When Universal‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ opened in December 2022, the ‘Shrek’ spin-off reached a debut of $12.4 million. Then something miraculous happened. Thanks to TikTok and solid buzz, the animated adventure about the swashbuckling cat has enjoyed nine lives on the big screen. Ticket sales barely declined week over week, and “The Last Wish” finished its run with $186 million domestically – 15 times its opening weekend – and $481 million. dollars globally.

Universal experienced this phenomenon again with Illumination’s “.”Migration”, which had a disappointing $12.4 million debut around Christmas 2023. The cartoon about a family of mallards maintained its momentum and soared to $127 million in North America – more than 10 times its debut – and nearly 300 million dollars worldwide. (The average film has a multiple of 3 or 4 – industry parlance for the ratio of final gross to opening weekend.) “Puss in Boots 2” and “Migration” hold both highest anime multiples in the last 20 years.

Today, it happens again with the “ ” of the studio.The wild robot”, a touching science fiction story from DreamWorks Animation about an abandoned android. By the end of September, the film reached $35 million — which is decent for a new movie property, but not spectacular — and has grossed $111 million domestically and $232 million worldwide after four weeks.

“It starts and ends with content,” says Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution. “The common point is that they are quality films.”

Universal has recently introduced bigger animated blockbusters, like “The Super Mario Bros.” Movie” ($1.4 billion) and this year’s “Despicable Me 4” ($963 million). Disney too: Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” is the highest-grossing film of 2024 with $1.7 billion.

Yet the less-heralded arguments for “The Wild Robot,” “Migration” and “Puss in Boots 2” run counter to conventional wisdom that today’s films must generate most of their revenue from the first weekend. Instead, these films defied the odds (and turned a profit!) the old-fashioned way, with critical support and audience word-of-mouth growing over time. In some cases, they benefited from a lack of competition that led to pent-up demand for youth-oriented films.

“Since the pandemic, the market has been very light on family fare, especially entertainment,” says Jeff Bock, exhibitor relations analyst. “It gives these films the opportunity to have longer legs. It also helps that word of mouth has been very positive for all of these titles.

Through successful distribution deals with Illumination (the company behind “Despicable Me” and “Sing”) and DreamWorks Animation (home to “Shrek” and “Trolls”), Universal has established itself as Disney’s only true rival, including Pixar and Disney animated offerings are considered the gold standard in family entertainment. Sony triumphed with the “Spider-Verse” franchise and little else, while Paramount’s “Transformers One” fizzled. Warner Bros. hasn’t released anything anime since “Teen Titans Go!” » from 2018. At the cinema.

“Part of Universal’s success is the lack of compelling competition,” Bock says. “But more than that, it’s the quality of the product. Universal has been consistently delivering animated products for decades. This stability has earned them a loyal following that only Disney Pixar could boast of before.

Although kid-friendly fare eventually rebounded at the box office, family films were struggling as that audience was reluctant to return to theaters after the pandemic. Universal bowed out with 2023’s “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken” ($45 million worldwide). Disney has had big-budget failures like “Onward” ($141 million) and “Lightyear” ($226 million), which cost $200 million and worked hard to climb out of the red.

In the interest of profitability, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation found ways to save production costs. The original properties “Ruby Gillman,” “Migration” and “The Wild Robot” were all budgeted in the $70 million range, while franchise fare like “Shrek” or “Despicable Me” rarely cost more than $100 million. of dollars.

When it comes to the types of films that encourage families to visit their local multiplex, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, Universal’s president of international distribution, says, “Audiences are looking for what we like to call a ‘familiar surprise’ — a brand of confidence that brings something new and fresh. .” She adds: “Enduring franchises, like the Despicable Me films, remain very attractive and perform as well as their predecessors. Originals need time to develop word of mouth.

Generational appeal is key, according to DreamWorks Animation president Margie Cohn. She believes that good animation is enjoyable not only for children but also for their parents.

“Animation used to be an event aimed at the general public, and then it was classified as aimed at children,” says Cohn. Today, she adds, the challenge is for everyone. Indeed, many films have learned the hard way that quality is not enough to attract people. “Getting the message out is half the battle these days. »