Disney announced today that Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” has officially become the top-grossing animated film ever made. The movie has taken in $920 million at the box office worldwide, surpassing the previous record holder, Paramount/Dreamworks’ “Shrek 2,” which grossed $919.8 million.
Debuting on June 18, “Toy Story 3″‘s opening weekend grossed $109 million in North America, making it Pixar’s highest-grossing opening weekend. The film fared similarly well overseas, with high grosses coming in from such countries as Japan, United Kingdom, and Australia (but not Russia).
The film has also become the fourth highest-grossing Disney film of all time, behind Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” and two of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films. Disney reports that the film is expected to cross the $400 million mark domestically this weekend; this will be second Disney film ever to do so, the first being 2006’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”
“In 1995, the talented team at Pixar introduced a cowboy, a space ranger and their friends who have gone on to become some of the most beloved characters in the world. The success of ‘Toy Story’ is due to the tremendously creative and innovative team at Pixar, led by John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, and our incredible marketing and distribution teams around the world,” Rich Ross, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios said. “In ‘Toy Story 3,’ director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla Anderson and the incredible team at Pixar have given audiences a film that continued the rich storytelling and character building that have become synonymous with every Pixar release.”
