When Disney released Pixar’s “Turning Red” exclusively on streaming, there were a lot of question marks over how well family films would perform at the box office. Three months later, Pixar is returning to the big screen with “Lightyear” as the film industry has much greater confidence in parents and kids turning out in theaters.
Pixar’s “Toy Story” spinoff is expected to at least top the $72 million opening of “Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” earlier this year, with most projections settling in the $80 million range. If it hits that range, it would be in the vicinity of the $82 million opening of “Monsters University” in 2013.