'HOPPERS' Breaks Animation Records

The film comes from director Daniel Chong, who created the popular Cartoon Network series "We Bare Bears" and previously worked as a story artist at Pixar on films like *Inside Out*. Chong's inspiration for *HOPPERS* came from nature documentaries that use robotic animals to film wildlife up close. *HOPPERS* follows a young environmentalist, Mabel (voiced by Piper Curda), who transfers her consciousness into a robotic beaver to save an animal habitat from a greedy mayor (voiced by Jon Hamm). The voice cast also includes Bobby Moynihan as a beaver monarch, alongside Kathy Najimy and Dave Franco. The movie didn't just perform well commercially; it has also been a hit with critics and audiences. It holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned an A CinemaScore from opening-weekend moviegoers, suggesting it will have a long and profitable run in theaters. With a production budget of $150 million, the film's break-even point is estimated to be around $375 million worldwide. The strong opening is a significant boost for Pixar, whose recent original films have had mixed box office results. The $88 million global launch for *HOPPERS* included $46 million from the domestic box office and $42 million from international markets. This marks a significant rebound for Pixar's original storytelling after the box office struggles of films like *Lightyear* and *Elio*.