workers from cuts. Pixar laid off about 175 employees, or 14% of its staff, in May 2024. Netflix restructured its animation division in 2023, cutting jobs and stopping two films that were in preproduction, according to Variety.
One unnamed animator told Variety it was frustrating to see studios celebrate box office and awards attention, then tell longtime staff: “We don’t need you anymore.”
Pixar, Laika and the Oscar wall
Some animation leaders told Variety the industry has helped create its own problem. Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter said much of the public still thinks of animation as children’s entertainment, adding: “We could step up our game.”
Pixar president Jim Morris argued the box office should command more respect. He told Variety that “Moana 2” did more business than all the best picture nominees combined last year, if his numbers were right, and said animation is supporting many studios.
The global haul has stretched even further outside Hollywood. Variety reported that China’s “Ne Zha 2,” from Beijing Enlight Pictures, became the first animated film to cross $2 billion worldwide.
Laika, the studio behind “Coraline” and “ParaNorman,” is preparing “Wildwood” for an Oct. 23 theatrical release through Fathom Entertainment. Variety noted that Fathom handled the 2024 re-release of “Coraline,” which brought in nearly $56 million worldwide 15 years after its first run.
The Academy Awards remain a sore spot. Since the animated feature Oscar was created in 2001, only three animated movies have been nominated for best picture: “Beauty and the Beast,” “Up” and “Toy Story 3.”
Morris told Variety he wants more animation artists admitted into Academy craft branches. Disney Animation chief creative officer Jared Bush said the path is emotional connection with audiences. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri said he believes appreciation for the artistry has grown.
Mexican animator Jorge Gutiérrez was less hopeful, telling Variety he does not see an animated film winning best picture because “the live-action component is too big.”
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.